Post number 51 is for J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. It's a book that's been on my to-read list for the past three years, so it's nice to finally scratch that one off. I wish I'd read this one prior to The Lord of the Rings books, because it was easier to get through, and perhaps would have prepared me for Tolkien's wordiness. Of course, it also could be that this book was simpler because I'd read the LotR books, although I doubt it, as this one was originally written for kids.
Quick spoilers follow.
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
This book tells the story of Frodo's uncle, Bilbo, who's coerced into an adventure via Gandalf, who's informed a company of dwarfs that he's a burglar. He ends up going across Middle-earth with them, during which time he's involved in a great many adventures. He's nearly eaten by a group of trolls, captured by goblins (then, as the dwarfs and Gandalf are escaping, he's hit on the head and gets left behind, during which time he gets involved in the riddle exchange with Gollum and steals the One Ring), escapes a murderous group of spiders in Mirkwood, burgles the Elf-King's halls while rescuing the captured dwarfs, escapes down the river on a barrel, before finally getting where they were headed, where he meets Smaug the dragon and fights in the battle of the five armies. The story ends with his return to Hobbiton, where the town was in the process of auctioning off his belongings as he was "presumed dead". He ended up having to repurchase many of his own items with the gold and silver he got in exchange for his burglaring, although he never did recover all of his silver spoons. :))
I liked this book, as it was very full of adventure, and was rather non-stop. Bilbo was a wonderful narrator whose inner thoughts were oftentimes amusing. I liked the glimpse of Middle-earth prior to the happenings in The Lord of the Rings, and liked the glimpses of some of the characters that we meet later in the trilogy. It also got me even more interested in Tolkien's world, so much so that I just ordered another book off Amazon called The Unfinished Tales, some of which I've already read, like the "Disaster at Gladden Fields" (i.e. the recounting of the death of Isildur) and the history of the palantiri. My next Tolkien book to read will most likely be The Silmarillion, although that will have to wait for a while, as I have some library books and some more books off my to-read list to get through first. (One thing I love about The Unfinished Tales is that there's a glossary in the back with all the names/places/terms/etc. from Middle-earth, which is much more handy than getting online and searching Wikipedia, as much as I love Wikipedia. (It's one of my favorite sites, in fact.))
Anyway, if you've never read anything by Tolkien, this is the best book to start with. And if you had trouble with the Lord of the Rings books, don't let those deter you from reading The Hobbit. It's really a rather delightful story that I will no doubt reread several more times in the future.
(In my LotR kick, I also just purchased this Faramir figure (not at the listed price - I did it via the used function, although the one I'm receiving is actually still in its package), which I'm rather excited about. There are a few others that I'd like to eventually own as well. Not sure what I'm going to do with them, but at least I'll have them when I figure it out. :-P)
Post number fifty is for Ridley Pearson's Kingdom Keepers II: Disney at Dawn, the second book in his Kingdom Keepers series. I'd read the first book a couple years ago and was really hoping we'd see a sequel, as there were plenty of loose ends to tie up. This book sort of did that, although it also opened up a ton more, which will no doubt be answered in the third installment which comes out next year. I don't know if the third book will be the final one, though, or if there's going to be more of them, but a trilogy seems to be the way most authors do things nowadays, so if there were just the three I wouldn't be shocked.
Spoilers follow, so please don't read unless you've read the first and second books in the series.
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
First off, you need to read the first book of this series first, or nothing will make sense. The first book takes place primarily in Disney's Magic Kingdom, whereas this book focuses on The Animal Kingdom, and did such a good job describing everything (danger aside) that I now want to make sure I get a chance to visit it when I go to Florida next July. :)
The story picks up with the main characters reinsertment into the Magic Kingdom. Their DHIs, or Holographic Versions, have been put back online after the drama of the first book, and everyone has joined together to celebrate. However, Chernabog, the villian from Disney's Fantasia, has gone missing from his float, starting the DHIs on their next wild adventure. The journey takes them to the top of Cinderella's castle, where they find Maleficent imprisoned in Walt Disney's old apartment. She uses her magic to break free, sending them all on a chase to find her, and find answers. Meanwhile, Amanda's sister Jez has disappeared, so they not only have to track down Maleficent, but find Jez as well. Jez is rather special in that she can see the future, and using her diary entries, and the other DHIs special talents, they set out to find her.
It all ends with a big showdown between Maleficent (who's succeeded in awakening the real Chernabog) and Finn, which results in the two villians getting away and Wayne's, the Disney Imagineer behind the creation of the DHIs, disappearence. Maleficent tells Finn that she wants the Stonecutter's Quill in exchange for Wayne (the Stonecutter's Quill is Walt Disney's quill), but a search of Wayne's apartment turns of nothing: the quill is missing, meaning Wayne hid it somewhere.
This book answered a few of the questions from the first one, like the importance of Amanda and Jez, and gave some insight into Maleficent's plans, but with the disappearance of Wayne and the quill, and the introduction of Chernabog (Disney's most powerful Villian), leaves many more unanswered. I really enjoyed this book: it was fraught with peril and danger, and excitement. It was a really fast read (I semi-started it last night, and finished just a bit ago) and I loved the look into another part of the Disney complex. The history of Disney and its Parks are interesting and fun for any Disney fan. The history makes it interesting, but the adventure makes it fun. Give it a read, if you're a fan of Disney at all. I'm sure you'll find something to love.
