The City of Glass

I have started reading the book City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. It is part of a series called the Mortal Instruments. The series is about a girl named Clary that gets mixed up with a world full of monsters. A group called the Shadowhunters bring peace in the world of fairies, werewolves, vampires, and demons. Clary learns that she has Shadowhunter’s blood, when her mother is kidnapped. Now, she is going to the capital city of the Shadowhunters, which is called Alicante, to find her mother.

When I’ve read the title: The City of Glass, I’d thought about New York with all those skyscrapers and buildings made of glass and steel. The thing is that the city of Alicante does not have any glass buildings. It is a normal, wood and brick city. This is very interesting because the author gives this title, but in reality the city is not of glass at all. I hope that later in the book there will be something to clear this out.

I think that this mysterious title, City of Glass, means something else than just the glass as a material. Glass is very smooth and shiny. This can suggest that some of the characters might be nice on the outside (smooth and shiny), but really they are deadly, just like glass is. You can see through glass, but also it gives you some shadowy reflection. Glass and mirror’s reflection are always misleading: your right is left in the mirror. Many of the characters lie to each other, although they try to show themselves clear like a glass. There is also one more characteristic of glass: when is broken, it is sharp and can hurt.

There is a little bit of dramatic irony here: as we read, we learn some things about the characters, but they don’t know that yet or may not ever find out. Life around us is exactly the same: we hide our bad habits, showing only our “good side", but other people talk behind our back and draw a picture of us much different from our own.  

So, I am really into this intriguing story and hope that Clary will uncover the truth by “seeing through” other characters and find her mom. But hope is again like glass, can be easily shattered.      

The Power of Six II

I finished this book and liked it a lot, maybe even better than the first one. In the first post about this book, I said what the book was about. So if you’re reading this and have no idea what I’m talking about, just read my first post about The Power of Six.

This book is told from two perspectives: John Smith, aka Number Four and also a girl named Marina, who happens to be Number Seven. John is still running away from the Mogadorians and the police, while Marina is incognito in a monastery. They have different ideas and different priorities. The author presents them to a reader and leaves it to his/her emotions. At the end of the book, Number Six meets up with Marina and John finds Number Nine. Now, they want to meet up and fight back against the Mogadorians because they are ready. Their powers have been completed and they have many allies.

I’ve studied these four aliens and I had learned a lot about their race. Each of them has different powers called Legacies. For example, John has telekinesis (the ability to move objects with his mind.) Six has the ability to become invisible and Marina has the ability to heal rapidly. Most Loriens (the name of their race) love only one person for life, but John it’s different. Before he loved Sarah but now he starts having feelings about number Six. This makes them more human. They also have different characteristics, which are more like human characteristics. John, for example, is determined, funny, hopeful, and loyal. Marina is patient, loving, optimistic, loyal and hopeful. Maybe you are like this or have a friend with these characteristics? The more these aliens stay on Earth, the more they become human like, with special powers of course.  

So, once again we humans think that aliens are so similar to us. Is this because we are so proud and sure we are the best, although still short of special power? Was the Superman an alien or human? Anyway, the book is fun to read and good to study human traits. 

The Power of Six

Three are dead. I Am Number Four. I have to say, I really enjoyed I Am Number Four by Pitticus Lore. It is full of action and suspense. I finished that book a couple of days ago and now am reading the sequel: The Power of Six. Usually, I think in a series, the first books are the best but I might have to think about that. This book, at least so far, is better than the first. It has a better plot and it is even more action packed. I’m already up to half of the book! I’m not saying the first book is boring. Well, maybe some parts are a little slow. However, both are good.

First I should tell you what I Am Number Four is about. Nine, very special aliens are sent to the Earth to escape from another species of aliens: the Mogadorians. The Mogadorians are hunting them down because they know those nine aliens are the only ones to stop them from destroying humanity. Three of the aliens are dead. The main character, John, is number four. He meets up with the sixth alien, a female. Now John, the Number Six, and Sam, John’s best friend, are running away from the Mogadorians but also looking for the other aliens.

       During their runaway, feelings start to grow. John is starting to think about Number Six more than about his girlfriend, Sarah. It seems like he is starting to have feelings for her. This might cause problems.

First Sam has a crush on Six as well, so he might be jealous. Second, they are heading back to where Sarah lives to find something Sam’s dad hid. When she learns that John likes Number Six, it could lead to problems. Sarah is not telling the police the truth because she thinks John still loves her. If she realizes that he doesn’t anymore, she might tell the police and betray them because of her anger. If she does this, the police will most likely capture them and that will bring the Mogadorians to them.  I don’t think it’s such a good idea to go back. All these things could happen. On the other hand, if they do find what Sam’s dad hid, it might bring all of John’s kind together which will be a great advantage against the Mogadorians.   

It is so interesting that the author puts the very “human feelings” into the alien character. It means that love, hate, jealousy or anger are “universal feelings” in the Universe.  Is this a call against evolutionists? Would it be possible that different species from different worlds have the same feelings and values, or we are all created into an image of the Universal God?  

The Tristan Betrayal

I am reading The Tristan Betrayal, a book of acclaimed bestselling author, Robert Ludlum. It is about an American spy on his mission to deceive army commands of Adolf Hitler during World War II. To do this, he must give specially prepared documents about Red Army to his old time flame girlfriend, so she could pass it on to her German “boyfriend.” This is a hard thing to do. He must lie to her in order to convince her and agree to do it. He is putting her and her father in danger. He has to make a difficult choice between the love of his nation, and the love of his life.

The main character, Stephen Metcalfe is in love with his past time girlfriend, Lana. He is on a spy mission to Moscow during the winter of 1941. A short, “friendly” non-aggression pact between Stalin’s Russia and Hitler’s Third Reich is about to change. He receives an order to pass fake, secret documents to the Germans. The only way to do it is through his youth love, Svetlana. A beautiful Prima Ballerina is in a forced relationship with a German officer, who threatens to denounce her father. Metcalfe loves Lana, but in order to complete his mission, his love is questioned. He must either lie to her and use her or deny the mission.   The turn of the World War II depends on this mission. Despite that he tells her she is going to save Russia; he knows this would make Germany attack her country. Someone has to pay the price for saving Great Britain and the rest of the free World.

Once again a life and happiness of a person is thrown down for wellbeing of others. Metcalfe uses Lana for this reason, but he is used as well. They have to kill and sacrifice this love for “higher reasons.”

You may feel sorry for Lana. She is used in a very crooked way. She is risking everything and Metcalfe knows that. How dare he?!

Looking from the other side, he suffers even more. He knows exactly what he is putting her into and the possible consequences. He truly loves her and this makes things even worse.

Revenge of the Sith: The life of Anakin Skywalker

Releasing the Star Wars Saga in 3-D brought me back to the Revenge of the Sith. No, I’m not a nerd reading Star Wars. I wanted to see how it was as a book.

If any of you did see the star wars movies, you would know who Anakin is. Anakin is the main character in the first three movies of star wars. He was a jedi before he turned to the dark side. I was wondering why he did that and I think I found out why.

As a small boy, Anakin was a slave. He lived with his mother on a sandy planet called Tatooine. He was an unhappy boy and wanted freedom for himself and his mother. A Jedi Knight freed him but couldn’t free his mother. Anakin was very happy to be free but sad to leave his mother behind as a slave. When he grew up, love blinded him. A beautiful senator, Padme Amidala got in Anakin’s interest. Meanwhile, savage sand people killed his mom. He took revenge and killed them all. He never forgave himself that he couldn’t save his mother. Anger was growing inside of him.

More years past and he became a Jedi Knight. He was proud, risky and hot tempered. He was able to defeat Count Dooku, a Sith but the Jedi Council did not make him a Master. He felt under scored and left behind. Anakin was also frightened. He had dreams about Padme Amidala dying. He wanted to save her life. No one could help him except the chancellor. Even when he learned the chancellor was evil, he wanted to serve him for Padme’s life. He turned to the dark side and killed many jedi. Hatred flowed through him. Then he heard that Padme died giving childbirth. He was full of sorrow. Now he lost the two people he loved the most.

Anakin was not a bad person. His life was full of sorrow and unhappiness. He turned to the dark side hoping to change his destiny. He lost everything he had. He hated himself and deep inside was afraid of himself. He could not believe what he had become. Just before his death though, he saved his son, Luke Skywalker. That was one of the best choices he ever made.    

Ranger's Apprentice: Book 3 Reflection

I want to share my reflection about the Ranger’s Apprentice: The Icebound Land and found it very interesting. This is the third book in the series. This book takes place during the reign of kings and queens in a kingdom called Araluen. Rangers are a group of well trained people that are the king’s loyal guards. They carry out special quests and spread peace in the Kingdom. The story focuses on a Ranger’s apprentice, named Will. In the previous book, a battle takes place and Will gets captured along with the king’s daughter, Evanlyn. Now they are fighting for survival. Halt, Will’s master is trying to find Will, even if it means disobeying the king.

The Icebound Land has two perspectives: Will’s and Halt’s.  The style of the author, John Flanagan is very cool. On one chapter, it is Will’s perspective. Then at the end of the chapter, he stops at a suspenseful moment, making you to read more and find out what will happen next. However, when you go into the next chapter, narration shifts the view to Halt’s perspective. I think, I’ve finished this book in only two days because I had always read on, after the chapter ended with a suspenseful moment.  

Unexpectedly I found this book a little bit less interesting than the first two. Somehow I was often able to predict what may happen later, and usually, I was right. Although the third book in the series is more packed with action, overall it is not as good as the first one.

The “thing” that caught my attention is the absolute loyal, ready to sacrifice friendship of Halt. He is disobeying king’s orders to find Will and Evanlyn. The king is tied up with the enemies of his kingdom. To the king, the State is more important than family, but not for Halt. He is risking everything to save Will. Friendship doesn’t have a price. Are we ready to do something like this in the name of friendship? Are we brave enough to do it against all odds? 

The Da Vinci Code II

I have finished The Da Vinci Code and liked it a lot. I especially liked the twist at the end, when it turned out who was Langdon’s adversary to find the Grail. While reading, I always had a question in my mind: why is Langdon trying to find the Grail, even if it means the end of his life. It is a very hard question to answer but I think I figured it out.

In the book, a murdered victim leaves a message to Langdon, right before his death. This message has some clues to possibly find the Holy Grail, which is Langdon’s dream. His friend asks him in the book why he is pursuing these clues to find the Grail. Langdon replies saying he’s a historian and he wants to discover all the unsolved mysteries in life. That might be true. As a little boy, I always wondered about the Holy Grail. I saw the movie Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade where he and his father try and find the Grail. Also, I read the book about King Arthur and the Grail and wanted to learn more about it.

Now the question is: what are Langdon’s intentions? Many historians pursue what they want to learn. Langdon is more determined than most historians I’ve read about. In the book we learn that the Grail is supposedly a woman: Mary Magdalene, a companion of Jesus. It says that she was married to Jesus and had his baby, who then becomes the protoplast of a long dynasty in Europe. Finding the Grail could prove or deny this legend. Langdon follows his dream up to risking his life for scientific reasons but he is also driven by his responsibility and care for the people and world. He knows that other people look for the Grail for their selfish, criminal and murderous reasons. He can predict what could happen when Grail gets into such people and how much problems it can bring. He sees himself as the only one that can “save the world.” It is just another James Bond, Jason Bourne or Ethan Hunt.

And this is what makes this book good. An old war between good and evil takes all you have to offer and in return puts your life in stake, but the prize is worth doing it. This is what makes this genre so great, popular and successful. The controversial material just adds more spices to the book and does good publicity. I am ready to follow Professor Langdon in his search of mysteries.