Saga

Saga

By Conor Kostick

Synopsis(from front cover of book):

      Ghost is part of an anarcho-punk airboard gang who live to break the rules. And there's a good reason—their world, Saga, has a strict class system enforced by high-tech electronics, armed guards, and a corrupt monarchy.

      But something is changing within saga. Strangers are appearing and disappearing on the streets, like some kind of special effect. Soon ghost and her gang learn the complicated truth. Saga isn't actually a place; it's a sentinent computer game. The strangers are “playing” from their home on New Earth, and access to saga works on them like a drug. The dark queen who rules Saga is trying to enslave the people of new earth by making them saga addicts.

      And she will succeed unless Ghost and her friends—and Erik, from Epic and his friends—figure out how to stop her in time.

My review:

      An enjoyable book with a fascinating world. This is the second book in the series, and while it could nearly stand alone, one of the key variables could not be understood without the book before it. Please note that I think the first book in this series was slightly better. Both books are set in a world in a world. This book is set in the world of saga, which is a sentient computer game set in a future colony in space. 

     Each character is unique and well crafted, the main character being full of feeling and emotion, elation and confusion. Not only are the characters well done, but the plot is a ride, learning and finding things out, finding several peices of the puzzle are missing, and once inserted, they create a very enjoyable tale.

    One thing I disliked about this book was the lack of utilization of technology. Kostick did not fully utilize all his resources in my opinion. I thought his sprinkling of fantasy was perfect, but he lacked true flair while writing science fiction parts of the story. 

     This was a read that should be enjoyed by fantasy and science fiction lovers alike. Go flop on a couch, begin the story in Epic and continue the tale throughout Saga and future worlds. 

My rating:

4 stars
Profanity: None
Sexuality: Mild
Violence: Mild
Drugs and alcohol: Moderate

Intrinsical

Intrinsical

By Lani Woodland

Synopsis(from back of book):

      Sixteen-year-old Yara Silva has always known that ghosts walk alongside the living. Her grandma, like the other females in her family, is a Waker, someone who can see and communicate with ghosts. Yara grew up watching her grandmother taunted and scorned for this unusual ability and doesn’t want that to be her future. She has been dreading the day when she too would see ghosts, and is relieved that the usually dominant Waker gene seems to have skipped her, letting her live a normal teenage life. However, all that changes for Yara on her first day at her elite boarding school when she discovers the gene was only lying dormant. She witnesses a dark mist attack Brent, a handsome fellow student, and rushes to his rescue. Her act of heroism draws the mist’s attention, and the dark spirit begins stalking her. Yara finds herself entrenched in a sixty-year-old curse that haunts the school, threatening not only her life, but the lives of her closest friends as well. Yara soon realizes that the past she was trying to put behind her isn’t going to go quietly.

My review:

     The book starts off fast, with an attack, and moves very quickly, keeping you hooked the whole time.  The plot is very action oriented, written so that you see the book like a movie in your mind.  While the character interactions are a little stereotypical, Woodland more than makes up for it in interesting plot twists and thinking outside the box.  

My rating:

      4 stars
Profanity: very mild
Sexuality: very mild
Violence: mild
Drugs and alcohol: mild

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