100 Reviews #2 - The Rule Of Four So "the Rule of Four" by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason was complex. It was quite enjoyable and I was compelled to read on, however I found the hypercernia/consortia ( whatever its called) very confusing and it was to the point that I almost became disinterested in it. The ending set up for a sequel which I believe never happened but I think that I would have enjoyed *SPOILER* unlocking the crypt more is just more exciting than unlocking the book. The characters are ok, but none of the primary characters are female and there are few female secondary characters, which are at all relevant except Katie(who is pretty useless in the scheme of things, which is hugely sexist in my opinion wether not the writers are aware of this IDK, but still. Tut, tut!) I also found the majority of the characters one dimensional and rather irritating as a result, as they abandoned likeness to a real person. The fact that there were so many characters was also a bit baffling and confused me quite a bit, especially as the friends who didn't work on the code breaking became interchangeable in my mind and didn't actually have much to distinguish them from one another at all. Regardless of the poor characters, the style was decent although I found the flashbacks distracting and I had to keep rereading to make sense of it all. Not as good as I had expected and I was hoping for something I couldn't put down - a better "Da Vinci Code", instead I got a mediocre attempt at a shameful and unfabulous plot. That being said it was better than the Da Vinci Code, it was complex enough that I was surprised with the solutions but also simple enough that I understood how they got the answer. The "villains" we're good enough, and like the other characters one dimensional but also gave the plot some motivation and a quickened pace, which would otherwise be swallowed by flashbacks. From me it's a four out of ten.(funny how that worked huh?) Decent writing. Interesting theme and plot. Illly Portrayed characters and substandard fluidity and pace. criteria: 1)Read again? -ok 2)Good writing? -yes 3)Good characters? -no 4)Good plot? -ok 5)Good development of idea? -ok 6)Appropriate ending? -no 7)Suitable style? -no 8)Interesting? -yes 9)Easy read? -ok 1Decent and Appropriate pace? -no Book suggestions would be welcome! Next I will review "the Perks Of Being a Walflower" in anticipation of the film release. Hopefully the review will be up on Friday or Saturday. Also go to liareads100.blogspot.com for the reviews featured here and the all important list which is updated weekly. You can also vote for the next book! Thanks, Lia. R

Is It Odd? Is it odd that in the absence of fear I find no courage? Or that the sun never shines down on me? I wonder now if I ever did find the honey of a golden bee, Would it provide as was intended to make all of us happy? Or would we just awe and smile and say, That's just how it all is these days. . . Is it odd that in the absence of fear I find no courage? Or how #life always seems to pass me by? Should I wonder why unlike my friends I wish to hide away? Why is it I have so many, if hiding is what I do all day? How is it I still have a soul mate, If I've not spoken to him of late? Is it odd that in the absence of fear I find no courage? That I never found anyone to love me? How we all dreamt of prince charming, but never a guy like he? Disappointingly we smile at the memories of what we could have done, But never did, As we think of the days we all got rid, Just like back then, today are we, Throwers away of the pain that we have, that seemed to relax us in the #life that we lead. Is it odd that in the absence of fear I find no courage?

100 Reviews #1 - The Da Vinci Code Here it is, review 1/100. Hmm. Not my cup of tea. Dan Brown's attempts at writing a complex novel were great, to a point where it was too complex. I found the switches between Langdon and Silas rather confusing and found myself flipping through the Silas parts. (Which in my opinion would have been far better as a novella.) The plot is excellent and perhaps requires better characters to compliment it. Although the characters are diverse and have some depth the keyword there is SOME and not depth. I found that I was not compelled to read "Angels and Demons" whatsoever. Suffice to say it was not an enjoyable read, nor do I think I would ever read a Dan Brown book again. I found the whole thing rather tiresome and didn't enjoy the writing as much as I expected. I also found some of the implications of the Church too offensive. I am Christian, and although I am not of strong faith and have my own way of putting religion, accusing the church of so much was disrespectful ( although most likely the accusations are true- as paradoxical as my opinion sounds if you look at history as much as I do you have to admit it). However I am not a supporter of the Vatican and as a result was not too offended by remarks regarding it or the pope as don't follow the pope or any of his predecessors, so i guess it depends what faith you have how much the accusations resonate with you. Before I get too carried away I just felt that the implications were too vast and perhaps too strong for a fictional "beach/easy read". The Idea of introducing humour was unsuccessful and that the whole mystery was too predictable. *SPOILER* Sophie's family was obvious from the beginning and all of the code was crack-able by me long before Langdon cracked it, (and I'm only 15) so perhaps was too simple. Dan brown is not the literary genius I expected from reviews and is not an author I would read again in a hurry. The book set up for a sequel which I was disappointed about, although I knew there was a sequel, I had hoped more loose ends would have been tied up and the sequel had been less obvious. Overall 3.5/10 - ok, I know it sounds harsh but here are my Criteria: ( quick summary of my thoughts ) 1)Read again? -no 2)Good writing? -ok 3)Good characters? -ok 4)Good plot? -yes 5)Good development of idea? -no 6)Appropriate ending? -no 7)Suitable style? -no 8)Interesting? -ok 9)Easy read? -yes 1Decent and Appropriate pace? -no The next book will be the "Rule of Four" by Dustin Thomason and Ian Caldwell. - supposedly a better Da Vinci Code, I guess well have to read it and see. If you have any book suggestions or would like to contribute an opinion, comment below, your response is much appreciated. Thanks, Lia. R

Giving Up... giving up isn't rewarding or beneficial for the soul, it's just accepting defeat before you've even started playing the game. . .

100 Reviews Ok so I haven't posted in a while, (sorry about that btw) and so as I finish my junior year I decided I should do something constructive. so I'm going to read and review 100 books (hopefully) before the end of the year ( along side my other posts) . If you have any suggestions please comment and I'll try and read as many as I can! I will write reviews ASAP after I've read the books and you can read along with me or just read the reviews. I'm going to start with "the da Vinci code" I haven't read it or seen the movie ( shame on me) but my review will be up soon, I just hope dan browns writing lives up to the hype! Anyway ttyl Lia. R