Thursday, February 24, 2011

Soul Stealers & Annihilation = Bummer!!!!!

Heyo all,
It's Library Ninja Bill with what appears to be a very depressing post; if you just read the title. Let me tell ya something though....the end has never bee so fun!!! What the heck am I talking about? Check it out:




Warning: The Last Apprentice books can be quite scary as the creatures that a Spook must take on can do some pretty horrible stuff. So if you or your parents don't want you reading this sort of material, DON'T!!!!!!!!!




The Last Apprentice: Night of The Soul Stealer by Joseph Delaney - This is the third book in the series, following Revenge of The Witch and Curse of The Bane, and this title does not disappoint. The Spook (Mr. Gregory), his apprentice Tom and the young witch Alice are back dealing with more than ever before. In this story not only do they have to take on Stone-Chuckers and other beasties, but while wintering in the Spook's home in Anglezarke Tom meets the love of Mr. Gregory's life, Meg. Meg is a very dangerous witch that the Spook is keeping imprisoned by drugging her tea. Wait a minute, he loves her but keeps her memory of what she is fogged and distorted. This can only lead to bad things... Add to that an evil Necromancer, a mage who controls the dead for his own selfish purposes, named Morgan (who also was once the Spook's apprentice) and the return of an ancient god called Golgoth ("The Lord of Winter") and I'd say the Spook and company have a very full plate indeed!!!! This is a great series that just keeps getting better. If you click on "Curse of The Bane" above you can look at my review on this blog of that book. As for "Revenge of the Witch" read the next entry below.




The Last Apprentice: Revenge of The Witch by Joseph Delaney - Tom is the seventh son of a seventh son and in the world of magic that makes him extremely special. Tom lives in what appears to be medieval England (or around that time) and has just turned 12. At this age Tom is expected to start learning how to make his own way in the world. His mother knowing of his potential arranges for him to be the apprentice of a local Spook - Old Gregory. What is a Spook you ask? Why Spooks deal with the world of the supernatural. They deal with boggarts * gasp*, witches and all sorts of creatures that go bump in the night. Tom turns out to have the potential of becoming a great Spook under the tutelage of old Gregory, if his mistakes don't kill him as they did Old Gregory's previous apprentice. As you have probably guessed from the title of this book, one of Tom's first challenges is a very evil witch named Mother Malkin (read the book to find out how she got this name; it's pretty creepy). This is a great read and the first book in a series.




And Now For Something Completely Different:

 


Annihilation Book One by Keith Giffen, Dan Abnet, Andy Lanning, Scott Kolins, and more - Okay if you like your comics or graphic novels on a cosmic scale, well have I got the first GN in a series that is going to knock your block right off!!!!! This series has just about all Marvel's best outer space heroes allied against a mysterious juggernaut known only as The Annihilation Wave. The GN includes the pre-Annihilation mini-series Drax The Destroyer, The one-shot Annihilation Prologue and the four part Annihilation: Nova series. Okay what exactly does this all mean Bill? Well there is this extremely mighty destroying force that is crossing the Galaxy and destroying everything in it's path. In this first GN we are introduced to some of the good and bad guys who will go toe to toe. I'm talking Drax The Destroyer, Skulls, The Kree, Thanos, The Silver Surfer, Nova, Quasar, Ronan The Accuser and more!!!!! All of existence is in danger and the odds are stacked against the good guys. All the cards are on the table and there can be only one winner who takes all!!! Yea baby, don't get much better than this!!!!!!


Till next time kids!!!!

Peace!!!!!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Battle Frenzy, Thunder Gods, Tiny Titans and Other Zaniness!

Hello all. Well it's been a little while, but Library Ninja Bill is back!!!! Welcome and lets talk about some good reads!!!!

Here we go:




Black Hole Sun by David Macinnis Gill - If you like books that hit the throttle in a hurry and don't let off to the very end; boy this book is so for you! This book is set in the future where the planet Mars has been colonized and what goes for government is all but gone. In this awful environment any law that is enforced is done so by a group that would be best characterized as futuristic mercenary cowboys/samurai warriors known as Regulators. The main character in the book is Durango (a 17 year old teen who has an interesting past to say the least), a failed Regulator, who still upholds the noble tenants that Regulators once followed. Durango, who is well versed in sarcasm, is an interesting character made more so by the fact that his former Regulator Chief, Mimi, is now implanted in his brain as an artificial intelligence. The story is about him operating as a Regulator Chief to a rag tag team made up of such characters as his no nonsense first officer Vienne to the uncontrollable  shoot-em-up Leroy Jenkins. Each character in the book really holds their own as characters and are not dull or uninteresting. Durango and his crew basically take on a suicide mission to protect poor miners in the middle of nowhere who are being attacked by a cannibalistic race known as the Draeu and their queen (who has many secrets also). Once the bullets, plasma weapons and hand to hand combat starts, the intensity only keeps building to the end of the story. If you love nonstop action in a book and want one you will not be able to put down, well ya found your book!!! I Loved It!!!!!!!
This book is intended for teen readers because of violence mainly (hey lots of bullets and bombs go off) so if you are a younger reader check with your parents or guardians to make sure it's okay for you.







Pretty Cool Huh?



And what is one of Library Ninja Bill's post without Graphic Novel reviews?????

Tiny Titans: Sidekickin' It by Art Baltazar & Franco - I don't care what your age is, this GN will make you laugh. Come and join the Tiny Titans (Robin, Kid Flash, Speedy, Bat-Girl, Beast Boy, Cyborg and more) in their daily trials and tribulations which also happen to be laugh out loud funny. Join them with their pets at  "Pet Club" in which the first rule is you don't talk about Pet Club. Find out which Tiny Titan is the fastest in a race around the world. Will it be Kid Flash, Super Girl or Raven (wait a minute Raven doesn't have super speed, how could she win?) or somebody else? Watch and read as the Tiny Titan's deal with Principle Deathstroke, Coach Lobo and Janitor Darkseid. This GN is just to much fun.






Thor: Ages of Thunder by Matt Fraction and others - This is a kick-butt GN about Thor and the Asgardian Gods before Thor was sent to Earth to learn humility.  The stories, of course, are set in Asgard featuring along with Thor such Norse Gods as Odin - The All Father, Loki - Master of Mischief, Hemidall - Guardian of The Bifrost Bridge, Balder The Brave, The Enchantress, The Valkyrior and many others. This is high octane Norse Mythology brought to life!!!! Thor in these stories is a lean mean fighting machine. He takes down Frost Giants, the Undead, Storm Giants and more, but is kinda full of himself. Things finally reach the point where his father Odin has to take him down a peg and the two have an epic battle. How does that turn out? Read the GN and find out. The writing and the art work are a wonder to behold. As with Black Hole Sun this book is intended for older teen readers, so if you are younger make sure it is okay for you.

Well Peace out all. Until next time,

Bill