Reading Challenge - 66 to 70

66 - Minority Report by Philip K. Dick

This is actually a short story, although I have it as a book. A very small book, that can be read in a flash. But that doesn't mean it's light or simple.

There is much going on on this book. Not only it deals with paradoxes and alternate futures, there is also ethics and philosophy woven in it. The end is not surprising, but the build up to it is great, so much that there is no desire to put the book down.

I really wished that this story was written as a novel, not a short story, because what I got was a taste of something good, and I'd love to read more on this.

(4/5)

[Full Review]

67 - Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones

Castle in the Air is a sequel to companion to book set in the same world as book written by Diana Wynne Jones where Howl also appears. I loved Howl's Moving Castle, so I really was expecting more of the same in this book. And I really shouldn't have because this book is not about Howl, and he is not even important to the story.

If I started this book with expectations of a story with the characters from the first book, by the time one of them finally appeared I only wanted to know about these new amazing characters.

This is a good book, one that I feel that everyone should read – young and adult readers alike.

(4/5)

[Full Review]

68 - Last of the Wilds by Trudi Canavan

Last of the Wilds is the second book on the Age of the Five trilogy. Priestess of the White ended with the aftermath of the religious war between the Circlians and Pentadrians.

What I liked on the first book is exactly what I liked on this one. The third side of the matter, the world-building, the different races, and the emotional struggle of the characters regarding their beliefs and their way of living. It is all there, and then some more.

[Full Review]

(4/5)

69 - Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges

This is a collection of fantastical short-stories, divided into two books. There is no connection between the stories, and not all of them are good. But a lot of them are great.

Borges does have a special ability to write about fictional things in a way that makes you believe it is real, no matter how fantastical it seems. There are stories of impossible books and inexistent encyclopaedias of inexistent nations, of men that are not men, of lotteries, of labyrinths and infinity and libraries.

These stories are somewhat philosophical, and they do make you think. I hope to keep on reading books by Jorge Luis Borges.

(4/5)

70 - Artemis Fowls: The Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer

It has been years since I last read Artemis Fowl. And boy, it's good to be back to that world of fairies and 12 years old (well, now 14) evil masterminds.

Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code is a really nice book. Eoin Colfer's writing is quirky and the story is fun – you never notice that time is passing while you read it. And you don't have to be an young adult to enjoy it!

(4/5)

[Full Review]

Minority Report by Philip K. Dick

Minority Report

This is actually a short story, although I have it as a book. A very small book, that can be read in a flash. But that doesn't mean it's light or simple.

As a disclaimer I should point out that I haven't seen the movie that is based on this story, even if my edition has Tom Cruise staring at me on the cover. I had no idea what it was about, and I had the book on my shelf because it was an offer on a book fair.

Despite all the books I've read of the genre, I still have this silly notion that I don't like Science Fiction. I always approach such a book with care and precaution. It is silly, really, because I like Science Fiction. And this book is exactly why I like it – it is well written with a good plot that makes you think. Even if it is just a short story. (Also it is a dystopia – shall I repeat once again that I love those?)

Minority Report is set in our world, in a distant future where there are space colonies. But that's just the backdrop. The most important feature of this world is that crime doesn't exist, because criminals are punished before committing the act, therefore never committing it.

Our main character, John Anderton, is the head of the institution responsible for discovering the crimes and punishing the criminals, Precrime. This is done through three mutants known as “precogs”, that can “see” the future, each one issuing a report with the prediction.

When Anderton receives a final report stating that he is going to murder someone he suspects that someone is setting him up, and will try to clear his name even if it means fleeing justice.

There is much going on on this book. Not only it deals with paradoxes and alternate futures, there is also ethics and philosophy woven in it. The end is not surprising, but the build up to it is great, so much that there is no desire to put the book down.

I really wished that this story was written as a novel, not a short story, because what I got was a taste of something good, and I'd love to read more on this.

(4/5)