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Book Review: Hero by Michael Grant

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
Hero-Michael-Grant-Book-Cover

Hero is the epic and thrilling third book in a trilogy that follows on from the superb and super selling Gone Series.

The first book in the trilogy was Monster which I reviewed here. The second book was Villain which I reviewed here.

The Gone Series had six books:

  1. Gone which I reviewed here.
  2. Hunger which I reviewed here.
  3. Lies which I reviewed here.
  4. Plague which I reviewed here.
  5. Fear which I reviewed here.
  6. Light which I reviewed here.

Hero starts with another asteroid falling over New York city. This leads to the introduction of two new main characters, one a hero and one a villain. These two new main characters also happen to be father and daughter.

Bob Markovic becomes bugs able to infect people with hideous diseases, yet keep them alive to suffer. These diseases are so bad that it makes suffers beg for death. Simone, Bob’s daughter, can morph turning her skin blue with tiny little wings that enables her to fly.

The book is full of exhilarating action, exciting plot twists and turns and answers to questions. Questions that include: Does Sam take to dose of rock? If he does, what power does he get second time round? Who are the dark watchers? Are they real or a simulation? Will anything ever been normal again?

My only slight disappointment was the book’s last chapter. The overall conclusion of the series was left open to the reader. This left me feeling cheated and that the unwritten contract between the writer and reader had been broken. But that is just my personal opinion, others will love that it has been left open to their imagination.

I can’t recommend the Gone Series enough. Buy it, read it, enjoy it.

Review soon,

Antony

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Book Review: Villain by Michael Grant

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
Villain-Michael-Grant-Book-Cover
View on Amazon.co.uk
Villain is the captivating second book in a trilogy that follows on from the superb and super selling Gone Series.

The first book in the trilogy was Monster which I reviewed here.

The Gone Series had six books:

  1. Gone which I reviewed here.
  2. Hunger which I reviewed here.
  3. Lies which I reviewed here.
  4. Plague which I reviewed here.
  5. Fear which I reviewed here.
  6. Light which I reviewed here.

In Villain we meet Dillon Poe, a boy who once morphed, can command anyone to do anything. Anyone who hears his voice must obey his every command, even if it means hurting themselves or others.

Dillon is a survivor of the Perdido Beach Anomaly. But unlike some of the other kids in Perdido Beach, Dillon didn’t get any special powers there. After Perdido Beach Dillon’s parents moved to Las Vegas – which is where most of the book is set.

Dillon buys some Perdido Beach Magic Stone online and after he consumes it. Afterwards he discovers he can morph into a greener and better version of himself. He discovers that when he’s morphed people must obey his every order. Dillon is a wannabe Comedian and when he morphs he has an audience, the dark watchers. Dillon sets out to do whatever he wants and to entertain his new audience. This inevitably leads to chaos in the streets, casinos and hotels that make up Las Vegas.

Then we catch up with Malik Tenerlife, Shade Darby and Cruz. Malik is in agony after most of his body was burnt in a battle at the end of Monster. Shade and Cruz make the decision to give some of the space rock to Malik, but it doesn’t work out quite as they had both hoped.

Shade, Cruz and Malik hear about Dillon’s antics and decide to be heroes. They team up with Dekka Talent and Armo and all make their way to Las Vegas.

Along the way a secret Army base, known as the Ranch, hopes to fight powers with powers. They have also been experimenting on soldiers, adding technology to their damaged bodies. It resembles a shop of horrors and the new heroes, with Dekka and Armo decide to close down the Ranch for good.

Tom Peaks, the Monster, wakes up with a hangover from hell. He finds himself in a cave, which is the torture chamber of Drake. Also known as Whip Hand.

Drake holds a grudge and still wants revenge on Sam Temple and Astrid Eillson. His anger seems to be targeted at Astrid. He really hates her.

Dekka visits Sam and Astrid. Dekka secretly gives Astrid some of the space rock.

Villain ends with an epic battle in Las Vegas and leaves the reader with lots of excitement for the next book in the series.

Villain is an addictive and page-turning read. The characters are brilliantly developed, they have a great level of depth and develop as the plot does.

The plot is good, but focused only on Las Vegas and parts of the United States. Pieces from the meteorite are falling to earth in locations all over the world. It would have been great to have characters that come together from all over the world.

Grant’s use of description enables the reader to imagine everything perfectly. Grant’s pacing expertly flows from fast action scenes to more moderate character and plot development scenes.

Villain is available to buy at all good book shops and on Amazon.

Review soon,

Antony

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Book Review: Monster by Michael Grant

By Amazon, Books & Authors, Reviews2 Comments
Monster-Michael-Grant-Book-Cover
View on Amazon.co.uk
Monster is the exciting and explosive first book in a trilogy that will be a sequel series to the superb and super selling Gone Series.

The Gone Series had six books:

  1. Gone which I reviewed here.
  2. Hunger which I reviewed here.
  3. Lies which I reviewed here.
  4. Plague which I reviewed here.
  5. Fear which I reviewed here.
  6. Light which I reviewed here.

In Monster it has been four years since the events at Perdido Beach.

Four years ago, a meteorite hit a Nuclear Power Plant, an invisible dome was created and all the adults disappeared. The children and teenagers that remained trapped inside the dome had a lot to deal with including an alien virus that gave some of them powers. Some used their powers for good and others for selfish or cruel purposes.

Now more pieces from the same meteorite are starting to fall to earth from space.

This time the alien virus make even more dramatic changes to people whom come into contact with it. They are much more powerful than those in the Perdido Beach dome ever were. They will be able to morph into monsters with astonishing powers and then be able to de-morph back into human form. But for each of those infected with the alien virus, one question trumps all others: Will you be a Hero, Villain or Monster?

Most of our main characters are new. Shade Darby saw her mother murdered by Gaia when the Perdido Beach dome came down and barely survived herself. Her father works for the Government studying pieces of the meteorite in space and he has calculated the exact position of the pieces landing.

Shade was powerless when her mother was murdered and is determined never to be so again. In fact, quite the opposite, she wants to gain power to become a hero. Malik Tenerife is in love with Shade, but their relationship ended due to Shade’s obsession with gaining power.

Shade meets Cruz Martinez Rojas at a bus stop. Cruz is a trans character, although physically male, he dresses feminine and feels neither male nor female. Grant explained and dealt with this gender issue expertly. This didn’t come as a surprise, after all The Gone Series had gay, lesbian and bisexual characters.

Justin DeVeere is a promising art student with delusions of grandeur. He is going out with Erin O’Day. Justin comes in contact with one of the pieces of the meteorite and develops powers. In panic, but with some pleasure he makes some mistakes that harm people.

But Justin makes a choice to murder. He decides to name himself Knightmare and tries to make it a persona. He is aiming for people to think of him like The Hulk. Justin is Bruce Banner and Knightmare is the Hulk, something he has no control over. Only he does.

Armo (his nickname, actual name: Aristotle Adamo) is an Adonis, who happens to have Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). He has his whole life a head of him, being just 17 years old. That is until the accident and his nonconsensual exposure to one of the pieces of the meteorite.

Vincent Vu hears voices in his head. He possibly has bipolar or schizophrenia. He is exposed to the largest piece and amount of the meteorite an undergoes the most dramatic change. But does this make him unstoppable?

Dekka Talent makes a welcome return and offers fans of The Gone Series the opportunity to find out what happened to other characters from the series. Tom Peaks from the US Government recruits Dekka to help, but all is not what it seems as Dekka quickly discovers.

Whenever any of the characters use their powers, they are aware of being watched by Dark Watchers. These Dark Watchers appear to be using them as a form of entertainment and love death, destruction and devastation.

The description was superb and brilliant. The plot was action packed and compelled the reader to read on. The pacing was ultra fast-paced.

I would highly recommend Monster to anyone and everyone. It’s a crucial and necessary read for any fan of The Gone Series. Those who haven’t read any of The Gone Series could still pick it up, know what’s happened, understand what’s going on and get full enjoyment from the book.

Review soon,

Antony

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My November

By Amazon, Friends & Family, Health, Life, Pets, TV, Online Streaming & FilmsNo Comments

A lot happened in November. Some of it was good and some of it was bad. Here were the key events:

4th November 17 – I went Smoke-Free, Day 1.

Smoke-free-logo

Smoke-Free Logo

5th November 17 – I was given the cold shoulder by Dylan. He just walked away from attention to sit with his back towards me. I called him by his name and was ignored.

my-november-2017-0

Blanked by Dylan.

6th November 17 – My week made with the arrival of my pre-orders from Amazon.

11th November 17 – I tried on silly Christmas hats!

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Silly Christmas Hats!

12th November 17 – My lovely Grandma passed away. I am sure she is missed dearly by all who knew her. I am also very lucky to have some wonderful memories with her.

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My Lovely Grandma.

14th November 17 – I went to the GP about an abscess in my groin. I was given oral antibiotics and told if it gets any bigger I must go to A&E to see a Surgeon.
15th November 17 – The abscess had doubled in size. So went to A&E, was given a dose of IV antibiotics and eventually saw a Surgeon. They decided to operate first thing the following morning.

I had been Nil By Mouth since arriving in A&E at around 1PM and had not eaten since breakfast. They let me go home well after 9pm to eat, rest and with instructions to fast from 3am and be back at the hospital for 8am.

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Oh pink…just my colour.

16th November 17 – The day of the surgery. All of the NHS staff were kind, compassionate and understanding. But communication could have been better.

I arrived on the ward at 07:50am and was instructed by a Nurse on the night shift to wait in the waiting room, while the early staff had handover. The night shift Nurse didn’t tell the day staff that I had arrived and meant I ended up waiting over an hour. Apparently staff had been looking for me everywhere.

After the surgery, I didn’t know whether my open wound had been packed or not, because it wasn’t documented in my notes.

It has been uncomfortable, a bit tender and at times painful. I have thanked my family and Steve who have been amazing in supporting me pre and post surgery.

The surgery and waiting for the open to heal has been very frustrating for me.

Everything has had to be put on hold. I’ve had to rest and haven’t been able to do very much apart from watching Netflix, reading and napping. A huge positive is that I have remained Smoke-Free throughout.

17th November 17 – I became super excited after watching a video clip that revealed the title of the new Fantastic Beasts (Harry Potter) film: The Crimes of Grindelwald on Twitter @BeastsMovieUK. The film will be released on 16.11.18. 22nd November 17 – The day of Grandma’s funeral, which was really a celebration of her life. The service was touching and well attended. Grandma’s family and friends came together afterwards to share memories and the many things they will miss about her.
25th November 17 – Day 21 of being Smoke-Free.

Smoke-free-logo

Smoke-Free Logo

29th November 17 – Last day working at my old job. I will miss the people and liked the work, but am excited to start my new job.

Write soon,

Antony

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