Aloha!
No, today we are not going to talk about my fanfiction. Rather, we will be talking about book reviews from other authors. The last time I talked about someone else's book... happened to be my first in this blog too. That was Robin McKingley's "Pegasus" (which I'm still waiting for its sequel). Since then, I've read two more books (and am now reading through one of it).
For someone who hasn't read a book from cover to cover for more than 5 years... this is an achievement. So I hope that I'll have more opportunities to read :)
The first book that I've completed this year is 'The Warriors of Alavna' by Browne. I'll talk more about that story another time.
I would like to talk about the book that I've just finished. Literally, just a few hours ago. If you are wondering, I'm still reading 'Eragon'. I find myself slowing down that story to read the others first. I wonder why :/
Reading "The God Project" started because I mentioned in a post that I wanted to expand my reading repertoire. So I picked up John Saul (a recommendation from the Boyfriend, who said that it was his first novel... he has been reading Marvel comics till then XD) and began to read.
And two days flew by.
It was a little hard to pick up at first. You gotta understand that I am a very childish reader. I bloom rather late when it comes to reading. Not bad I struggle with reading, just that things aren't as appealing to me. I was reading Enid Blyton when I was 12 years old, when my friends were reading books from Goosebumps, Jeffrey Archer and Agatha Christie. I read Sweet Valley High (and Sweet Valley Twins!!) when classmates were enjoying books from Stephen King and Anne Rice. I started Harry Potter WAY too late (I started when Goblet of Fire was long published. I was around 13 years old then.) When my friends were tackling biographies and memoirs I was reveling in magic-ky stories. I still love magic-ky books.
But I digress. I was saying that it was hard for me to get used to the fact that I was reading such an 'adult' book (many would beg to differ that the book was hardly an adult book). However, once I kinda caught the essence of the story, I was hooked. I couldn't put it down. That feeling of not being able to function until the story is complete brings nostalgia of how I would spend hours in the afternoon pouring over books :)
I guess I've spent too much time already. I'm going to summarise my thoughts of the book into point forms.
1. Language
John Saul's language in this book struck me oddly familiar. Then, it dawned upon me that his writing style is like mine. Or rather... my writing style is like his. The variations of complex sentences, with simple sentences in between to make a point. The little extra information about each character and their background... Simply put, if I continue to hone my writing skills, I may end up writing like John Saul (in description).
Of course, I can never be half as good as these authors, but that doesn't mean that I can't hope :) John Saul's description is written more on the characters rather than the setting, which kinda isn't what I'm doing, but is something that I hope to improve :)
2. Unpredictable
As with horror-thriller stories, you will be expecting twists in the plots. However, what I love about this story is how you think you know how it's going to end, but it... doesn't. There were some people that I thought were the baddies but they were not. The awesomeness comes because in the end you realise that you were thrown another twist, just pages before the end. And well... the ending is chilling.
From the beginning to the end, I couldn't be sure what the end would be like. That, I guess, would be the hallmark of a plot with twists. I could blame it on my inexperience in horror-thriller stories, or I could give John Saul the credit... so I might as well be nice :)
3. Timeless
Being printed in 1982, you would expect the content to be blah. After all, it's 30 years since it's first printing.
To this, I give a resounding NO.
The technology and concept behind The God Project is an area that is constantly explored and examined - Genetic Engineering. I remember that when I was in high school/Junior College, my teacher first introduced that to me (Yes, I am a noob who doesn't read the newspapers.) and it was a little hard to stomach. Imagine the concept of genetic engineering... in 1982. Before Windows 95 were made, for all we know!
Absolutely timeless. The concept doesn't make me feel that the book is unrelevant and outdated.
Oh, now that I'm tired, I suppose I'll take a rest. So here it is, my (somewhat) short afterthoughts of 'The God Project'. I've received some recommendations on books to read, but I doubt I'll have time to read, though i'll try my best to get around it. Enjoy your week!
Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.
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