A Book under the Sun

by Michelle Brown Note: This is a book review based on a free copy from the author. Many thanks go to the author for this generosity. This book is one of those few which catch me in a grip in the beginning and just force me to flip through the story, trying to unravel the mysteries and know the truth behind. It is, unfortunately, also another book which left me disappointed in its choice to sparingly use obscenities in its story. How employing such useless words in a book could make it into a better story is just beyond me. One-liner intro:  A original page turner of a horror story that is marred by obscenities. Best part:  Imaginative and original future world, which is getting harder to achieve since more and more stories featured an apocalyptic future; exploring a world of liberal gender relationship (this may not be 'best part' for different readers). Not-so-best part:  The use of obscenities, which is an obscenity unto itself; storytellin...

The end of August will see the return of MPH's book sales in Singapore EXPO. With volumes and price cuts to offer for your favorite paperbacks, hardcovers and magazines, this will be a bookworm's chance to replenish his stock, especially if he has missed the golden opportunity to do so in the last GSS (Great Singapore Sales). Date:             30th Aug (Fri) - 1st Sep (Sun) 2013 Admission:   (30th Aug) 3.00p.m. - 9.00p.m.                      (31st Aug - 1st Sep) 9.00a.m. - 9.00p.m. Entry fee:     Free Location:      Singapore EXPO, Hall 6B Website:        Singapore EXPO Events page  (link may expire after the event) View Singapore EXPO in Larger Map

written by James Lovegrove Being in love with Lovegrove’s novel, especially his Pantheon series, could be addictive. Even so, I was rather surprised to find that this latest story following the same pattern to be so disappointing. Although his style of military action never cease to run out of steam throughout the course of the novel, the novelty behind the idea seemed to have dwindled, leaving behind just a husk of a story which tried to continue the legacy of a bestselling series.  One-liner intro: Military action mythical sci-fi coupled with voodoo magic  Best part: Introduction of a relatively misunderstood religion and myth; military action  Not-so-best part: Voodoo priestess playing an unimportant role; lack of grandiose; disappointingly unimpressive gods and their manifestation

Just as the whole of Singapore celebrates the middle of the year with the annual GSS (Great Singapore Sales), so does all libraries in Singapore, but with its Double Your Loan promotion. So what are you waiting for? Go get double the amount you could borrow now! Date:            10 th  June - 11 th  Aug 2013 Admission:   10 a.m. - 9 p.m. daily (libraries within malls will follow the mall's opening hours) Entry fee:     Free Location:      All Singapore public libraries

written by Mark Millar penciled by Bryan Hitch Doctor Doom had been the antagonist of the Fantastic Four for as far back as I had read Marvel Comics. You wouldn’t get one without getting the other, and you wouldn’t get a good Fantastic Four story without exploring how the villain plotted against the family or how he was involved even though the situation didn’t involve Doom directly. As cruel as he gets, even Doom has a master. So who would be powerful enough to make even the evil doctor bow to and call him master?  One-liner intro: A brilliantly engaging read with twists and turns to get you hooked to the question: Who is the Master of Doom?  Best part: Showing that even Doctor Doom has a teacher; death of Uatu (not really…); really surprising twists in the beginning.  Not-so-best part: A rather dull final part wanes off to a rather usual ending; a more brilliant stroke by one of the most brilliant mind in Marvel-verse would be nice.

written by Brian Michael Bendis  colored by Butch Guice  Whenever I read Marvel Comics, I felt that the characters and stories are a little too constrained by the endless revival of heroes and villains, as well as the fact that no matter how bad the villain becomes, he always get away through jail time. Add on to that is the fact that most characters no longer has any surprises left in them, all of them explorer throughout decades of comic publishing and repeated revamps.  Ultimate Comics related characters are another story entirely. Even though the familiar characters are present in this universe, they no longer share the same background. To add on to the suspense, certain familiar characters have been cast in different light, taking on the role of another character when you thought they couldn’t be related in any way.  And to add more suspense onto even that, your familiarity with the Marvel universe will surprise you even more, when it was re...

Starfighters of Adumar was the ninth and last of the novel in the popular X-Wing series before the long lull in the series. With the launch of Mercy Kill , I went back to reread the novel and to get myself back into the seat of Rogue Squadron before I go ahead to read the latest installation of the series.  One-liner intro:  An engaging read of how pilots practice diplomacy - through aggressive negotiations! Best part:  A fresh departure from usual space fights; intriguing read on Wedge's love life; hilarious dialogues to entertain readers in between fights. Not-so-best part:  Unimpressive enemies; unimpressive tactics and strategies.

I was drawn to I Am Number Four initially because of the attention grabbing title and its mention of humble backwater Malaysia, but I returned to grab the sequel because of the drama it introduced in the former.  This time Pittacus Lore blessedly shed most of the mushy romance that is part of an adolescence love story, and focused more on the struggle of a displaced alien from another planet. The plot is more captivating this round, with more to offer compared to the first book. Definitely a better read in my opinion.  One-liner intro: A superb, intense and captivating teen read on @$-kicking aliens on the run, with more dramatic powers but less mushy romance.  Best part: Less mushy, more fighting; good contrast between 2 protagonists that allows the reader to easily shift from one perspective to the other; tying up loose ends from the first title. Not-so-best part: Not so bright protagonist; no clever use of the available powers.

written by J. Michael Straczynski pencils by Shane Davis After Straczynski's bout in Marvel ended with the death of May Parker in The Amazing Spiderman  and another death of a member of Fantastic Four, he was signed up by DC Comics to work on the character of Superman. The character of Superman was quite intriguing, with his history seldom changing and the character had always been Kal-El/Clark Kent. Having said that, modern readers are becoming more serious, demanding stories with more depth to it, stories which provoke thought and invoke emotions. It seemed that Straczynski's work on the character was precisely to redefine the character's initial days as a superhero, rewriting on what we know of Superman. And his initial work of Superman: Earth One  was quite an impressive work IMHO.