Pines Trilogy

- By Blake Crouch

Wayward Pines is a tiny town with population of four hundred and sixty one. People are friendly and they live in Victorian style houses surrounded by picket fences and have barbeques on a nice Summer evening, with crickets chirping in the woods nearby. They live in the moment and smile and laugh and engage in social rituals. In short, they live in paradise on earth, where their kids go to school which does not give them any homework! Anyone who visits the town is persuaded to stay there by the sheer beauty it offers.

Ethan Burke is a Secret Service agent who travels to Wayward Pines, Idaho, in search for missing agents, along with another Secret Service Agent Stallings. In a freak accident, he finds himself on the side of a river, without a wallet or phone or badge or gun, severely battered with no memory of where he was and what happened. He begins walking along the town roads, with severe headache and tries to remember anything about the roads or the houses he seem to find himself amongst. Finding the locals, he starts asking them questions and their answers were not very forthcoming. However, his loss of memory is short lived and upon receiving a treatment at the local hospital, he seems to remember where he was and what he had to do. However, the Sherriff in town was not very supportive, nor were the locals. He seems to think that there is something wrong with the town, because all his attempts at finding the answers seems to be thwarted, either by recurring headaches or the Sherriff or the locals.

He meets a bartender girl, Beverly, who seems to be the only one willing to provide him answers. But in an intended display of mob mentality, Beverly is torn apart by the locals and Ethan is left alone to find answers he came looking for and trying to find an escape route from this town, which seemingly looks like an impossible task, because the exit roads seem to loop back into the town. And when he finds the other missing agent, Kate, who seems to not only be happily settled in the town, but looks much more aged that he remembers her to be, he thinks he may be losing his mind. Warned by her to just adapt and not try to escape, because they are watching and listening, with sensor activated cameras in trees, street lamps and houses, he realizes that he cannot live in this jail, however beautiful it looks from the outset. So, he sets off into the woods, only to find the town  boundary surrounded by an electrical fence which looks like it could fry anything that approaches it, with a warning about danger beyond the fence. However, he is determined to leave the town and he keeps walking further into the woods and finds himself climbing an impossible mountain in the hope of escaping the town. During his climb, he encounters an almost human looking monster called an abby, that is bent on killing him. In the struggle ensued, he kills it and escapes into a cave that he crawls into, only to find himself back in the hospital.  David Pilcher, the psychiatrist tries to calm him down, when Ethan refuses to stay another minute in the town without understanding what is going on. That is when he is told the truth that they are the only living human kind on the planet and that the year is three thousand and the remaining human species is extinct and the earth is taken over by abbies. He is taken to the town fence and is shown the borders.

The eccentric David Pilcher is the one who orchestrated this entire charade of civilization to keep a semblance of peace in the last humane society. When Ethan questions as to why he could not just tell the people the truth, he explains that having told the people the truth, people refused to believe it and killed themselves and hence he had no choice but to enforce rules and consequences for breaking the rules. And he urges Ethan to take the role of Sherriff and handle the peace keeping in the town. Thus, Ethan finds himself now holding the secret about human kind and playing the charade along with everyone. However, as with every well set society, there are rule breakers and when its discovered that few people in the town have found ways of communicating without being discovered, he is asked to investigate. And his investigation leads him to a place in forest, where a group of people have let go of the charade and are breaking all the rules and talking about their past lives and sharing their emotions. Ethan empathizes with the group, but being the Sherriff and for the greater good, he could not disclose what is going on. Having found himself in a situation where he needs to maintain the charade, yet his core values push him to explain the truth to his fellow companions, he is forced to walk on the fence line of right and wrong. The rest of the series focuses on how Ethan burke embraces the truth about human extinction and how me makes his choices at every turn for the greater good.

Wayward Pines, by Blake Crouch is a no non-sense, fast paced thriller that is guaranteed to scintillate all your adrenaline senses. It tells a fascinating science fiction tale that engages the reader and talks about the people who live in a seemingly beautiful paradise with enforced rules. It is a page turner and a definite read for all mystery/science fiction lovers.

Happy Reading fella readers!!

Harry Potter

- By J.K.Rowling

When I was introduced to Harry Potter series, I was twenty three. I have never heard of the name Harry Potter before that. And being an avid reader, I tell you, most of my friends were surprised that I have not read Harry Potter by then. So, I took their word and read a couple of chapters of Harry Potter and Philosopher's stone in Crossword and was hooked. I picked the entire series that day and completed the series in three days and nights. I tell you, I could not believe that I lived in a non-Harry Potter world until then. And since then, I have read Harry Potter enough number of times that it should be recorded as a crime, honestly! But when it is Harry Potter, written as J.K.Rowling has done, it is a crime to NOT have read it, oh, at least a million times!! So, now you know, I am crazy about this series.

J.K.Rowling created a magical world that can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. She created adventures that are thrilling and characters that are easy to connect with. As thoroughly enjoyable as the stories are, the relationships and the values portrayed throughout the stories, kept me hooked to them. These books have made such phenomenal character study for me.

Harry Potter, for his experiences, should have been bitter with life, should have wanted to throw tantrums and scream at the unfairness of it all. Yet, he manages to be a grounded person with amazing strength of character and phenomenal amount of grit that should raise goosebumps for anyone. Parallel to him, his nemesis, Voldemort, with similar background grows to be cunning, solitary, dark, friendless wizard hell bent on destroying the world. Harry finds himself with friends who are loyal, courageous and generous, while Voldemort is surrounded by people who are afraid of him, whom he mistreats as servants rather than confidantes.

The books all lead to the grand showdown between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. Voldemort is a supremely powerful wizard, who crossed the realms of dark magic and considers himself unbeatable. Harry Potter is still studying in the school of witchcraft and wizardry. He is a novice in magic. The fight between these two should have been completely one-sided, yet Harry's ability to still love despite everything life has shown him, gives him the one strength that Voldemort did not have. His determination to stand up for the greater good despite all the odds, his perseverance when the ride gets bumpy, his trust in his friends and his kindness to all magical creatures alike make him a cut above Voldemort. And hence, the showdown was a phenomenal ride for me.

Aside from such thrilling tale of two wizards, these stories also teach a lot of values:
- life can be difficult, but with loyal friends, it could turn out to be a fascinating adventure
- that sometimes, evil may have the upper hand, but in the end, good will always triumph
- that no matter how small you are and how naive you are, persistence and hard work will pay dividends in the end
- that no amount of love is enough and to keep loving despite all odds is a tribute one can give to one's life

Every time, I am compelled to read the series as a whole. I could never stop myself with just reading a single book of the series and every time I choke up by the ending. I am overwhelmed with the emotions that gush up by the time I am done with the series. Every time, they rage wildly inside me from the beginning, turning into a mini tornado as the series progresses. Love, hate, anger, despair, surprise, heart break, joy and triumph - all ride in one huge rainbow until the very end and burst out like sparkles at the very end.

There are a lot of characters in the novels and most of them are quite dear to me. Hermione Granger, the little miss-know-it-all and Ronald Weasley - with his surprising courage and loyalty, Harry's two best friends through his adventures, who stand with him until the very end, form an integral part of this series. The relation between these three is fabulously portrayed and is quite entertaining to the readers. Weasley twins are hilarious pranksters who liven up the sometimes dull moment. Albus Dumbledore is another favorite character of mine, who is a genius with prodigal skill and the master behind the triumph of good in the end. Dobby, the house elf! Ah, I was in tears when he died. Severus Snape - I share a love hate relationship with this character, but to borrow Harry's words- he is one of the bravest character of the series. Sirius Black -this is one character I absolutely want a bit more of!! It just wasn't enough. Harry should by all means have had more time with him. But that is just a testimony to J.K.Rowling's penmanship in creating characters that are so enjoyable and loving.

I urge everyone to read the phenomenon called Harry Potter and enjoy the ride into the realms of magic. It is beautiful and brilliant.

Outlander (Sassenach)

 - By Diana Gabaldon

Outlander - punched me in the gut, shattered my heart, splintered my spleen, yet it managed to push me to the finish line, overwhelmed with emotions ranging from love to hate. But, at the end of it all, I loved it. I loved the story, I loved the characters, I loved the author's narration. It is a historical romantic page turner, even for non-romantics and that is saying something.

Frank Randall, Jamie Fraser, Claire Randall (Claire Beauchamp), Jonathan Randall, to name a few- are all such intricate characters, who left me staggered, helpless, distraught and passionately in love with most of them. If you read the book, you will know why I could love only few, while I desperately want to strangle a few. And I am quite sure, I am not the only one, wrung with those feelings, having arrived a little late to the Outlander party!

 Diana Gabaldon captured my interest and kept me hooked through an entertaining saga of history and politics, war and violence, passion and masochism, bravery and morality, interlaced with a trickle of time travel. She tells a compelling story with sympathetic protagonists, mainly characterizing a strong female lead who is fortunate to find love in the present time as well as in the past, when she finds herself thrown back by two hundred years and has the presence of mind to handle herself in a war driven Scottish highlands of 1700s.

The story begins with the portrayal of a loving marital relationship between Frank and Claire Randall, exploring Inverness on their second honeymoon post second world war, in 1945. Claire, a retired war time nurse who takes up Botany explores Inverness for specimens of plants and flowers, while Frank, an Oxford history professor explores his genealogy when he finds a scrap of paper indicating that his ancestor had something or other in this region back in the eighteenth or seventeenth century. 

Introduced to the miniature stone henge set in the form of a circle of stones, by a local botanist, Claire is fascinated with the beautiful yet eerie testimonial. As a novice botanist set on exploring the local specimens, she finds herself at the stone henge on Beltane (an ancient Celtic festival). On touching the stone, she hears a vivid screaming that has her stumbling back and falling down, literally through time, into a war driven Scottish highlands of 1743, two hundred years from her now! Ofcourse, she had no idea the instant she opened her eyes that she was in another time, where she wasn't even born! And in that fraction of a second, on that fateful Beltane day, her life changed, from being in a loving relationship with her husband to being thrown back in time and in the day's course of events, finds herself, assaulted, threatened, kidnapped and jostled. From being in the comforts of the nineteenth century, to being thrown back to seventeenth amidst the Jacobite uprising and clan wars, with nothing but her wits and mind, Claire has an uphill task of finding her way back to her time and her husband.

Diana Gabaldon authoritatively portrays the historical time of Jacobite Rising, weaving an intrinsic web with laborious detail, sparingly brushed with humor and liberally laced with passion and pain, bursting with violence and staying appallingly true to the living conditions of 1743.

 Scotland has always been a place of romance for me. Rich in its history and folklore, Scottish heroes have always harbored a romantic notion in my heart. When I read the book, with absolutely no back drop, I did not see the time travel element coming! It starts off rather slowly, but once Claire finds herself in 1743 Scotland, the story progresses rather rapidly. The author managed to capture my attention with the story that made me turn the pages faster than I thought possible, because of the sheer insanity of the story line, of a modern time female, living in a male dominated society, finding herself in situations that are rather mind numbing to me, personally. (WHAT?!?.)

For a wartime nurse, gunshots and mortal wounds are an everyday thing. But, it certainly is something to witness the crime and punishment of the then era. And it certainly is another, to cut and stitch people up without pain killers or disinfectants! I swear, I had goosebumps when I read few passages. But, running underneath it all, is the love she finds in Jamie, an outlawed convict. Torn between infidelity and passion, between reason and reality, she sure had a tough time in the seventeenth century!! Poor Claire!!

Jamie has fast become one of my favorite fictional characters of all the time, with his humility, his presence of mind and untamed passion! Oh Jamie, how my heart aches for you!!! Why, O Why could you just not be a knight in shining armor, with a valiant heart and blue eyes? Why did you have to be a convict running from law? Gah!! His character is one of my favorite in the novel, from being a laird of Lallybroch who had to run away from home and family treading on danger with every step he takes, to finding his soul mate in Claire (his Sassenach (Outlander) as he fondly calls her), he sure is a character portrayed to touch everyone's heart, especially a female's!

Though time travel was what kicks the novel to a jump start, it does not reoccur in this novel, the first in the series of eight novels. Each novel is lengthy, rich in detail and authentic in depiction of the period time. It certainly is not for the faint hearted! But for every zealous reader, who loves a story set in periodic times, for the romantics and non-romantics alike, this is an unadulterated pleasure to read. And for those who have no patience to read the novel, the series is being telecasted as a show on Starz and so far, the TV series stays true to the novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical tale and I hope you do too!!

The Vampire Academy

- By Richelle Mead

I absolutely and thoroughly enjoyed this series, from the word GO! It is that fabulous, that I look less than three days to complete the entire series and achingly wanted more of the characters and the story.

The story is, quite obviously, about Vampires. The intrigue comes from the part that, there are good vampires, Moroi and bad vampires, Strigoi and then the almost humans who are stronger than humans, the Dhampirs, who guard and protect the good vampires from the bad vampires. This series does not have the star crossed lovers enigma of Twilight series or The Vampire Diaries, but still manages to hold the readers interest with its quick wit, easy flow and tremendous amount of emotions, sensual and dark.

The Dhampirs are called the Guardians and they are like these Ninja assassins, only much more faster, skillful and ruthless. They are the offspring of Moroi and Dhampirs and are not vampires, do not drink blood and are faster and stronger than the Moroi. The Moroi are living vampires, who drink blood, not to the extent that kills their feeders and they can work magic with the elements like air, fire, water, earth and spirit. The Strigoi are the rouge undead vampires, who are either Moroi who killed and become undead by choice or are humans, Dhampirs or Moroi, who are bitten by Strigoi and turned against their will. They are wicked, strong, fast with a longing for Moroi blood.

The Moroi study their magic and Dhampirs study their offensive and defensive battle tactics in a Vampire academy called the St Vladimirs Academy. The Moroi and the Dhampirs have the law declared by the ruling royal family that they need to abide to. And the Strigoi, aiming to create an imbalance try to pick off the royal families that form the law. And one such royal family is the Dragomir family and the last known blood of the Dragomir family, Vasilisa (Lissa) Dragomir studies in the academy, along with her best friend and guardian, Rosemarie Hathaway, known as Rose.

The entire series is told from Rose point of view, as she journeys from a student Dhampir to a Guardian and faces life threatening obstacles along the way. Headstrong, fiercely independent, she exhibits remarkable ability of understanding her duty towards Moroi, "they come first" being the mantra and she hardly ever fazes from that notion. This becomes more of a challenge when she falls in love with her instructor Dimitri Belikov, a respected Guardian, lethal and dangerous. Dimitri is Lissa's assigned guardian and in his own words, "I cannot fall in love with you, Roza. Because we are both Lissa's guardians and if there ever is a threat from anyone to her, I will have to put my life in front of hers and if I fall in love with you, I am afraid, I will put my life in front of yours,not hers." And so, the frowned romance tinlges its way, promising love and heartbreak.

As Rose journeys to protect her best friend Moroi, Lissa Dragomir from Strigoi and Moroi themselves, the bond that she has with Lissa proves monumental. Lissa being a spirit user and a healer, has the ability to heal people. Having brought Rose back from death using her unknown magical prowess, she bonds Rose with a curse. Rose can read and feel Lissa's mind, whereever she was. Apart from having a shadow-kissed guardian, which sometimes does not give her enough privacy in those moments of shared passion with her lover, Christian Ozera, another Moroi, Lissa has to battle her own inner demons that threaten to push her towards insanity with every usage of her spirit magic.

Rose, under the tutelage of Dimitri Belikov, progresses from a student to a lethal guardian who surpasses him in every way. She faces an uncompromising threat, as he becomes a Strigoi and promises to make her one or kill her. And her love and loyalty, are put to test. And there after are the series grittier sequences and plots.

The series portrays the relations between the characters remarkably. The love, the romance, the thrill, the gritty fights, the tests of friendships and loyalties, all are interwoven intrinsically and make this quite an intriguing read. A fiction lover can hardly put this down!