Synopsis:
Basically Harry Dresden is a professional wizard... living in Chicago.
I've listened to all of these books on audio. The greatest part of that - they're all done by James Marsters. If you're unaware of who that is, then shame on you. He played Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel. He's a great actor, but wow - he sure is a great book reader. I can see him playing the perfect Harry Dresden if they ever make a movie, or a better TV Series. Yeah, okay so we'd totally have to fix how he looks. The novel "Ghost Story" was recorded by someone different, but was still done very well. (I would totally go back and re-listen to it if James came back for it though.)
These are all done in first person, in sort of like a journal format.
One thing a lot of people don't know. All of the books have two words. The first word has the same number of letters as the second word. With one exception.
Book 1: Storm Front
Harry Dresden goes after an amateur magician.
4/5 Stars
You instantly get into the characters, Harry's personality is great, and so is Karrin Murphy.
Book 2: Fool Moon
Basically this novel sets Harry against what appear to be werewolves, and is pretty epic.
4/5 Stars
Book 3: Grave Peril
Harry Dresden against Red Court Vampires. (Yes there are plenty of different courts, white, black, etc, all have different specialties.) And it never hurts to have a Knight of the Cross fighting alongside you.
4/5 Stars
Book 4: Summer Knight
Harry Dresden helps out the fae after the death of the Summer Knight. Pretty epic going against faeries/fairies.
4/5 Stars
Book 5: Death Masks
Harry is out to find a shroud for the church. While he is doing that, he is challenged to end the war of the White Council (Wizards) against the Red Court (Vampires) by a duel.
4/5 Stars
Book 6: Blood Rites
So poor Harry Dresden, the notorious wizard, is forced to work on a porn set to see why people keep ending up dead.
5/5 Stars.
Book 7: Dead Beat
Harry has to find the Word of Kemmler, a powerful necromancer that died several times many years ago. This one is full of zombies, and of course who doesn't want to ride on an undead T-REX?
4/5 Stars
Book 8: Proven Guilty
Harry gets to investigate the murders at Spattercon, a horror movie convention, where the murderers happen to appear just like the horror movie murders. He also finds someone that could have talent with magic.
5/5 Stars
Book 9: White Night
Harry investigates the murders of persons talented with magic. Yup, someone is killing people that can use magic.
4/5 Stars
Book 10: Small Favor
The winter queen asks Harry to watch over a crime lord, and he soon discovers everybody is after a little girl that has all of the written knowledge.
4/5 Stars
Book 11: Turn Coat
A Warden named Morgan (he despises Harry because of the dark magic he once used) shows up wounded at Harry's door. He begs Harry for help, there is a traitor in the White Council (Wizard Council), and everyone thinks it's him.
5/5 Stars - Excellent
Book 12: Changes
This book is where everything changes. Harry finds out he has a daughter, and she is in mortal danger. How far would you go?
5/5 Stars
Book 13: Ghost Story
Harry Dresden is dead. What better fun can a dead wizard have than to haunt the living? Except there is a lot at Stake if he can get them to believe him.
5/5 Stars
Book 14: Cold Days
Harry Dresden is the new Winter Knight, and he must ask the talking skull how it is possible to kill an immortal, only the earth is at stake.
4/5 Stars
Book 15: Skin Game
Harry Dresden is forced to ally with one of the fallen, and a mortal enemy of his. All he has to help the man do is rob a vault of Hades.
5/5 Stars.
Overall, this series is great. If you love dry and sarcastic humor with an element of Urban Fantasy, this series is great. It has had some criticism because the writing seems to have a distinct pattern. A standard climb with action, fall into chaos, and pull a miracle at the end. Even with that style of writing, the characters and story are excellent. And he gives something to those special critics in "Changes" (The only title without two words of the same length). I hope you give the series a go, and as I said, the audiobooks are excellent!
Entire Series: 4.5/5 Stars
Craig A. Price Jr.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Friday, July 11, 2014
The Name of the Wind - Review
This is a brilliant novel by a new author Patrick Rothfuss. I listened to the audiobook and it is done excellently.
This novel is about a hero named Kvothe, a hero, a musician, and a magician. He owns an inn now and is telling his story. It begins brilliantly as he is raised as a travel performer with his family. He learns a lot about science and sympathy from a scholar that travels with them. Later he finds himself alone in a town where he has no money and has to survive, a great story of poverty, until he tries to join the university. This university teaches science and sympathy and he is eager to learn. He is able to impress with his knowledge and get in despite how little money he has. He quickly excels in all of his classes and learns how to play music well enough to gain money to keep attending the university and a place to stay.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It was very unique and a very exciting read. For being as many pages as it was, it was an excellent page turner. I really enjoyed it, and the audiobook was simply amazing. I highly recommend it for you all to check out.
5/5 Stars.
-Craig A. Price Jr.
This novel is about a hero named Kvothe, a hero, a musician, and a magician. He owns an inn now and is telling his story. It begins brilliantly as he is raised as a travel performer with his family. He learns a lot about science and sympathy from a scholar that travels with them. Later he finds himself alone in a town where he has no money and has to survive, a great story of poverty, until he tries to join the university. This university teaches science and sympathy and he is eager to learn. He is able to impress with his knowledge and get in despite how little money he has. He quickly excels in all of his classes and learns how to play music well enough to gain money to keep attending the university and a place to stay.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It was very unique and a very exciting read. For being as many pages as it was, it was an excellent page turner. I really enjoyed it, and the audiobook was simply amazing. I highly recommend it for you all to check out.
5/5 Stars.
-Craig A. Price Jr.
Percy Jackson - The Lightning Thief (Review)
This is a really good children's novel. I just listened to it a couple of weeks ago on Audiobook. The audiobook was done really well. The novel itself was great.
Basically, Percy Jackson isn't your normal human, in fact he isn't human at all. Something strange happened to him at a field trip, and at first he thought it was all an hallucination. He soon finds himself in a school for half-humans/half-gods. He has to complete a mission that could be the survival of Earth.
The idea is completely original. The story was very exciting and fun as it played out. However, I could see a lot of things coming. This is probably because it is a middle-grade novel and the fact that I'm a writer. It was predicable for me, but extremely entertaining. I highly recommend it, especially for children.
4/5 Stars.
-Craig A. Price Jr.
Basically, Percy Jackson isn't your normal human, in fact he isn't human at all. Something strange happened to him at a field trip, and at first he thought it was all an hallucination. He soon finds himself in a school for half-humans/half-gods. He has to complete a mission that could be the survival of Earth.
The idea is completely original. The story was very exciting and fun as it played out. However, I could see a lot of things coming. This is probably because it is a middle-grade novel and the fact that I'm a writer. It was predicable for me, but extremely entertaining. I highly recommend it, especially for children.
4/5 Stars.
-Craig A. Price Jr.
A New Spring (Wheel of Time) - (Review)
Let me paint the picture for you. My brother highly recommended this series to me when I was younger. I was skeptical because of how large the first book was and the last series he gave me to read was The Lord of the Rings. I read The Hobbit without a problem, but The Lord of the Rings was much harder. A lot more happened before the action.
Anyway, I had an hour commute to work everyday and so I decided to try the audiobook. I did not think I was going to like audiobooks. I've always loved to read, but I felt audiobooks would put me to sleep. Especially during an hour drive at 5 in the morning. However, I'd already listened to all of my music enough times that I needed a change. Therefore, A New Spring was the first audiobook I ever listened to.
It started slow and I wasn't sure of everything going on, but I rather enjoyed it.
Synopsis:
An Aes Sedai has a vision that the Dragon has been born. The Dragon is a very important person according to prophecies. Everyone that has found out about this fortelling has died or come up missing. One, only just reaching the rank of Aes Sedai flees in search of this Dragon Reborn. Morianie comes across a man named Lan. She finds out there are Aes Sedai that are evil and she comes in contact with one. At the end she asks Lan to become her Warder.
This was a very good novella, I highly recommend it, although I think it is a better companion than it was as the first read for the series. The audiobook is done really well.
I hope you enjoy the book.
4/5 Stars.
-Craig A. Price Jr.
Anyway, I had an hour commute to work everyday and so I decided to try the audiobook. I did not think I was going to like audiobooks. I've always loved to read, but I felt audiobooks would put me to sleep. Especially during an hour drive at 5 in the morning. However, I'd already listened to all of my music enough times that I needed a change. Therefore, A New Spring was the first audiobook I ever listened to.
It started slow and I wasn't sure of everything going on, but I rather enjoyed it.
Synopsis:
An Aes Sedai has a vision that the Dragon has been born. The Dragon is a very important person according to prophecies. Everyone that has found out about this fortelling has died or come up missing. One, only just reaching the rank of Aes Sedai flees in search of this Dragon Reborn. Morianie comes across a man named Lan. She finds out there are Aes Sedai that are evil and she comes in contact with one. At the end she asks Lan to become her Warder.
This was a very good novella, I highly recommend it, although I think it is a better companion than it was as the first read for the series. The audiobook is done really well.
I hope you enjoy the book.
4/5 Stars.
-Craig A. Price Jr.
Novel Reviews
I'm going to attempt this new thing. See, I've read lots of books. Actually, by now I've listened to more books than I've read. Audiobooks are a wonderful thing when you have to go and work a labor job before getting good enough to become a published author.
I'm going to try and put up reviews of all the novels I've read/listened to. This could take a while to catch up since I've been finishing one a week for a very long time now. Most are fantasy and Sci-Fi, but I've done a bit of everything. I hope you enjoy what I post, and hopefully I can keep it up.
-Craig A. Price Jr.
I'm going to try and put up reviews of all the novels I've read/listened to. This could take a while to catch up since I've been finishing one a week for a very long time now. Most are fantasy and Sci-Fi, but I've done a bit of everything. I hope you enjoy what I post, and hopefully I can keep it up.
-Craig A. Price Jr.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Parenting: Getting your child to bed on time
I talk to many parents who struggle to get their child to bed, especially in the early years age 2-4. This is something every parent goes through.
Something I did to get my son on a standard sleeping habit was laying him down in the crib and walking away. This is hard for a lot of parents. It was hard for me. The first dozen times he cried his eyes out for over an hour. I would go check on him, make him a bottle. Since your child will scream, they will get dehydrated. When you fill them up with milk they will get sleepy.
Here's the important part. Your child has to see that you're not going to baby them. If you do then you're going to have that child that screams at wallmart when you don't get them a toy. You don't want that.
It is a heartbreaking week or two, but after a little while your child will see when you leave them in the crib and tell them that it is time for bed, you mean it.
After a while of doing this to my son, when I brought him to bed and told him it was time to sleep - he immdiatly laid down and closed his eyes before I left the room.
We need to use disipline. Society nowdays tries to cuddle us so much and let people do whatever they want, but this is not good, especially for our kids. We don't need to be too hard on them, but we do need to understand how to raise our children to not take life for granted.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Parenting: Breaking the Shy
When I was young I was pretty much an only child. I had two older
brothers, but one left to head to collage and the other moved out. They
were both much older than I was. I've noticed for the most part the
first born or only child tend to be more shy.
I was very shy. I often played by myself. I do not regret any of it because it helped shape my creative mind. I aspire to be an author. However, under social circumstances I was very shy.
My son is five and I see him falling into the same trap. From the age of 1 until he was 4 he stayed home with either my stepmom or I out in the country.
When I put him in preschool, he was very shy. Barely talking to anybody. Over the last two years I've broken him of most of it.
There is one thing here I would like to share with you.
Make him ask.
That's it. Simple answer. I always make my son ask and use please as well as thank you, but that is a subject for another time. This asking is if we are at someone's house and he tells me he's thirsty. I tell him oh well, you can always ask for a drink.
I also do this to him at resturants. He has to ask for his drink refil, bbq sauce, ketchup, and the like. At first he wouldn't do it, but he realized daddy wasn't going to get it for him and he had to ask.
Now he does so much better, and I've noticed his social skills with other children has improved as well where he will ask them for things.
-Craig A. Price
I was very shy. I often played by myself. I do not regret any of it because it helped shape my creative mind. I aspire to be an author. However, under social circumstances I was very shy.
My son is five and I see him falling into the same trap. From the age of 1 until he was 4 he stayed home with either my stepmom or I out in the country.
When I put him in preschool, he was very shy. Barely talking to anybody. Over the last two years I've broken him of most of it.
There is one thing here I would like to share with you.
Make him ask.
That's it. Simple answer. I always make my son ask and use please as well as thank you, but that is a subject for another time. This asking is if we are at someone's house and he tells me he's thirsty. I tell him oh well, you can always ask for a drink.
I also do this to him at resturants. He has to ask for his drink refil, bbq sauce, ketchup, and the like. At first he wouldn't do it, but he realized daddy wasn't going to get it for him and he had to ask.
Now he does so much better, and I've noticed his social skills with other children has improved as well where he will ask them for things.
-Craig A. Price
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)