The Surviving Sky

 By- Kritika H. Rao

    This book was another library find, when perusing the shelves I found a paperback book and took a look at the beautiful cover. A floating island with trees, wildlife, and structures on and around the island all floating above the ground that looks to be having horrible storms. While I was intrigued by the cover I thought it was strange that I have never heard of it, so I took a picture of it on my phone and decided I would do some research. I never did do any research however, it felt as though the book was stalking me when the staff put it on a display case. After a few weeks I decided to check it out. 

    The author has built a truly unique world based on the future of earth where most of civilization has been destroyed by storms on the earth they call earthrages. I am not sure if I truly completely understand earthrages, when described in the book it seems that the earth shakes and plants become hostile all the while wind, lightning, and rain rage around you. It is true chaos and devastation to the earth itself and anyone on the ground. Humanity has evolved and built cities build out of trees and plant life, that fly above the earth away from the earthrages below. Humanity themselves have separated into two classes those that are born with the ability of trajection, known as architects, and the rest who have normal abilities. Trajection is the ability to connect to the conscience of plants and affect their growth and changed them to suit your needs, even to shape them into rooms and stairs. As you can imagine there is some social issues because of the two classes, one that feels superior and the other that resents their reliance on architects. The main characters are Ahilya and Iravan who are married to each other however they are currently in the middle of a fight at the beginning of the story and haven't spoken in a while. Not only are they having issues in their marriage but there are also issues with their city who is filled with architects that are struggling with trajection and the fact that there are not enough of them. 

    I enjoyed this book, the author has built a amazing world that is complex and unique. The author is an artist with the details of how the world works and allows you to almost put yourself in the world that is unlike anything you have ever seen or experienced. The characters are equally complicated and show depth in their inner thoughts and relationships to other characters. Overall, I would recommend this book however not to everyone the level of detail, complexity of story, and philosophical thoughts of the book do not make for a light read. However, if you are looking to dive into a new world and looking for something less superficial I would highly recommend this book to you. 

The Unrelenting Earth

By- Kritika H. Rao

    This book is the sequel to The Surviving Sky that I previously read. I found it right next to it in the library however, the cover is less appealing and title had me even less excited. Nevertheless, I wanted to see how the story ends. 

    The book picks up right where the other one left off. Ahilya and Iravan go their separate ways, leaving each other for there own purposes. There are a lot of unresolved issues and feelings left unsaid about the future of their relationship but the needs of the present are too important to ignore. Ahilya goes back home with the plan to share what she had learned about humanities past and to try and help them rebuild. She is elected to the council, however there is a lot of turmoil caused by her revelations that do not coincide with their culture and previously known history. Ahilya finds herself in a position she has sought after for years but the circumstances around it are much different than she hoped or expected, how can she decide what is the best way for her and her people to proceed. Iravan stays behind in the jungle in the home that they built together. He is trying to learn and understand his new life and abilities since reuniting with his counterpart, the falcon. The falcon is unpredictable and full of rage and fury and Iravan must find a way to control him before he can reunite with his people and free other estactics. Iravan finally decides to go home with a plan to move forward and help more people like him however, things do not go as planned as more people are brought into our world and with it more chaos as the world seems to be falling apart all around them. Will Iravan help his people or destroy them and the world?

    Once again the author does a great job building on the world they already built adding new cities and characters that are unique and complex. We witness the inner struggle of both the main characters, struggles that are easy to relate to even though the world they live in is vastly different from our own. Once again there is a lot going on in this book, the level of detail of the world is almost overwhelming. I will definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the first. My biggest issue with the second book is there are too many moments that after the character learns new information they have some huge realization that changes everything for themselves and have a plan to save everyone. In each moment the characters are so convinced that they finally figured everything out and you as a reader feel a part of that experience only to find out they were wrong. It was not having this in the plot that bothered me but instead only that it happened more than once. Overall if you read the first you have to finish the story the author does not disappoint. 

I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons

By- Peter S. Beagle

    I found this book while perusing at my local bookstore, I had an itch to purchase a new book, a common feeling for me. They say to not judge a book by its cover but with one look at the cover and I said its got dragons, and after reading the title I had to laugh. I am a huge fan of dragon books and between the cover and title I had to buy it without ever reading what the book was about and hope to not be disappointed.

    Robert is a dragon exterminator, a profession he inherited from his deceased father. The job is not as prestigious as it sounds, in this world  there are not many large dragons but there are small dragons that infest homes and barns, like rats. His job is considered very low and looked down on by people. Robert is very good at his job however he despises it because he loves dragons and keeps a few as pets in his own home. He has a great relationship with them and is able to talk and communicate with them and they listen to him. The local princess, Cerise, is in the process of being courted by a large company of princes for her hand in marriage. A process that she is becoming very frustrated with, being that none of them stick out as a contender for her hand in marriage. Crown Prince Reginald from a neighboring kingdom is on a quest from his father who is disappointed in what kind of man he is. The prince and his valet, Mortmain, decide to take a break on their quest and find the Princess teaching herself to read in secret by a tree. Cerise immediately falls head over heels for the prince who looks like a perfect prince, and invites him to the castle. Cerise arrives at the castle to tell her parents, the king and queen, that the prince is coming and realizes the condition of their castle. The castle is overrun with dragons in an attempt to impress the prince they hire Robert to help them exterminate the dragons, Robert performs his duty with a heavy heart as he kills thousands. Robert impresses Mortmain and is hired to go on a quest with them that will change everyone's life as well as both kingdoms.

    I enjoyed reading this book, an adult fairy tale that I can share with my own children and not worry about anything being too graphic or adult. There is no bad language or love scenes, it was a very clean story. The story itself in some parts fell in line with popular fairy tales with details that made it unique, such as the dragons being small and infesting like rats. I am not familiar with the work of Petter S. Beagle but after reading his work I plan on checking out other books he has written. I did have one issue with his novel toward the end of the story there are some twists and turns in the story which in most cases make the story better however, there are too many in short time. In real life if you take too many turns you find yourself going in circles and that was the feeling I had when reading toward the end. If I was to change the stories I would keep them in the story but spread them out and put some plot in the story to separate them. Overall I recommend this novel to anyone and may even be a great family read.

    

What Feast at Night

By- T. Kingfisher

  This book is another library find, although I am a Fan of T. Kingfisher books and usually grab any book I find that she has written. I recently looked her up and I was surprised that T Kingfisher is a pen name for her adult books, she also writes children books. If I had to describe her adult books they are dark fairy tales. The cover for this book meets my expectations for her stories with a graphic and haunting looking horse with the skin and flesh peeling off its skeleton. I was a little disappointed after reading this, I discovered it was the second in a series and now I need to find the first book.

    The book starts with Alex and Angus both retired soldiers in the employ of Miss Porter, traveling to Alex's family cabin in the land of Gallacia. Gallacia is described by Alex as less civilized as the modern London, the local people believe in superstitions and have weird customs. Upon arriving at the cabin it appears abandoned and they are unable to locate Corbin who was hired to care for the property in Alex's absence. There is an eerie feeling as they search for him expecting to find his deceased body, as it turns out he became ill and died at his family home. They reach out to the family to find out what the cause was however, they can not get a clear answer they were just told he was sick. Alex hires a local woman and her son to help them get the property cleaned and repaired as well as prepare meals for everyone. Rumors from the local town begin stirring saying that Corbin's death was cause by a moroi, a dark creature in the form of a woman that sucks the breath from your body until you die. Miss porter arrives and is excited to spend time in the area researching and seeking mushrooms all the while enjoying the diverse and rich culture of the area. Things take a turn when the housekeeper's son falls ill and Alex starts to dream of the moroi stealing his breath. Is the creature real or is the power of suggestion causing bad dreams, you will have to read and find out.

    Another fantastic book by T Kingfisher, her short stories always do a great job building a whole world for you to immerse yourself in without having to make the book longer. Her dark fairy tales are unique and entertaining, making me wonder where she gets her inspiration. Are her stories based off real fairy tales or folklore or are they entirely her own creations. I highly recommend all of her books, whether you read a lot or very little, the shorter stories may be good for those that read less.  

Jackpot

     A new release from Amazon, heard my wife chuckling away watching this movie and told me I had to watch it too. Absolutely hilarious movie starring Awkwafina as Katie and John Cena as Noel. Simu Liu is also in the movie playing the Role of Louis with cameos from Sean Williams Scott and Machine Gun Kelly. 

    The movie is based in the future, Katie moves from Michigan to California after the death of her mother who she took care of for years. Katie has come to California to reignite her career of acting, she was a small time child actor, and promised her mother that she would pursue a career in acting after her death. Noel is an ex soldier trying to do penance for his morally questioning time as a solider, he is currently a freelance protection agent. The Californian government has decided to start a mega lotto in which the person that has the winning ticket must survive to sundown, while everyone else that has a losing ticket is trying to kill them. If somebody with a losing ticket manages to kill the person with the winning ticket before sundown they can claim the prize as their own. Katie unknowingly and accidently activates a ticket and after a disastrous audition the lotto draws her name, and everyone around her starts to try to kill her. Noel swoops in to the rescue and offers his services as a protection agent while hilariously beating people up without breaking a sweat. Together they try to survive and make it to sundown with everyone trying to kill her. 

    Great movie with action and comedy mixed together perfectly by John Cena who we expect nothing less from. Awkwafina has an amazing repeat performance in comedy action movie that I think is even better than the movie Ten Rings that was her first performance in the genre. The pair of actors worked great together feeding off each others energy in the action scene as well as the comedy. The movie is a mix of The Purge and The Hangover, hopefully this is not in the future of our country. I highly recommend this to any who like hilarious fight scenes and some vulgar humor, definitely not recommended for children or young teens.