Blogcritics Category: Books: Adventure

Book Review: The Rosetta Key by William Dietrich

Megalith — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:52:24 EDT

Gage sets off on a roller-coaster adventure, always getting away with a mix of skill, luck, and a heavy dose of resourcefulness.
Are you a fan of adventure stories? Do you love historical fiction? The Rosetta Key by William Dietrich is the book for you.Ethan Gage is an American adventurer and a former friend and pupil of Benjamin Franklin whose story actually begins in Napoleon's Pyramids, in which Gage, supported by Napoleon Bonaparte, explores the secrets of the Great...

The Early Word: New and Notable Fiction for the Week of July 21, 2008

Kevin Eagan — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:09:21 EDT

(Another) new James Patterson novel, along with new fiction by Daniel Silva, J. A. Jance, Suzanne Brockmann, and more.
This week's new fiction books run through the same type of stuff we've seen throughout this (so far) slow month in the publishing world. While the amount of quality books have slowed down over the last few weeks, there are still a couple of good novels out this week.James Patterson's ever-prolific writing career has brought him enough...

The Early Word: New and Notable Fiction for the Week of July 14, 2008

Kevin Eagan — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:44:15 EDT

The latest in Eoin Colfer's popular children's series, plus some new mysteries, romances, and thrillers.
It's been a year since the final installment of the wildly popular Harry Potter book series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, hit the bookshelves to great fanfare. Since the end of the Harry Potter series (despite the rumored prequels and other such buzz among Harry Potter fans), book publishers have scrambled to find a children's book series...

Book Review: The Pendragon Legend by Antal Szerb

Agnieszka Klus — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:17:04 EDT

What was to be an uneventful, researched-filled time turned into sleepless nights, midnight riders, deaths, attempted deaths, and gigantic apparitions that happen to be�the butler!
When I picked up the The Pendragon Legend by Antal Szerb, I expected to read about King Arthur or Arthur the Pendragon and his adventures. Needless to say, I was surprised when this book was nothing about the famous king. Instead it follows the adventures of a young historian, János Bátky, after befriending the Early of Gwynedd, an...

Book Review: The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Diana Hartman — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:24:59 EDT

Of all the juvenile fiction I�ve read, Stewart�s is the only one that kept me up all night reading.
Upon my college daughter’s recommendation, I bought and read The Mysterious Benedict Society (TMBS) and The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart. My child is studying to be an archaeologist and is one of the funniest, most creative people, and outside-the-box thinkers I know. I’ve never been...

Book Review: The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Complete First Serial Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi

Richard Marcus — Sun, 6 Jul 2008 19:22:19 EDT

One of the best series of stories that I have read for young readers in a long time.
I have to admit that I'm prejudiced. With very few exceptions, I believe that the best books for young people are written by the British. For imagination, intelligence, and maturity nothing I've read by authors from any other country has matched anything that has come out of the British Islands. From the historical fiction of Geoffrey...

Graphic Novel Review: Criminal: Coward by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips

Mel Odom — Fri, 4 Jul 2008 10:49:45 EDT

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips carve a dark, ugly road of betrayal and greed in this landmark crime series.
Ed Brubaker is an award-winning comic scripter who has written about superheroes and superheroines. However, the man has a heart carved from the deepest, darkest noir. His criminals and anti-heroes sing with muscle, malice, and desperation, lifting from the pages to hold readers hostage to their own need to know what's going to happen next.My...

Book Review: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

A.L. Harper — Fri, 4 Jul 2008 09:31:45 EDT

I believe you make your own treasure and light in life.
Recently a friend recommended I read a book he absolutely adored called The Alchemist, by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. This friend of mine is one of life's seekers of light and treasure, and as such he is a deeply spiritual person – much like Paulo Coelho himself, as is obvious when you read his book. I'm different. I believe you...

Book Review: The Last Oracle by James Rollins

Mel Odom — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:24:40 EDT

Sigma Force, that secret branch of scientific commandos, tracks down the secrets of the Oracle of Delphi.
The first James Rollins book I ever read was Subterranean. It was a "lost world" adventure, about an underground world that spawned the marsupial creatures that inhabit Australia. The book was a blistering good read and I read it -- held completely in thrall -- in a single sitting. Not many 400-page novels can do that to me these days.Rollins is...

Book Review: The OK Team by Nick Place

Maggie Ball — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:07:14 EDT

With innovative, fast pace plotting, and plenty of humor, an ideal option for lovers of comics.
Hazy Retina has a problem. As his name would suggest, he’s out of focus. That's out of focus as in blurry, or hard to see. Blurry isn't a great look for a teenage boy, and not only is it the cause of some in-school bullying, it makes it hard for him to get a date. But haziness runs in Hazy's family, and there isn’t a lot he...