Eoin Colfer

My first run in with Eoin Colfer's books was his Artemis Fowl series. I had seen them in the book store and they always seemed to sell well. When my daughter started mentioning it, I decided to take the plunge. I read the first couple of books and an have been hooked ever since. Since my first reading of Artemis Fowl (I am planning on re-reading them all...), I have also tried his other books. It amazes me how different the books are and the different voices present in each. From "Artemis Fowl" which is a blend of fantasy and sci fi, to "Airman" which is an alternate reality of the 1800's, to "Half-Moon Investigations" which is like a young Sherlock Holmes meets a playground gumshoe. Each that I have read have been enjoyable and full of unexpected turns.

Moreover, my children have loved the books as well. We don't own all his books, nor have I read all his books as seen below, but those that we do own, we buy in hardbound. It Mr. Colfer writes a book, I am going to buy it eventually.

I haven't tried the Benny Shaw or Ed series yet. It is my understanding that they are targeting a younger audience than I usually read, but I will probably pick them up from the library one of these days.

I am very excited for the last Artemis Fowl which is supposedly due to come out early August. My goal will be to re-read the other books (and review them) before then. We'll see how that goes. Just started a new job, so might not have the time I normally do, but I am going to try.

Bibliography

• Benny Shaw
  • Benny and Omar - 1998
  • Benny and Babe - 1999
• Ed
  • Ed's Funny Feet - 2000
  • Ed's Bed - 2001
• Artemis Fowl
  • Artemis Fowl - 2001 (Have read)
  • Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident - 2002 (Have read)
  • Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code - 2003 (Have read)
  • Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception - 2005 (Have read)
  • Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony - 2006 (Have read)
  • Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox - 2008 (Have read)
  • Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex - 2010 (Soon to be released)
• Artemis Fowl Companion Books
  • Artemis Fowl: The Seventh Dwarf - 2004 (Short story, also found in "The Artemis Fowl Files")
  • The Artemis Fowl Files - 2004
  • Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel - 2007
  • Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident the Graphic Novel - 2007
• The Supernaturalist
  • The Supernaturalist - 2004 (Have read)
  • The Supernaturalist 2 - 2010 (Not released yet)
• Legend of...
  • Eoin Colfer's Legend of Spud Murphy - 2004
  • Eoin Colfer's Legend of Captain Crow's Teeth - 2006
  • Eoin Colfer's Legend of the Worst Boy in the World - 2007
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
  The first five novels written by Douglas Adams. This is a sixth.
  • And Another Thing... - 2009
• Standalone Novels
  • Going Potty - 1999
  • The Wish List - 2000
  • Half Moon Investigations - 2006 (Have read)
  • Airman - 2008 (Have read)
  • Click: One Novel ten authors, chapter 3 - 2007
  • Plugged - 2011 (Not released yet)

Brandon Sanderson

I was introduced to Brandon Sanderson's works about a year ago and have loved everything I have read. The first book I read of his was "Warbreaker". I have read through most of the rest of his books (still working through the Alcatraz series...) and am looking forward to others that are coming out. In general, the plots hold your attention, the story lines are believable (assuming you look past that his books are fantasy with magic and fictional creatures...), and his characters are well developed and deep. I usually have a very hard time putting down any of his books. Most of his books seem to target adults and older teenagers (Alcatraz being the exception). As a word of caution with his books, there tend to be a couple of very violent scenes in each of his book that will make most of them PG-13, if not border-line R in the violence category.

One of the most interesting aspects of his writing is that every world he creates in a given book or series has a different magic system. In one series, magic is based on ingesting specific metals and drawing powers from them. In another, you can collect partial "souls" of other people (they can only be passed to someone else voluntarily) and the more souls you have the stronger your magic abilities. In another, glasses that you wear contain different magic properties and the more you collect the greater your array of weapons/tools in your arsenal. And on and on. Often, when reading one of his books, I find myself wanting to read more simply to better understand the system.

Oddly enough, his style of different magic systems in each book is also a pet peeve of mine. In at least one of his books that I read, I felt I was playing a Pokeman game with people leveling up, etc. Along that line, much of the book revolves around the different systems. I would love to see him write a book without a new system. It has nothing to do with not liking his books. I am just curious to see how a book would turn out that had a system that is familiar to most people (or no magic at all) and see him focus all his attention on the storyline or characters. But like I mentioned, that is one of his hallmarks

Two series of books need to be called out as very different from the rest of his writings. First, his work with the late Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series. Before Jordan passed away of cardiac amyloidosis, he worked on completing as much as he could and sharing plot lines with family. After Jordan's passing, Sanderson was selected by the family to finish the series using the notes and details from Jordan. I will eventually re-read that book and get it into my blog. But the point being, this series has a very different feel to it than any of his other books. It seems that Sanderson tried hard to stay true to Jordan's characters and writing styles, and the books (at least the first) match closely with the previous books in the series. That must be a very tough assignment for a writer to build on a series that is so critically acclaimed, but Sanderson did a great job. In the series, this last book is one of my favorites.

The second is his Alcatraz (a youth, not the prison) series. The books are written in a light comical voice. The book is written in a first person style with the "author" being Alcatraz with a pen name of Brandon Sanderson. Then, throughout the book, Alcatraz gives some commentary to the reader. For example, often Alcatraz will tell us how how evil and bad authors are. This is because if you read a book and enjoy it, you feel bad there isn't more to read. If you read a book and don't enjoy it, you feel like you have wasted your time. So the point of reading, no matter how much you enjoy it, is to torment the reader. If you are looking for a serious read, these are not your books. But if you are looking for something light and quick, and don't mind a very interesting sense of humor, these are great.

Bibliography

• Elantris - 2005 (Stand alone novel, have read)
• Mistborn - Series
  • The Final Empire - 2006 (have read)
  • The Well of Ascension - 2007 (have read)
  • The Hero of Ages - 2008 (have read)
• Alcatraz - Series
  • Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians - 2007 (have read)
  • Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones - 2008
  • Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia - 2009
  • Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens - 2010 (Not yet released)
• Warbreaker - 2009 (Stand alone novel, have read)
• Wheel of Time - Series
  • The Gathering Storm - 2009 (have read)
  • Towers of Midnight - 2010 (Not yet released)
  • A Memory of Light - 2011 (Not yet released