Katie Runyon

Well, I just finished another book so I should start some reviews before I get too far behind. So first, I will start with George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones. It was a spectacular read and was very inspiring. My favorite character was Arya (which seems to be a popular name, which we will get to later). There is just something about her fierceness and strength that I find attractive I guess. I will not spoil anything for those who have yet to read it, but I was surprised and saddened when one of the main characters died. I was not expecting them to actually kill him and I even checked forward to see if his name came in a chapter heading later because he somehow was not dead. I was just waiting for them to jump out and shout “surprise”. The story surrounding what is going on beyond the wall is interesting and I am looking forward to seeing what happens when Jon and the rest venture out into the Haunted Woods. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and will buy the other three novels that go along with it as soon as I can.

Now as for Anne McCaffrey’s The Girl Who Heard Dragons, some of you might be having a good laugh at my ignorance and if not, you will soon see why. I read the first of what I thought where chapters and then moved on to the next, where I was totally lost but figured it would make sense in the next one. As I began to read the first few lines, it began to sink in that something was wrong. I paged through the book, looking for the name if the girl in the first chapter. After not finding it, I began to search amazon.com for the book and to my surprise, I found it was not a full-fledged novel. It seems it is a collection of short stories. Of course, I was dumbfounded and partly enraged. I am not a fan of short stories; I like things to be a little drawn out and exciting. I was VERY upset when I realized my folly. The only place I could see in the book that it said anything of it being a collection, was in a quick review on one of the pages. Of course, it was through no fault of the author, but I wished I had a little more warning before I bought it. Anne McCaffrey still writes very well and I plan to buy one of her novels, but I will be more thorough next time. I can at least say that after the first few pages, the first short story picked up nicely and I was reading eagerly. When the second came along, I was totally lost. If anyone reads Anne McCaffrey and knows of the first story with the little girl named Aramina, maybe you could inform me of an actual novel that includes her or something like it. I have no idea where to start.

Anyway, on the other book I actually finished that was a full novel. I just finished Christopher Paolini’s Eragon a few minutes ago. It was an interesting read, more the style of my novel then George R. R. Martin’s. When reading I was trying to pay attention to the writing style to get a feel for it. The story flows nicely and keeps you entertained. Most of the fantasy books I have read go back and forth between different characters, as do mine. It was a nice change to have one characters point of view during the whole thing. You connect with the one character and grow attached to him. You also become attached to the dragon, Saphira because she is almost a part of Eragon. I am now eagerly waiting to read Eldest as with the rest of the A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Well it seems next year will be a busy time with reading and writing, at least I will keep my brain active.