Blog Archives
Prince of Thorns (The Broken Empire # 1)
Author: Mark Lawrence
“War is a thing of beauty and those who say otherwise are losing”
Prince Jorg Ancrath was 9 when, trapped in a thorn bush, he watched Count Renar’s men murder his mother and little brother. Running away and becoming the leader of a band of outlaws, he is ready, at 13, to go back home and reclaim what is his and to revenge his lost family.
I was curious about this book after reading so many reviews saying how cruel, insensitive, repulsive and violent the character (and the book) is, but I was not even a little shocked or disgusted. Jorg is indeed cruel, cold, calculating and violent, and whatever he says his motives are, doesn’t matter, it’s very hard to sympathize with him, BUT he is an anti-hero-main-character, and you cannot expect him to be nice or friendly or have a flicker of hesitation or regret – and I guess this is why he can be so hated – because you would expect him to be just a little more “human” …
Glue
Author: Irvine Welsh
Another masterpiece, Glue has entered my list of favorite Irvine Welsh books, sharing the 1st place with Filth 
It is the story of 4 guys throughout the years: from the 70’s, when we have a glimpse of them kids through their parent’s eyes, until 2002, when the book ends and they are reaching their 40’s.
Andrew Galloway (Gally), Terry Lawson (Juice Terry), Carl Ewart (N-Sign) and Billy Birrel (Business Birrel) are 4 “schemies” from Edinburgh, each of them with his own personality, problems, dilemmas and interests, but all sharing a bond of friendship that, if diminished by the years and their life projects, could not be extinguished after all. Read the rest of this entry
The Hunger Games – Book x Movie
It is not my intention to make a review about the movie, as this is not what this blog is about, but I think it is fair for me to make a note about the adaptation to the big screen, as I previously reviewed the book.
I was curious but at the same time afraid I would be disappointed by the movie, as I usually find the books much better than the films, but with The Hunger Games, especially with all the advertisement and enormous expectation from fans all around the world, it would be a big mistake not to make a movie as faithful as possible to the book.
And it is pretty faithful. Minor things were left apart and the tension grows as the film progresses (as in the book), but in regards to the violence in the arena, in THAT they could not be so realistic and show everything, otherwise the movie would be rated “R 18+” (restricted).
But I liked the movie, it’s very good and not disappointing for those who already read the book
Marabou Stork Nightmares
Author: Irvine Welsh
Roy Strang has been in coma for a couple of years now, and he will tell us the story in two main plots: the hunt of the predator-scavenger bird Marabou Stork in South Africa, a completely fictional tale he created in his mind to apparently go deeper into his refuge from the outside and real world; and the true story of his life, growing up in a public housing project in Edinburgh, then moving to South Africa for 18 months, and back to Scotland, all punctuated by a problematic family, abuse, bullying and violence – the two plots connected, or maybe “interrupted”, by his sense of the people in the hospital: the nurses and doctors who take care of him and his family, who often comes visiting.
