So, after finishing The Warlock by Michael Scott, I started Grey by E L James. In case you've been living under a rock for the past year or so, this is the 4th book in the 50 Shades of Grey series that came out in in 2011 (with a movie released in February 2015).
Like many many other people, like 100 million other people, I was caught up in the trilogy of books which follow the relationship between Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. It is a less than conventional relationship - a Dom/Sub sexual relationship - with Christian as the Dom and Anastasia as the Sub.
The original trilogy of books - 50 Shades of Grey, 50 Shades Darker, 50 Shades Freed) were wonderfully terrible, or terribly wonderful - any way you slice it or dice it - the books were catchy, raunchy, racy, pornographic, erotic, can't put it down reads. I was reading the trilogy when I was commuting on CalTrain from the Peninsula up to San Francisco (2 hours each way every day), and was tearing through the books. I was slightly embarrassed reading them on public transportation, but I really couldn't put them down. I remember once needing to get through a chapter in one of the books, so I was reading it while walking down Montgomery Street in the middle of the Financial District at 8:30 in the morning. I just couldn't put it down. Terribly wonderful books. When I heard the movie was getting made, I was skeptical. How would they make the movie following the book? What actor and actress would really go there and do what was written in the book? Yikes. The movie - horribly wonderful.
Then, I heard there was a book coming out that followed the first book in the trilogy, 50 Shades of Grey, but was written from Christian's perspective. Hmmmmm... Interesting concept. The Husband told me that E L James originally wrote fan fiction for the Twilight series. After learning that fun fact, I have to say, I can see it - Anastasia Steele is very similar to Bella Swan - clumsy, innocent, virginal, young, brunette, and hopelessly in love with a tall, mysterious, brooding, dark, wealthy man, Edward Cullen / Christian Grey. So, yeah, there are a lot of similarities, except the 50 Shades characters aren't vampires.
I wasn't sure what to expect with Grey. I started the book on 7/11 (free slurpee day, yeay!) and finished it on July 21. Horribly wonderful, wonderfully horrible. Having seen the 50 Shades movie (which didn't completely follow the book), it was hard not to try to compare or figure out how closely Grey followed 50 Shades. This book was raunchy, sexy, bad, entertaining, pornographic, catchy, etc. etc.
She's so fucking tight. She cries out.
Shit! I've hurt her. I want to move, to lose myself in her, and it takes all my restraint to stop. "You're so tight. You okay?" I ask, my voice a hoarse, anxious whisper, and she nods, eyes wider. She's like heaven on earth, so tight around me. And even though her hands are on my forearms, I don't care. The darkness is slumbering, perhaps because I've wanted her for so long. I've never felt this desire, this...hunger before. It's a new feeling, new and shiny. I want so much from her: her trust, her obedience, her submission. I want her to be mine, but right now...I'm hers.
What was interesting/disturbing was reading what was going through Christian's head during his torrid relationship with Anastasia. Yeah, he's pretty fucked up.
"...I worry that you'll hurt me."
Fuck. Tell her. It's truth-or-dare time, Grey. "I want to hurt you. But not beyond anything that you couldn't take." I'd never go too far.
"Why?"
"I just need it," I whisper. "I can't tell you."
"Can't or won't?"
"Won't."
"So you know why?"
"Yes."
"But you won't tell me."
"If I do, you will run screaming from this room, and you'll never want to return. I can't risk that, Anastasia."
"You want me to stay."
"More than you know. I couldn't bear to lose you."
I can no longer stomach the distance between us. I grab her to stop her from running, and I pull her into my arms, my lips seeking hers. She answers my need, her mouth molding to mine, kissing me back with the same passion and hope and longing. The hovering darkness recedes and I find my solace.
"Don't leave me," I whisper against her lips. "You said you wouldn't leave me, and you begged me not to leave you, in your sleep."
"I don't want to go," she says, but her eyes are searching mine, looking for answers. And I'm exposed - my ugly, torn soul on display.
"Show me," she says.... "Punish me. I want to know how bad it can get."
Oh no. I release her and step out of her reach.
...And in that moment I know there's nothing I want more...There's nothing that will satisfy the monster within me more.
...I open the door, quickly grab a belt from the rack before she changes her mind, and lead her to the bench in the corner of the room.
...This is it. What I want. What I've been working toward. ...I take a deep breath, savoring this moment, trying to steady my heartbeat.
I need this. This is what I do. And we're finally here. Holding her in place with one hand at the small of her back, I shake out the belt. I take another deep breath, focusing on the task in hand.
She won't run. She's asked me.
Then I wield it, striking her across both cheeks, hard.
...I hit her again... I hit her again... I hit her once more... There are three stripes across her backside.
I make it four.
There's no one to hear you, baby. Shout all you need. I belt her again.
[if you read the original book or saw the movie, you know what happens - Anastasia isn't happy and storms out of the play room.]
I sink to the floor and lean my head against the wall, my arms on my bent knees. Just let her cry. She'll feel better for crying. Women do, in my experience. Give her a moment, then go and offer her aftercare. She didn't safe-word. She asked me. She wanted to know, curious as ever. It's just been a rude awakening, that's all.
You are one fucked-up son of a bitch. Closing my eyes, I smile without humor. Yes, Ana, yes I am, and now you know. Now we can move forward with our relationship...arrangement.
Horribly catchy, terribly addicting. Bad. Good. Ugly. Sexy. Violent. "Out there."
If you read the original trilogy, you'll probably like this too. It is more of the same, but obviously gauging by how many books of the main trilogy sold, and how popular the movie was, this book will do just fine (1.1 million copies sold so far, so says the internet).
Waiting for the library to send book 6 of the Alchemyst series - hoping to have that this week. Yeay!
p.s. After reading this post to the Husband, he cries out "That's horrible. That's terrible. Now I know how you feel about me watching reality TV. It is horrible. It kills brain cells. Books commit suicide when you read this."
So, after finishing The Necromancer on July 2, I picked up The Warlock, by Michael Scott. This is the fifth book in this series. I think I started this on or around July 2 and finished on or around July 11.
The Warlock picks up immediately where The Necromancer leaves off. If the shit was hitting the fan in The Necromancer, it really hits the fan in The Warlock. I found myself repeatedly saying "Wait, what?" and, "Holy Crap!" to myself when reading this book because I couldn't believe what was happening. There are so many angles and story arcs in this (and most of Scott's books). And, it is so suspenseful waiting for everything to get sorted out. Characters don't seem to be who they are. People have motives and counter-motives and allegiances and counter-allegiances, and you never really know how things will shake out until they shake out, and then re-shake out.
Sophie and Josh are separated, and it really appears as though Josh is going to pick the "wrong" side. But the "right" and "wrong" sides seem to blur frequently. Each believes and questions whether they are on the "right" side. Goes back to the motives and allegiances and how those seem to be playing out at that moment. Josh and Sophie both have moments where they question what they are doing, who they are working with, and who they believe.
Here's a conversation between Billy the Kid and Josh:
"Never thought I'd get to meet a legend," Josh said. He suddenly found himself grinning like a fool, and he made a desperate attempt to keep calm. He'd only vaguely known about Dare and Machiavelli before he met them, and had never heard of Dee, but Billy the Kid was different. This was a genuine American legend. Someone he'd grown up hearing stories about.
The Kid looked almost embarrassed. "I'm not that much of a legend, really. Now, Wild Bill, Jesse James, Geronimo or Cochise, on the other hand - they were legends."
"Well, I think you're a legend," Josh insisted.
Billy Grinned. "Well, you're a bit of a legend yourself, aren't you. One of the legendary twins - one to save the world, one to destroy it," he drawled. "Which one are you?"
"I have no idea," Josh said seriously. Although he'd never really stopped to consider the words. One to save the world, one to destroy it. He hoped he was the one to save it...but that would mean that his sister destroyed the world. The thought left him stunned.
And, a conversation between Sophie and Tsagaglalal:
..."Magic is nothing more than imagination. Look down," she [Tsagaglalal] commanded.
Sophie looked at the ground between her outstretched legs.
"Visualize the earth covered in blue flowers..."
Sophie started to shake her head, but Tsagaglalal squeezed her fingers painfully. "Do it."
The girl struggled to create the image of the blue flowers in her head.
Two tiny bluebells appeared.
"Excellent," Tsagaglalal said. "Now do it again. See them clearly. Visualize them. Imagine them into existence."
Sophie focused. She knew what bluebells looked like. She could see them clearly in her mind's eye.
"Now imagine the grass turning to bluebells. Change it in your head...force it to change...believe it will change. You have to believe, Sophie Newman. You will need to believe, to survive."
Sophie nodded. She firmly believed the grass was now covered with bluebells.
And when she opened her eyes, it was.
Tsagaglalal clapped her hands in delight. "See. All you had to do was have faith."
"But is it earth magic?" Sophie asked.
"That is the secret of all magic. If you can imagine it, if you can see it clearly, and if your aura, your qi, is strong enough, then you will achieve it."
Tsagaglalal attempted to stand. Sophie got easily to her feet and helped the old woman up. "Now why don't you run on up to the house and get changed. Put on heavy janes and hiking boots and wear something warm."
"Where am I going?"
"To see your brother," Tsagaglalal said.
Nothing sounded better to Sophie at that moment. She kissed Tsagaglalal on the cheek before darting off through the garden.
"And I don't think it is going to be a happy reunion," Tsagaglalal murmured.
The ending of this book - WOW - that was another "What the hell?" moment for me. When I finished the last page, closed the book, and said again, out loud ,"What the hell?" the husband kept asking me what happened. He asked me several questions, none of which I answered. I told him, just as I'm writing here, no spoiler alert, you'll just have to read it.
Right after finishing this one, I started Grey by E L James.
So, still behind, though not as woefully now. I have this write up, and one other, and then I'm all caught up. I started The Necromancer (the fourth book in the series) on June 23 and finished it on July 2. I pretty much started this one immediately after finishing The Sorceress. These books really don't disappoint. Yeah, some shit goes down. It goes down in all of the other books, but it is really starting to go down in this book.
From what I understand, the sixth book in this series tells the tale, and the tale ends with the last book. So, with The Necromancer being the fourth book in the series, there isn't a whole lot of time to drag things out, so of course shit goes down.
Nicholas, Perenelle, Sophie, and Josh return to San Francisco and temporarily part ways. The Flamels go check out their book store, and Sophie and Josh go to check in with their Aunt Agnes. When Josh and Sophie arrive at their Aunt's house, they see someone with her and become suspicious. The person runs into the house, and Josh makes chase. The person comes tearing out of the house, past Josh, and approaches the waiting car. Meanwhile, Sophie is talking to the person waiting in the car - an exact match to Scatty, only it isn't Scatty. The mysterious person and the Scatty look-alike take Sophie and disappear. Josh is somewhat distraught and needs to come up with some story to tell his Aunt Agnes as to why Sophie has gone missing. Obviously, Josh sneaks away from Aunt Agnes and goes to find the Flamels to enlist their help. Which, obviously, he gets. They track Sophie to a houseboat in Sausalito and catch up with her there.
Turns out the Scatty look-alike is her twin sister, Aoife. Her companion is a Japanese man called Niten. Aoife is looking for Scatty, and thinks Sophie might know where she is. Unbeknownst to all of them, she is trapped in the Pleistocene era...
Not surprisingly, Dee is screwed... The Dark Elders basically have a contract out on him to find him (and to do some not so nice things to him) because of his repeated failures at capturing the Flamels and the Twins, and getting the last two pages of the Codex. Dee, ever the schemer and planner, enlists the help of Virginia Dare, and they make their way back to San Francisco by a leygate. Of course he has a plan to outwit the Dark Elders and show them who really is in charge. But this scheme has a lot of twists and turns, and dependencies on others, so there are many variables he and Virgina have to contend with - and yes, there are a lot of variables.
We find out what really happened to Joan of Arc and Scatty. Yes, they are in the Pleistocene, sort of. I don't want to give too much away here, but some others join them, and then they leave the Pleistocene to do some other things. Yes, I'm purposefully being vague here.
Billy the Kid and Machiavelli get into their own trouble, and we meet Billy's Elder Master - that was interesting. If you know anything about Billy the Kid (fictionally or biographically), you know he is a lunatic and a character (watch Young Guns I, II, or III). You will understand what I mean.
Josh, Sophie, and the Flamels make their way to a nearby shadowrealm so that Josh can learn the magic of Fire. Of course, some shit goes down with that... And with a bunch of other things.
Read this book and the series. It's awesome!
Next, onto book 5 - The Warlock. Man, it was GOOD!
So, again, I'm woefully behind on my writing, and again, the start and finish dates for this book escape me. I picked up this book, the third in Michael Scott's series right after I finished The Magician. And, this book picks up right where The Magician leaves off.
Midway through The Magician, Josh gets awakened at the behest of Dee and Machiavelli. Mars Ultor does the awakening and leaves a little "gift" with Josh, much like Sophie received from the Witch of Endor. Mars Ultor and his satyr guardians, Phobos and Deimos, two creatures I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley, or any alley really, play a big role in this book.
After their trouble with the gargoyles and grotesques at Notre Dame, Nicholas, Josh, Sophie, and Joan escape to London. This is a risky place to be, because just as Paris is Nicholas' home turf, London is Dee's. With all that is going on with the Codex, the Dark Elders being hot to trot to rid this world of Nicholas and Perenelle, and you know, the rest of the plot by the Dark Elders to destroy and then take over the world, things are really starting to heat up. They only wish it would be so easy to make their plot a reality...
Some new historical characters appear in this book - Palamedes (the Saracen Knight), good ole' William Shakespeare, Billy the Kid, Gilgamesh the King (who is insane). It is amusing to see what historical characters will appear next. Shakespeare, in this book, is an immortal and lives with Palamedes in a junkyard in London with some creatures called Gabriel Hounds - part man, part hound.
Twists and turns in the interactions of Dee, Machiavelli, Flamel, Billy the Kid, and the twins abound in this book. Loyalties are called into question, and there are times when you don't know what is going to happen. Scott is great at weaving together a very engaging and enthralling story that is action packed. I really like being able to envision many of the places Scott uses in the books - Alcatraz, Paris, San Francisco, and London. The Pleistocene Era makes an appearance too - I wonder what it would have been like in that Era in the Bay Area. Scott is able to describe them in such a detailed way that even though you may not have been to a place, you can imagine the place - and the people too.
The end of this book, of course, leaves you wanting more... About 100 pages before I finished this, I requested the next book (# 4 in the series), The Necromancer, from the library. I knew that I'd want to start that one immediately. And, of course I did want to, and actually did start it immediately. Great book, quick read, entertaining. Pick it up!
So, I'm woefully behind on writing... And, I have been a little lax with my start and finish reading dates. Soon after finishing The Alchemyst, I requested the next book in Michael Scott's book series from our local public library - The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. It took about a week to get the book, then I started it, and couldn't put it down. Again.
This book picks up with Nicholas, Scatty, Sophie, and Josh in Paris. They meet up with some other historical characters, Le Comte St. Germain - an historical figure, who in this book is a modern rock star, Joan of Arc, and a host of others. Many more "dark" characters emerge as well.
Imagine, if you will, a dinosaur-like creature, a Nidhogg, tearing its way through the streets of Paris and ending up in the River Seine. Did you know that Excalibur is one of four swords of power? One of the other swords of power, Clarent, makes an appearance in this book too. In the hands of the unawakened Josh, Clarent helps him fight the Nidhogg.
Scatty gets into some trouble with the three Valkyries and Nidhogg, and Dagon, Machiavelli's henchman. I don't want to give too much away regarding Scatty - you'll just have to read the book. Nicholas, Josh, Sophie, and Joan of Arc also get into some trouble with the gargoyles and grotesques at Notre Dame.
Meanwhile, Perenelle is stuck on Alcatraz with a menagerie of sleeping beasts. She discovers an Elder is among the beasts - a gigantic spider named Areop-Enap. I don't know about you, but if I encountered a GIGANTIC spider, I'd not be a happy camper. But Perenelle is relieved to discover the spider, and manages to forge something positive out of being trapped on Alcatraz with Areop-Enap.
We returned the book to the library little while ago, so I can't include any of the good passages I marked. Just take my word for it - it's an engaging, exciting book and you will like it, especially if you liked the first book in the series.
