Reviews Week 21

 Reviews Week 21

May 23rd- 29th

Book 57: Jim Henson's Storyteller: Witches

by S.M. Vidaurri, Kyla Vanderklugt, Matthew Dow Smith, Jeff Stokely

Read May 13th-25th

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"The Magic Swan Goose & the Lord of the Forest"- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really enjoyed the plot of this story and also the style of the illustrations. It was so beautiful to look at. It was my favorite out of the collection.

"The Snow Witch"- ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was quite an interesting story, with a pretty good illustration style. A good fairy tale that I did like quite a bit.

"The Phantom Isle"- ⭐⭐

I didn't like this story or the illustration style. It was just okay.

"Vasilissa the Beautiful" - ⭐⭐⭐

This was definitely the most beautiful of the stories and the story was pretty good. This is the only one out of the collection that I had known the story before. Well, at least a version of the story.

Book 58: Jim Henson's Storyteller: Dragons

by Daniel Bayliss

Read May 25th

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"Song of the Serpent"- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This story was great! It was the most beautiful of this collection and the story was my favorite. I enjoyed the story of the father and the son. The sacrifice that the father makes for his son was beautiful and touching. I love the Storyteller's little intrudes throughout this tale, especially with his dog. 

"The Worm of Lambton" - ⭐⭐

I didn't really enjoy this story too much. Though I did like that they made illustrations throughout that looked like an old Medieval tapestry. That was a neat little addition. 

"Albina" - ⭐⭐⭐

An okay story with stunning illustrations. 

"Samurai's Sacrifice"- ⭐⭐

Another okay story with pretty good illustrations. This had much more of a traditional dragon in the story than the rest of them did. 

Book 59: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Primary Phase

by Douglas Adams

Read May 25th

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Over the last ten years, I have read or listened to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy a lot. It has always been one of my absolute favorite books and this time around, I decided to listen to the original radio drama that the book was based on. This was such an enjoyable experience that brought so much more to the story. It was great having the different narrators for each of the roles, all of them embodying the characters perfectly. Also, the great sound effects brought even more to this production. I will definitely be continuing with the radio show whenever I get the opportunity. 

I highly recommend listening to this to the fans of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and also for those who love great humor. 

Book 60: The Eyre Affair 

by Jasper Fforde 

Read May 23rd- 28th

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I first want to start out this review by saying that I almost put this book down and I'm so glad that I didn't. This was a book that I have wanted to read for years because it sounded right up my alley. An adult version of Inkheart or a book like that. I will forever be drawn to books where there are book-loving characters that are able to enter a story. It's many a dream of us booklovers. 

I will also say that I am not a person that usually reads a mystery. I love mysterious elements in fantasy a lot but I'm not someone who picks up a book that is in the mystery genre. Well, at least not too often anyway. I love mystery television and movies though, which I watch a lot with my dad. This book had a great mixture of the fantastical/science fiction elements along with the overall mystery. We get famous literary characters, writers, book conspiracies, time travel, and so much more in this gem of a book. 

 The beginning of this book was not drawing me in, and I will say right now that it would have been a two-star read for me. That was until about halfway into the book. Then, this book got so damn good. I was hooked in and could not get enough of it at that point. I won't spoil what happens, but I loved it and I hope that the rest of the series is like that because I will love it if it is.

I especially am hoping that the end is hinting at the plot of the next book. With the literary work that is discussed. That would be awesome. This book will not be for everyone, but I am so glad that I continued on with it. I found a new series that I plan on reading throughout the rest of this year. 

Book 61: Monstrous Regiment

by Terry Pratchett

Read May 22nd-29th

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This was a pretty good book, but I didn't enjoy it as much as most of Terry's other books. It had some good discussions on gender roles, that are still prevalent today. I did enjoy the fact that we followed characters from a different section of the Discworld and just to see their opinions on war and other more important issues. 

“This was not a fairy-tale castle and there was no such thing as a fairy-tale ending, but sometimes you could threaten to kick the handsome prince in the ham-and-eggs.”

There is a major focus on women working in roles that are usually men-led, at least in this part of the Discworld. We see Polly join the army, pretending to be a male. Very similar to the way Mulan joins in her movie, but this story goes in a direction that I was not quite expecting at all when I started. Which I should have figured from Terry. I won't spoil that part of the plot but it was quite enjoyable as you learn more and more about the soldiers that are part of Polly's regiment. 

“The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they've found it.”

A story about a group of misfits that are just trying to escape the life they were living or find someone that they are missing. We get a vampire, an Igor, a troll, a religious fanatic, and so many others. Along with familiar faces such as Sam Vimes and Angua. Over the course of the book, they helped change the war and also form a tight-knit group you can't help but grow attached to.