Book 12: Night Wars by Graham Masterton

Very entertaining. I read this at the beach and it flew by.

Book 11: The Elric Saga Part 1 by Michael Moorcock

Summary: This actually consists of 3 books: Elric of Melnibone, The Sailor on the Seas of Fate, and The Weird of the White Wolf. It's the story of Elric, an albino sorceror-emperor, and his life. It starts ot with him as the emperor of a disintegrating nation that is well past its glory days. He is different than most of his kind - more intellectual and introspective. This leads him into confrontation with his cousin Yrkoon, who is next in line for the throne.

My Thoughts: Elric is a very well known character in the fantasy genre. The stories were interesting, but a little too smart for me. I prefer things to be more straight forward and not so thoughtful. Elric spends a lot of time thinking or pondering his feelings, which I guess makes him a well rounded character, but it was just annoying. All the brooding got old. It started to feel very drug-trippy, hippy like which is not all that enjoyable foe me.

Links:
Amazon
Elric at Wikipedia
Comments at LibraryThing

Book 10: Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

Summary:
Johnny Rico decides to join the MI (Mobile Infantry) after high school. in his time, the only way to get franchise is to serve a term of at least 2 years in the armed forces. The book tells teh story of his joining up and the subsequent adventures he has as a trooper. A lot of the book is philosophical in nature. Why is violence necessary? Who should have the right to vote? Those kind of discussions fill the book.

My Thoughts:
Much better than the movie. The movie is good in its own right as a cheesy popcorn flick, but the book has some serious meat to it. Not as fun, but it makes you think a little. Heinlein has some interesting commentary especially about China and the 20th century that looks pretty prophetic given that it was written in 1959.

Trivia:
This section is stupid. Go read the Wikipedia page.

Links:
Amazon
Starship Troopers at Wikipedia
Review at scifi.com

Book 9: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Summary:
Bella, a high school student, moves from her mother's in Phoenix to live with her father in dreary Forks, Washington. There she tries to fit in and eventually falls for a vampire named Edward Cullen, who along with his "family" are posing as other students. The beginning of the book is all about Bella fitting in and learning the Cullens' secret. After they have become a couple, Bella learns more about Edward's history and his chosen lifestyle. During a family baseball game, another trio of vampires comes in and one of them takes it as a personal challenge to hunt and kill Bella. It is up to Edward and his family to make sure she is protected.

My Thoughts:
A pretty awesome book as anyone can tell by it's chart topping sales. Definitely aimed at teenage girls, but I enjoyed the vampire/werewolf aspect as well as the family loyalty that the Cullens show.

Trivia:
Soon to be a major motion picture!!!
This is the first in at least a 4 book series.

Links:
Amazon
Twilight at Wikipedia
Reviews at rateitall.com

Book 8: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis

Summary: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy find themselves transported to the land of Narnia where they join the lion, Aslan, to fight the evil White Witch. Everyone knows the story, so I'm not going to type it out.

My Thoughts: This is a classic that everyone should have read by now. If you've only seen the movie, do yourself a favor and read the danged book. It's short enough. This is actually another cheat for me, because I read it out loud over a couple of weeks as a bedtime story for my son.

Links:
Amazon
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe at Wikipedia
Review at Commonsensemedia.com

Book 7: Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King

Summary: Told in 12 chapters, one for each month, a town is terrorized by murders during the full moon of each month. Only a handicapped boy, Marty ever manages to escape. He eventually comes up with a plan to get rid of the werewolf permanently.

My Thoughts: This is a very short book coming in a just over 100 pages with tons of full page illustrations. I read it as a cheat to get me back on track and make sure I 'm not falling behind my goals. This is as good as any other King book, but it feels rushed, like he was just cranking it out. That's partly because of the 12 chapters format, but it's enjoyable nevertheless.

Links:
Amazon
Cycle of the Werewolf at Wikipedia
Review at Charnel House

Book 6: From a Buick 8 by Stephen King

Summary: A boy's state patrolman father dies and the boy starts hanging out at the station where his dad worked. HE finds out that the police barracks have an old "Buick" hidden in a shed behind the place and it does some freaky stuff. It lets out the occasional creature or weird plant. It has a strange attraction and at least 2 people have disappeared into it. The boy, Ned, eventually gets the story out of the old troopers about where they got the "car" and his father's obsession with it.

My Thoughts:
Awesome Stephen King book. It's not a straight forward story though, there is no clean ending as the storytellers often point out.

Trivia:
A supposed movie is in the works with Tobe Hooper as the director. He also did Poltergeist and the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Links:
Amazon
From a Buick 8 at Wikipedia
Review at liljas-library.com