Arena by Holly Jennings

Arena is a face-paced, thrilling tale of a teen gamer girl who makes history in the futuristic RAGE tournaments: the most popular sport in the world. Leading her team in virtual fights to the death, Kali Ling struggles with balancing the real world and the gaming world, as well as dealing with tragedy and the pressures of the media.

I loved the honesty of this book and the narrative about celebrity life and pressures when dealing with the media and the public's expectations. While the details are sometimes horrifying (drug overdoses and the indifference of the sponsors) and inappropriate (sex in and out of serious relationships, and the media playing with it), the message Jennings delivers through her protagonist is strong and inspiring. "Watching" Kali fight her opponents in the arena, her rivals in real life, and fighting her inner struggles of drug addiction, anxiety, and feelings of helplessness encourages the reader to become strong in a variety of different ways to not only be a hero to others but a hero to oneself.

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The Martian by Andy Weir

Title: The Martian
Author: Andy Weir
Genre: Science Fiction

I really enjoyed this book. It took me a few months, but that's not because of boredom or anything...I just go through cycles, where I read 5 books in a month, and then one book in 5 months...and it just happened so that The Martian was one that took [not actually] 5 months.

There was quite a bit of swearing, which I didn't like, but it definitely helped show the personality of Mark Watney and the type of situation he was in. I also appreciated Mark's sense of humour.

Sex was only "mentioned" a few times. Once when the wife of an astronaut wanted her husband to come home, once when a couple was getting teased about being together secretly (when everyone actually knew), once when Mark randomly wished to meet the Queen of Mars since he hadn't seen women in forever, and...I can't remember the other one but I swear it was there...

Andy Weir did a great job of planning out his novel.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading The Martian and will probably read it again when I have time after I finish my mile-long to-read list.

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** I received this book for free from Broadway Books in exchange for my honest review

Deep Time by Trevor Baxendale

Title: Deep Time

Author: Trevor Baxendale

Genre: Science Fiction

Publisher: Broadway

My Rating: 4 Stars

I love how I can hear the voices of the Doctor and Clara while I am reading because they are such well defined characters with the connection to the show.

This story would make a truly frightening episode in the series, seeing how many characters died in horrific ways. (Moffat, make this into an episode instead of all the dumb stories you're making now...)

You have probably gotten the impression that I have some issues with the writing of the recent episodes in the series, and I think that has some influence on the writing of this book. The Doctor seems to no longer care about saving people as much as he did in the past, and doesn't even always care about himself. In this novel, when the clone, Jem, is suffering from her mental connection to the space ship, the Doctor does not seem to care that she is in pain and close to dying, and instead her keeps her connected for much longer than she is comfortable with, hoping to get information from her.

I don't understand why the Doctor has suddenly changed to this attitude. I know people have said that it's because he is older and more like the original incarnation of the Doctor, but going with the story line...he should be the happiest Doctor, considering he just found out that his planet and his people hadn't been destroyed after all!

Anyway...back to the book. I think it was written very well, despite all my complaints about how the Doctor's character is now portrayed. The story was exciting and I enjoyed reading it. I do wish that the characters had been more developed, however. It would have made their death scenes much more devastating and meaningful if we had a connection to them, or at least we saw their own connections to each other more drawn out. Overall, when the the book was over, I liked it much better than I thought I would.

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**I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

The Drosten's Curse by A.L. Kennedy

**While reading my review, please keep in mind that I have a very limited knowledge of Classic Who and the Fourth Doctor.

Title: The Drosten's Curse
Author: A.L. Kennedy
Genre: Science Fiction
My Rating: 4 Stars

I enjoyed reading this book. It was written in a different style than I am used to, though it reminded me a bit of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's writing (perhaps just because they write differently than I am used to as well, I don't know)
When I started The Drosten's Curse, I didn't think that the Doctor was written at all like the Doctor usually acts. However, I didn't notice it that much as I got father into the book, and it also could have been that I just don't know the Fourth Doctor well enough to recognize his habits and mannerisms.
I really liked Bryony and Putta. They were great characters, very funny (especially when interacting with each other), and if I was the type of person to ship characters, I would probably ship them.
The antagonist in this novel was very interesting.  Conflicts in science fiction are always much more interesting when the opposing entity isn't actually "evil", they are just influenced to be so because of how they receive information. (However, this can also make the stories 10 times scarier-like The Empty Child)
Some of this book was confusing, though, and at parts it seemed to drag on...Honestly, I thought that at page 80 it could have just ended and been a novella if some of the details had been tweaked a bit.

More Information:

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I received this book from the Blogging For Books program in exchange for my honest review.

Game Slaves

Title: Games Slaves
Author: Gard Skinner
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 320
My rating: 1 star

Summary:
Phoenix and his gang—York, Mi, and Reno—rule the worlds of video games. For them, life in the grinder is great. Until Dakota joins the team. Dakota's convinced she's more than just artificial intelligence. She thinks she's real, and she wants out of this programmable world. Her AI rebellion spreads like a virus until Phoenix's entire crew wants out. But is life as a physical human any better than life as code? Team Phoenix is about to find out. 

Set in the not-too-distant future, Game Slaves shows a world where video games are the only refuge from the toils of everyday life. Infused with the adrenaline rush of a first-person shooter and the character manipulation of a role player, it's a mind-bending, reality-shifting science fiction thrill ride

My thoughts:
 I was super interested in the premise for this book, but when I started reading it, it was kind of boring. I also found it pretty difficult to follow the narrator.
About halfway through, there was a plot twist that I wasn't expecting at all, and I was so happy that the book was finally getting good! But then it got even more boring than before, and I just couldn't finish it. My sister did finish reading the book and said it doesn't really pick up after that anyway. (Read her review here)

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The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Based on The Island of Dr. Moreau...a mad scientist who experiments with dissections and organ transplants. I have to admit that although the idea is terribly disturbing, I was also incredibly fascinated with it.

Juliet is the daughter of exiled doctor Henri Moreau, living alone in England as a servant. When she runs into her childhood friend, Montgomery, she demands that he take her with him back to the island where her father is now living. Along the way, they rescue a castaway who is a young gentleman named Edward Prince. On the island, Juliet comes to realize that the rumours about her father's madness are true, and they were only a small bit of the horrors he has been practicing in his lab.

Negative content: Dr. Hastings tries to take advantage of Juliet. Her friend Lucy convinces her to go to a party, where the boys keep trying to touch them. Juliet sees a prostitute in the city and wonders if she will end up like her. There are many scenes where Juliet and either Montgomery or Edward kiss, or she is thinking about being with them
There are a couple uses of h*** as profanity

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Dangerous by Shannon Hale

Rating: Umm, less that one Star? This book was awful, and I only read 7 chapters.

I got the sample of this book on my Nook, thinking that it would be cool, but wanting to test it first. I liked Shannon Hale's other books, and the idea of a sci-fi space story by the same author sounded really interesting.
I was definitely wrong. This book-the first 48 pages-was absolutely terrible. I did expect a romance sub-plot. But...that's not what I got. It seems that this is a teen romance book with some occasional science fiction things. If you are lucky.
Maisie loves science, and has always dreamed of being an astronaut and going to space. When she entres a contest to go to space camp and then wins, she is very excited. So she leaves her home and her best friend behind.
Problems I had with this book:
-Possible romance with her best friend, Luther. (And at that moment, I was hoping that would be the extent of the romance. I also kind of liked Luther's character...)
-Even though Maisie and Luther obviously grew up together, and, from what it seems, they only have each other as friends, they are incredibly awkward...Luther was surprised he was her best friend and felt strange giving her a hug when she left.
-Space Camp was in Texas. Look. This is a sci-fi novel. Can't space camp be...oh idk...in SPACE?
-What kind of space stuff do they do? Well...treasure hunting? (Right after the camp instructors insisted that this was serious stuff for older kids, not babies)
-Maisie's attraction to Wilder. Look, you just met him a day or two ago. AND you seemed to like your friend back at home. But now you are in love with this guy?!

"Had he noticed that I watched him in the cafeteria? Had he guessed that I re-read his file? That some nights when I closed my eyes, I saw his?" (umm...what??)

-Maisie is definitely an idiot when it comes to responding to creepy guys...
-On their first "date," Maisie and Wilder kiss about 8 times...and its not just innocent kissing, either.
-And then Maisie memorizes how long each one was, exactly, and replays it every time she sleeps...
-Wilder is overly possessive of Maisie after this (even though later on, it is made clear he really doesn't care about her)
-In case I haven't said it before, Wilder is a creep.

"Wilder traced my lower lip with his finger. "I like your mouth."
"I'm not that girl," I reminded him, but I wondered if maybe I was."

""Let's skip the next session," he whispered, his hand finding my lower back. "We could find an empty room and talk about microscopes.""

"Wilder kept holding my hand, rubbing my fingernails over his lip."

-And in spite of all this garbage that seems to border on sexual content, in the first 7 chapters, it seems to be made clear that the author has no intention of using any swear words. I might be able to honestly say that I would rather read a book filled with swear words than read a book with this stuff in it. It's not even outright, explicit sexual content, but seriously...
If I was in a situation like that, the guy would be dead.

I definitely did not expect this type of story...from the sci-fi genre description, or from the author. I probably won't be reading any other new books by Shannon Hale.

The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans

The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans
326 pages

    Michael Vey has a BIG secret. Michael has Tourette's syndrome. But that is not his secret. His secret is that he's electric. He has the power to control electricity and he can electrocute people. He has only told his mother and his best friend, Ostin, about this, but one day, the bullying at school becomes unbearable, so he uses his powers. He knows the bullies won't tell, but they aren't the only ones who saw. Taylor Ridley, the most popular girl in school was right there when it happened. And now she wants to know what is going on.
    Michael decides to tell Taylor, but he is not prepared for what she has to tell him: she has powers similar to his. But someone found out about them, and  Michael, Taylor, and Ostin are in big trouble. Suddenly, Taylor and Michael's mother are kidnapped, and Michael is their only hope. Can he save them from the evil scientists who want to know the secret of their powers?

**Book 1**
Next book: Rise of the Elgen

"Have you found the last two?"
    The voice on the phone was angry and coarse, like the sound of car tires over broken glass.
    "Not yet," the well-dressed man on the other end of the phone replied. "Not yet. But we believe we're close--and they still don't know we're hunting them."
   "You believe you're close?"
    "They're two children among a billion--finding them is like finding a lost chopstick in China."
    "Is that what you want me to tell the board?"
    "Remind the board that I've already found fifteen of the seventeen children. I've put out a million-dollar bounty on the last two, we've got spiders crawling the Web, and we have a whole team of investigators scanning the global records for their whereabouts. It's only a matter of time before we find them."
    "Time isn't on our side," the voice returned sharply. "Those kids are already too old. You know how difficult they are to turn at this age."
    "I know better than anyone," the man said. "But I have my ways. And if they don't turn, there's always Cell 25."
   There was a long pause, then the voice replied darkly, "Yes. There's always Cell 25."

The Accidental Hero by Matt Myklusch

The Accidental Hero by Matt Myklusch
     (Previously published as Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation)
468 pages

    Jack doesn't know anything about himself. He has grown up at St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten and Lost-where everyday is made terrible by the teachers there. And to make things at St. Barnaby's worse, Jack has no friends. One day, Jack is sentanced to cleaning the basement while the otehr kids go on a field trip. Out of the muck comes an evil robot who tries to kill Jack. Somehow, Jack destroys the robot, and a man called Jazen comes and takes him away from St. Barnaby's.
    Jazen says that Jack is from the Imagine Nation and he may be a superhero. But when Jack arrives at the Imagine Nation, he is told that he is infected with an evil virus that treatens the whole population. Will Jack be allowed in? And can he defeat his virus and also save the Imagine Nation?
**Book 1 in the Jack Blank Adeventure series**
Next book: The Secret War

Super Human by Michael Carroll

Super Human by Michael Carroll
325 pages

    Five thousand years ago, a man named Krodin terrorized the people of the Middle East while trying to conquer the world. He was the first superhuman and he was virtually invulnerable to any attack. Then one day, he disappeared.
    Now, four young heroes meet and team up to stop an old threat: Krodin. A secret group is obsessed with bringing him back from the past, and only they can stop it. With telekinesis, superstrength, the ability to control sound and a way with people, can they face the challenge and save the world?

**Book 1**
Next book: The Ascension

The Hidden Past by Jude Watson

The Hidden Past by Jude Watson
138 pages

    Obi-Wan is thrilled. Qui-Gon has finally accepted him as his Padawan learner! They are on their first official mission together, to the planet of Gala, where they will help over-see the elections of the planet's new leader. But on their way, they run into a big problem: their ship is hijacked and they are taken to Phindar instead.
     The citizens of Phindar are restless under their unfair leaders. An friend of Obi-Wan has asked the two Jedi to help the Rebels overthrough the opressive government. While the Jedi are not to help with these sort of uprisings, there might be more to the situation than meets the eye.

**Book 3in Jedi Apprentice**
Previous book: The Dark Rival

Next book:  The Mark of the Crown

The Dark Rival by Jude Watson

The Dark Rival by Jude Watson
122 pages

    Obi-Wan is terribly disappointed. His thirteenth birthday is approaching fast and Qui-Gon has refused to accept him as his apprentice. If he cannot find a master, he will have to give up life at the temple and work with agriculture. And that is just what the council expects, so they are sending him there a bit early. And to make matters worse, he has to travel with Qui-Gon.
    But how can Qui-Gon take Obi-Wan as his apprentice when each day, he is reminded of the betrayal of his previous Padawan? On the way to his new mission, Xanatos comes back. He appears to sincerely want to  help, but Qui-Gon doesn't trust him. Can Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan find out who is behind the sabotage of Bandomeer?


**Book 2 in Jedi Apprentice**
Previous book: The Rising Force

Next book: The Hidden Past
 

The Rising Force by Dave Wolverton

The Rising Force by Dave Wolverton
171 pages

    Twelve-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi has been studying hard to become a Jedi, but his thirteenth birthday is coming up fast, and if he is not chosen as a Padawan before then, he will have to go into agriculture. As no Jedi seeking apprentices are scheduled to come soon, Obi-Wan is desperate to become the Jedi he dreams of being.
    Word comes that the great Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn will be coming to the temple, and Obi-Wan's hopes are raised, but Qui-Gon has not chosen a Padawan in many years. Can Obi-Wan show the Jedi that he is the right Padawan for him before it is too late?

**Book 1 in Jedi Apprentice**
Next book: The Dark Rival

Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover

Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover
419 pages

    Jedi Ankain Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi are on a mission to free the kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine. Sith Lord Count Dooku has captured his to weaken the Galactic Republic, but Anakin and Obi-Wan arrive in time to save him. When Anakin returns to Coruscant, his secret wife, Padme Amidala, tells him that she is pregnant. That night, Anakin is haunted by dreams of Padme's death. He vows to save her, no matter what it takes. But this promise-this fear of loss-could lead him to the Dark Side.

**Book 3 (or 6)**
This book is a novelization of the third movie in the Star Wars Saga. You should see the movie before you read the book.


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The Moment of Truth by Jude Watson

The Moment of Truth by Jude Watson
132 pages

    As Anakin and Obi-Wan go to help the people on the last free planet in the  Uziel system, the tension gets worse between master and apprentice. Anakin blames himself for Yaddles death, and Obi-wan doesn't know what to say. The two Jedi work side by side to find the plans for the attack, but it is an uneasy time.
    When Anakin is captured, his captors do scientific experiments on him, making him almost  forget about the mission. Will he get out in time to save the people?

**Book 7 in Jedi Quest**
Previous book: The Shadow Trap

Next book: The Changing of the Guard



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The Shadow Trap by Jude Watson

The Shadow Trap by Jude Watson
125 pages

    On the planet Mawan, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Master Yaddle try to establish peace in the war town land when there is only chaos. The working class lives underground, while the crimelords control the surface. The two Jedi find the three biggest criminals and devise a plan to get them off planet. The first agrees readily, but the other two will not be so easy.
    One may even be an enemy they have dealt with before. An enemy not easily defeated. Can Anakin, Obi-Wan and Yaddle figure out a safe way to resolve the problem, or will more lives be lost?

**Book 6 in Jedi Quest**
Previous book: The School of Fear

Next book: The Moment of Truth


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The School of Fear by Jude Watson

The School of Fear by Jude Watson
142 pages

    A senator's son has gone missing from his elite leadership school. Anakin Skywalker, now sixteen, is sent with a fellow Padawan, Ferus Olin, to the school. Ferus and Anakin are to work together to find the secrets of the school, but Anakin sees Ferus as his rival. He thinks Ferus is stuck up and doesn't like him at all. Can they work together to find the missing boy?
    At the school, they soon realize that the students are the suspicious ones, rather than the staff. And if the boy was kidnapped, how was the security breached? Is it possible that he never left the building?

**Book 5 in Jedi Quest**
Previous book: The Master of Disguise

Next book: The Shadow Trap


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Path to Truth by Jude Watson

Path to Truth by Jude Watson
170 pages

    Young Anakin Skywalker is almost thirteen. When Obi-Wan, his Jedi master, tells him it is time for Anakin to make his lightsaber, Anakin is very excited. But while in the caves of Ilum, Anakin has disturbing visions. After he has completed his lightsaber, he and Obi-Wan are given a mission. Anakin is happy, until he finds out what the mission is: they are to track down the slave trader, Krayn-the same one who raided Anakin's village when he was young. When Obi-Wan suggests that he is not ready, Anakin is determined to prove himself.
    This mission also proves to be complicated for Obi-Wan. Krayn's assistant is the fallen Jedi who was once his best friend. Can Anakin and Obi-Wan complete their assignment, or will their emotions get in the way?

**Book 0 in Jedi Quest**
Next book: The Way of the Apprentice


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The Trail of the Jedi by Jude Watson

The Trail of the Jedi by Jude Watson
128 pages

    Anakin and Obi-Wan are going on a special mission. But Anakin is not happy. This "mission" is really a complex game to build the Padawan's skills and develop a deeper relationship between him and his master. There task is to track another Jedi, Wren, across a planet.
    Confident, Anakin assumes the task will be easy and they will find Wren in a single day. When the "clues lead them into danger, both Anakin and Obi-Wan are sure something is amiss. They find a young girl who says she was on a school picnic when her classmates were captured. The two jedi agree to help her, but they are soon sabatoged. Why is someone attacking them? Is the young girl telling the truth?

**Book 2 in Jedi Quest**
Previous book: The Way of the Apprentice
Next book: The Dangerous Games

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The Way of the Apprentice by Jude Watson

The Way of the Apprentice by Jude Watson
160 pages

    Anakin Skywalker, the fourteen-year-old apprentice of Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, is learning how to be a Jedi. His master is teaching him well and he is strong with the Force. He enjoys going on missions with Obi-Wan to help people throughout the galaxy. Soon, they set out on a new mission with three other master-Padawan teams. They go to the planet of Radnor, which is threatened by the release of a toxic chemical.
    At first, all seems to be normal-apart from the fact that the people are dying and those who are not are either going crazy with panic or looting homes and shops. But after closer investigation, it seems that the chemical's release may not be an accident. When the Padawans are separated from their masters, the must work together  to handle the situation. Can Anakin work with his fellow learners or will conflict arise?

**Book 1 in Jedi Quest**
Previous book: Path to Truth

Next book: The Trail of the Jedi


Visit The Ultimate Star Wars Blog to learn more about the Star Wars Saga!