Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz

Due to a positive review from a fellow blogger in my class, Dramagirl, I have chosen to read "Snakehead" by Anthony Horowitz over this holiday. Further reviews, and general ideas on how good I percieve books to be, will be back after the holidays, when term starts (2nd May).
Until then,
Dan :)

Private by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Well, over half term, I read the book Private by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. I have to say, it was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and kept me entertained during the boring days of being home alone. The story was a very thorough, very well thought through one, however, in some parts, it does feel like your reading the second book in the series, and you haven't read the first. It followed two main characters, Jack Morgan, an ex US Marine, and Justine Smith, one of the psycologists at the New York Police Department. It shows 3 different cases, and how the team of 5 at Private sort them out. With a pretty amazing prologue, it's a well thought storyline! The language was adult, as most of James Pattersons language tends to be, and was aimed at older audiences.The characters were well thought out, and Patterson gave them an obviously complex background history. Alot of Jack Morgan's story did actually revolve around his history in the marines, and his dreams revolve around the mistake he made at the beginning, making the image Patterson gives to you in the prologue a lot clearer. Also, having almost stereotypical characters, eg. one of the characters was a computer nerd, something which every police department "needs", and it's very stereotypically geeky. He does very well at doing this. Next, Patterson tackles the themes of teenage grooming, illegal sport fixing, murder and teenage murder chain- much like the news stories today! I think overall, throughout the themes, he is trying to say that not all things are completely free of crime, and there are corrupt people everywhere you turn. It's set throughout America, because the two other agents go all over America to find the facts about the NFL gambling scare, and the prologue is set in Afghanistan. The author spent about 2 pages describing Afghanistan and the bullets flying past your head. You almost feel like your there.

  So overall, I would give this book about 8 1/2 out of 10. It's good for a half term read, but it won't make you want to read more James Patterson, it's sort of a book to say "I'm Still Here!".

UPDATE: Private London is the sequel to James Patterson's Private, and is coming out in June 2011. Go to

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Private-London-James-Patterson/dp/1846058317

And again, if you want to find out more about the author, go to:

http://www.jamespatterson.com/

Shadow Wave: The final installment of CHERUB

  August saw the release of the much long  awaited final installment of CHERUB! My review is here:

• In the twelfth and final book, it saw James leaving CHERUB and going on his final mission. It also delves into ex-CHERUB agent, Kyle Blueman's past.
•    This story was worth the wait, with high speed action sequences that you could see happening in front of you and certain bits that tugged on the emotions . Its a great end to the series, especially if you've grown up with the series, as most readers have done. 
•   The language was easy to read, and although having some very explicit language, is able for most readers. Muchamore has done very well in captivating readers in the intricate pasts of the characters and the realistic emotions. Throughout the series, this author has explored loads of tough issues, from gang worlds, to drugs and social problems to animal abuse.
• The characters in his books are sometimes based on other people, and sometimes plucked from his imagination. No matter which method he takes, they all are very lifelike, and help keep the book together. If you read the rest of this series, in the right order, you'll find that you either grow up with the characters, or you watch the characters grow with the books!
•    As Muchamore has said in many of his interviews, he has gone and explored pretty much all of the places in which he writes about in his books, and he spends a long time describing the detail, making you feel like your there! In particular, in one of the earlier books, where two of the characters had to stay in a maximum security cell in Arizona, USA, he spent a certain number of weeks looking at them, and seeing all the different places.
•   Overall, seeing as Robert Muchamore only started this series so his nephew had something to read in the summer holidays, this final book gets a very well deserved 9 and a half out of 10.
• If you want to find out more information on the author, then go to his fansite, www.muchamore.com
• Any other information can be found  on my media page, on this website, in the Archive.