Dear Mr. Chase and John,

I have finished reading Eagle Strike and now am reading  Hatchet and Redwall. I recently have been talking about (in my RRB’s) too much action, too little description, bad vocabulary, and too little personification, metaphors, and similies in the Alex Rider series. But now that I’ve started to read other books I have finally realized what the problem is with the Alex Rider’s, the writing. I have hinted at this in other RRB’s but until now I’ve been making little  accusations saying why the Alex Rider’s aren’t as good as everyone says, little components that all add up to not that good writing. The writing isn’t that bad, but for me I’d rather have a book with an OK story and great writing then a book with a good story and OK writing.On the other hand I’m matching the Alex Rider books against Redwall, which might be the best written book I’ve read, and Hatchet, a fantastically toned book. Maybe i’m being a little too harsh. The Alex Rider’s are still pretty good books (I’ve read 4 and have no plans on slowing down).

Happy Snow Day!

ZR

Dear Mr. Chase and John,

I am currently reading Eagle Strike. Recently I have noticed a bit of a run on in the writing, “…was alien and bizarre and brilliantly organized…” there is a bit too many “ands” in this end of the sentence. I was once told that if there are 2 or more “ands” in a sentence the sentence is a run-on. If I counted correctly, there is 2 ands in this piece. Having 2 ands is  not a huge problem if the sentence flows, but by all means this sentence sounds like a scrambled egg that has been chopped up and sent to the 4 corners of the earth.Here is a sentence with 22 ands that is OK, “Bob and Bill went to the store and bought 5 apples.”  Yes, the sentence is not incredibly compelling but at least it flows a little and at least doesn’t sound as bad as Horowitz’s sentence. To take a less critical point of view this is a little understandable. When I  read the back of one of Horowitz’s books it said he was writing movies, multiple TV Shows, and of course books.  I could imagine being a little bit rushed. I might make some run-ons, but at least my EDITOR would fix it. I mean your an editor and you see a junk sentence like that and you don’t do anything. That’s the kind of thing that gets people fired! If I was Horowitz I would be mad as a mackerel!  And here is the strangest thing about this, the book is dedicated to the EDITOR!!!!!!!!!

Very odd.

Happy Reading!

ZAR

Dear Mr. Chase and John,

I am currently reading Skeleton Key.Recently I have been dissappointed with one scene of the book. Alex is trapped in an underwater cave and he is pinned to  the back of the cave, with a Great White closing in. The shark is killed somehow and Alex escapes. I know Mr. Chase has just put a post-it up on the wall that demonstrates how not to use cliches. This is a perfect example of what not to do. There is so many stories, folktales,Shark Week shows, and more about being attacked by Great Whites. Can’t Anthony Horowitz think up something original, suprising, or new? In fact when Alex made the dive before the attack, I actually was thinking a Great White would appear, and I hoped I would be wrong. But no, sadly  I was 100% right. And 100% not thrilled. I wonder if any reader who read this scene didn’t say “cliche” as they were reading it? The only thing keeping me reading Alex Rider is the cunning plots.

Happy Thanksgiving!

ZR

Dear Mr.Chase and John,

I have recently been reading Skeleton Key By: Anthony Horowitz. Recently I have noticed that the Alex Rider series books are following a similar pattern; Alex is seduced into going on a spy mission just to observe. Turns out there’s some guy there who is planning on killing a bunch of people. Alex is discovered. Lots of chases and shooting. The crazy guy is taken in by the spy agency. This is not neccissarily a criticism, it is more of a noticing. I do not think it is horrible to have a pattern in a series, as The Series of Unfortunate Events had a pattern through 13 books and by the way those were some of my favorite books of all time. I wonder if this pattern is going to continue  through all the books? I hope so. It’s a decent pattern that has lots of room  for creativity and more plot twists. Just like in Lemony Snicket’s  fantastic, gripping novels.

Happy Reading!

ZR

Dear Mr. Chase and John,

I have continued to read Point Blank. I have recently realized why some things are happening. The main one is why the students at Point Blanc (school in Alps for 6 troubled extremely wealthy teens) are not allowed contact with the outside world. Since the “principal” of the school has been linked to some murders of extremely rich men, I am thinking the principal is going to murder the rich parent (or parents) of all of the rich kids. Since the kids parents are famous, if they (parents) died it would definitely get on the news. I think the principal also worries that if a parent dies, the now rich kids may figure out he did it and they will start a campaign against the principal. This is why I think the students are not permitted contact with the outside world.

I have also been recently wondering why all the students at Point Blanc are 14. I understand that “14″ is a “teen’ age and that Point Blanc is made for teens, but there seems no reason to me why all of the students at Point Blanc are 14. I have thought and thought but I still can’t think of any reason but coincidence. Either Anthony Horowitz is way more clever then I thought or he  made the kids 14 for no apparent reason. I would be highly disappointed if there was no “14 reason.” The “14 mystery” brings an element to the story that I am liking.

Happy Reading!

ZR

Dear Mr. Chase and John,                                                                                                  Point Blank

I have continued to read the Alex Rider series based on that I liked the first book, and people have told me that the other books are “way better” then the first. I am finding the complete opposite. I am finding there to be just action. No anything else. I am a fan of fast-paced books but this is a little to fast for even me. I understand that action beginnings are great ways to start stories but this is going a little far. This is my summary of the beginning of Point Blank, “BOOM! BOOM! Explosion! Explosion!  I’ve just been whizzed to a private school for mentally challenged rich kids in the middle of the Alps!” I can see why some 5th graders love this series. In the past I have known kids my age who don’t need any plot or good writing in the books they read. I do.

I am continuing to be unimpressed with the writing so I will probably abandon this book soon.

Happy Reading!

ZR

PS: John, don’t forget to comment on my blog  or approve my comments on yours.

10-29-09

Ghost Hunter

Michelle Paver                                                                                                                240 pages

10-18-09                                                                                                        10-24 -09

This book was average-difficult to read.

Eostra, the last soul-eater (evil mage) is holding the forest in terror. She has sent moths and her owl to the clans, and this is just the beginning .

Torak (main character about 15 years old) goes on a mission to stop her before Soul’s Night, when she is strongest. He leaves Renn (friend) and Wolf (is a wolf plus Torak’s pack brother who Torak can communicate with) behind but eventually they find and join Torak.

Wolf’s 2 cubs and mate are attacked by Eostra’s Eagle Owl so Wolf,  Torak, and Renn try to come to the rescue. Wolf’s mate falls into the far below river, one of the cubs dies, and the other is taken away by the Eagle Owl.

Wolf tries to get back his lost family, but when he fails he lies down and awaits death. Luckily Torak and Renn find him and through some Torak to Wolf pep talking they continue their journey.

When Renn injures her ankle, Torak is almost at the mountain (Mountain of Ghosts) where he thinks Eostra is, and a mountain clan is nearby, and it is almost time for the confrontation between Torak and Eostra, Torak decides to leave Renn with the clan.

When Torak is almost at the mountain he and Wolf are attacked by a pack of Eostra’s giant demon dogs. Torak and Wolf are rescued by a mysterious kid about Torak’s age named Dark. After a recovery from the attack Wolf, Torak, and Dark set off to find Eostra. It is already the day of Soul’s Night.

Meanwhile Renn has snook away from the clan in a desperate attempt to rejoin Torak. She ends up finding that Wolf’s mate is alive and Renn nurses her back to desired health. Eventually they find Torak, Wolf, and Dark so everyone is reunited.

On Soul’s Night Torak finds Eostra’s lair and finds out that she is trying to bring back the other Soul Eater’s to life- including his father. Torak has a chance to kill Eostra but is faced with an agonizing decision. If he lets Eostra live his father will come back. If he kills Eostra the forest will be saved. Torak denies the temptation and kills Eostra.

Since Eostra died, the owl left the cub alone and Wolf found it. Wolf, the cubs, Wolf’s mate, Torak, and Renn decide to live together for the rest of their lives.

A favorite character of mine from the book is Dark. It was great how he was mysterious and (rhetorically) dark. His story of his father leaving him in the woods when he was 8 reminded me of Hansel and Gretel. I am sad he came into the series in the last book. I want more of him!

I rate this book a 5.

PS: Sorry I haven’t done this earlier. Besides the last couple of days I have been stuck in bed all day with the flu. I may be back in school tomorrow. Yay!

ZR                                                                                                                                        10-28-09

Stormbreaker

Anthony Horowitz                                         192 pages

10-22-09                                                                     10-26-09

This book was easy-average to read.

Alex Rider (14) is told his uncle/guardian has died in a car crash. The whole story is suspicious, so Alex takes a look at the car to find bullet  holes in the windshield. Alex knows this was no car crash. A spy agency takes Alex in and tells him that his uncle worked for them and that Alex’s uncle was a spy, not a bank manager. Also, that Alex’s Uncle/guardian was coming back from a secret mission when he died. They also tell Alex who killed his uncle. Alex is forced into a decision to work for the spy group, and is put into a training.

When Alex is done with the training he is put into his first mission. His mission is the one that got his uncle killed. He goes to a company to observe what is going on. The spy group is suspicious of the company and they are giving new computers to every school in England soon.

Many things about the company are suspicious. The owner is from Cairo, there is a secret factory where computers are being injected with a mysterious substance, and someone who dropped a box was shot immediately. Eventually, Alex puts 2 and 2 together and figures out that there is some sort of Virus in the computers.

When Alex is snooping around just before the computers are going to be brought online he is caught by the owner (who figures out that Alex is a spy). The owner of the company tells Alex that when the computers come online the virus will kill every child in England (cause there’s a computer in every school in England). He then goes off to make his speech before the computers are coming online (doesn’t reveal plan). He leaves a few of his assistants to kill Alex.

Alex escapes (although dramatically) and then goes to stop the mass murder. Alex succeeds but while doing so he shoots the prime minister in the hand. The spy group gets Alex out of the situation and Alex agrees to rejoin the spy group when needed. Although the company owner escapes, Alex succeeded in his mission!!

One of my favorite highlights from the book was when Alex got his disguised spy materials. It was so cool how he had zit cream that could burn through medal. I wish I had some of that! The Gameboy that could be used for smoke bombs, communication, (etc.) was certainly multi-versatile! I bet Alex will get more cool gear next book.

I rate this book a 4.

Dear Mr. Chase and John,                                                                        Stormbreaker

I am currently reading and almost finished with Stormbreaker. I am fascinated with the plot twists and storyline, but I am disappointed with the actual writing. The sentences flow OK and the punctuation is fine, but I am highly disappointed with the vocabulary and word choice. There is NO creativity with the words. Fun made up words like “fribulous” are not used once in this book. Also, the width of vocabulary in this book is tiny. Most of the words I have known since 2nd grade!!! This may seem like a harsh criticism, but it is annoying me as a reader.

Recently, I have been wondering why the Prime Minister of England has thanked Alex Rider after Alex shot him in the hand. I don’t think  the Prime Minister knew Alex’s good intentions, and if anyone shot me I would be pretty angry. I would have tried to get rid of Alex as fast as I could if I was in  the Prime Minister’s shoes, and I certainly wouldn’t have thanked him.

Answer Soon!

ZR

Dear Mr. Chase and John,                              Ghost Hunter

I have recently been reading a book called Ghost Hunter, which is the 6th book of my favorite series (Wolf Brother being the first). Recently the final Soul Eater (evil mage) has brought back (from the dead) the previous 6 Soul Eaters, including Torak’s (main character) father. Even though Eostra has control over the dead she has raised up, I think Torak will figure out a way for his father to fight Eostra’s will power and then Torak and his father together (+Wolf,Dark and Renn) will take down the Soul Eaters. I think this would be a bit of a cheesy ending, but (as Michelle Paver always does) I think Michelle Paver will come up with a  much better ending.

Another thing that has been keeping me wondering is who Fin-Kedinn (Renn’s Clan’s leader) is chasing after. I am wondering if the person tried to become a Soul Eater but was driven away. Maybe  it is  a powerful mage that fled their clan. Maybe it’s a person who knows how to defeat the Soul Eaters but hasn’t told anyone because Eostra said she would kill him if he told anyone. I don’t know. I’ll just have to read on!!

Answer Soon,

ZR

PS: I am sorry if the end of lines aren’t edited well (technical difficulties).