Tara Trilogy: The Third Eye - Part 1 By Mahatab Narsimhan

The Tara Trilogy is a brand new series which is a combination of Hindu mythology, a modern plot and spooky stuff. The leading protagonist is Tara, a girl of age unknown to us, and Suraj, Tara's brother. The story begins on the night of Diwali. Their evil step-mother Kali slaps Tara for stealing ladoos to feed a starving Suraj. Basically the background of this story is that Tara's mother Parvati and grandfather Prabala (healer of the village) leave the village because of some unruly rumors, leaving Tara and Suraj alone. Their father, Shiv marries Kali (now their step-mother). Kali tortures Tara and Suraj, beats them up and starves them. Tara has half a mind to run away from home.

This book is really interesting and every chapter is equally exciting. The sentences are easy to understand and each sentence is a small burst of excitement which makes you want to read on.

One day a man named Zarku shows up; he wears a black robe and has a spooky third eye. Zarku persuades the village Panchayat and takes the place of the village healer. Zarku calls himself the best healer in all of India, but Tara can see through this healer and she can see evil. While roaming the village market Tara can see a huge crowd gathered around a dead Vetala. This book is really scary in the chapters including the Vetalas and fights with them. Vetalas are monsters that have appeared in the Kelsar forest, they are bodies of decaying green flesh, have a gash in their forehead which oozes black liquid and their insides are black, and their feet turn at a 180 degree angle.

One night Tara, on the way to the temple alone, overhears her step-mother Kali and another unknown person talking about murdering her and Suraj! Tara makes up her mind to escape at dawn with Suraj to the Kelsar forest despite the grave danger. They are not aware that a black cobra is following them. One night Suraj falls ill and Tara prepares a medicine for him but it does not help, and the next morning Suraj is gone, presumed dead. Tara walks on searching for Suraj when she reaches a temple.

If you thought the book was interesting so far, this is the part where it starts getting really exciting. The problem is that the middle of the book is so exciting that the climax seems boring compared to these middle chapters. I am not going to give away the plot but I will lead you up to it.

Tara quickly hides when she sees a sobbing Zarku holding a silver anklet and talking about his mother! As soon as Zarku talks about finding and killing Prabala, Tara shouts out to Zarku. When Zarku grabs Tara and slams her against a tree, the silver anklet falls into Tara's kurta pocket. Zarku tries to open his third eye to burn Tara but cannot as she now has the protective silver anklet. Tara manages to escape and later runs into Ananth, a boy whose father is dead and mother was eaten by a tiger when she was going to perform Sati.

Together they embark upon their journey once again. They need to find the water of life and Prabala to save Morni (thier village) from Zarku's evil clutches.

The most exciting chapter in the book is yet to come: the one including lord Yama and the water of life. In some places it gets so scary that a shiver runs down my spine. There are a lot of surprises and the book is filled with adventure and chills.

Mahatab Narsimhan has done a really good job giving mythology an engrossing modern plot. Read it for a quick adventurous read. The only problem is that this book answers all the questions, and by that I mean to say that if this was a single book then it would have made no difference, as it leaves no loose ends. Therefore, it doesn't really make you lunge for the 2^nd or 3^rd book, which I am reading now by the way. I am not sure if I feel like reviewing them. 

There are a lot of Indian references so you will need to already be familiar with Indian mythology to understand it.   

Artemis Fowl- Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer

The criminal mastermind is back! there is a problem though,Artemis has turned nice!trouble is brewing in the prison of Atlantis where criminal mastermind Trouble Kelp is breaking out of prison and planning to destroy the underwater city of Atlantis with the help of a dangerous group of goblins.Sadly, Artemis cannot battle Kelp as Artemis has a problem called the Atlantis complex(multiple personality disorder)where Artemis fears the number 4 and worships the number 5,he has become paranoid and does not even trust butler!every now and then his other personality(Orion)takes over in the wrong place at the wrong time.  There is a spectacular climax that left me stunned. I can not reveal the climax .

I really like this book but it seems like a very tiny book, it begins,they have a middle scene of about four chapters and then the climax. I really like the book but I wish there was a little more adventure and action.Artemis Fowl is a series that never gets old just like the Alex Rider series as there is always an element of surprise.I wish such series would never end, while you are reading such a book you never feel like putting it down because you just have to turn the page.

** This review can be found at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2012/aug/22/review-artemis-fowl-atlantis-complex-eoin-colfer

Magic Thief III: Found by Sarah Prihneas

The magic thief is back and is looking for a locus Magicalicus this time. Last time, Connawear was exiled from the city Wellmet because he blew Heartsease to smithereens with his last pyrotechnic experiment. So captain Kernn (the dawn palace’s head guard) and her lieutenants have an eye out for Connawaer. But gutter boys are never caught, gutter boys are always safe from a place guard, but you can never look out for minions. Like all gutter boys Connawaer was caught by the minions and taken to the dusk house ruins, where the Wellmet magic is preparing itself for something, something which I haven’t disclosed to you yet. A predator magic Arihonvar is coming for Wellmet after destroying the city of Desh in Book 2. Nevery and Connawaer are prepared, but the Magisters don’t agree with Conn and Nevery, they’re too scared of facing the truth to believe that magic is a living being. So Conn and Nevery's last hope to get some help is to do a finding spell to find Conn a new locus stone. The spell works and takes Conn to a place very far from Wellmet (on the way Conn finds Rowan who followed Connawaer from Wellmet), but in the middle of their journey a huge (thought to be extinct) dragon picks Conn up and takes him to the dragon mountain, where Conn finds his locus stone, which is accidentally eaten up by a baby dragon called Pip. Conn discovers that all dragons die and turn to magic and that magic turns into a city and protects the city; for example Wellmet. so Conn takes (kidnaps) Pip and takes Pip along to Wellmet.The predator magic is just about to arrive, but to Conn’s misfortune the Magisters sentence Conn to death for coming back before his time of exile was over. Now to Wellmet's magic’s despair, Arihonvar arrives capturing the whole of the sunrise part of town.Then around a day or two later Connawaer gathers his strength and faces Arihonvar and does a epic thing (I’m not going to disclose it! So don’t nag!) - which I still think is impossible to do. 
Now to the ups and downs, I've figured the secret about those occasional letters after each chapter that have a secret code. You have to encrypt the code with a language  that is given at the back of the book - it's fun encrypting those letters and Connawaer is as smart as ever and is hard to catch. There are super interesting  points like the dragon cave or when Conn is slipping out of the academics or when Arihonvar arrives, at these points my heart was in my throat literally. This book is very much like original material it's not a copy of an old boring classic magic story, there should have been a little less action a bit more of story. The book is overall pretty good. 

The Dragons Of Ordinary Farm by Tad Williams and Deborah Beale

Ever imagined a farm with dragons, unicorns etc? Tyler and Lucinda Jenkins used to think that there was no such place until their uncle sent them a letter to visit over to his farm, 'Ordinary Farm'. When they arrived at the farm Tyler and Lucinda think that it's going to be a normal farm with cows and sheeps etc, but they are filled with awe as they discover that the farm is full of dragons, unicorns, flying monkeys, cockatrices etc. but their uncle Gideon forbids them from telling the outside world about it. Tyler and Lucinda go exploring individually and find out about Fault Lines that take them to the past. They also find out a huge secret about the Farmhands who work at the farm. But their uncle is running out of money and a boy called Colin tries to help with those matters, but messes things up with some gangsters. So, now Tyler and Lucinda have to do something before the farms secrets are revealed. I like this book a lot, one of my personal favorites actually because it's exciting, thrilling and has a new adventure on every page. If you're the fairy tale type you can spot this book from a mile away.

This Book Is Not Good For You by Pseudonymous Bosch

Ever heard about a Tuning Fork? Oh! no! no! Not the musical Tuning Fork. I'll tell you, with the Tuning fork in his hand a chef can beat any food into any taste as long as the taster has tasted the food before. Cass and Max-Ernest have to find the Tuning Fork before the Midnight Sun's cooking comarade, Senor Hugo, does. But Senor Hugo has kidnapped Cass's mother! He wants the Tuning Fork from Cass and Max-Ernest. So, now Cass and Max-Ernest have to betray the Terces Society. The Midnight Sun are hiding in a chocolate plantation in an orphanage in Cote d'Ivoire, where they are making children work ( child labour ). Then Cass and Max-Ernest come to know that their school principal owns the Tuning Fork. So, now Cass and Max-Ernest have to get the Tuning Fork, go to Ivory Coast, save Cass's mother and the victims of child labour and stop the Midnight Sun's devious plan. This is the most intresting or I may say appetizing book of all the 3 books. In the series of Pseudonymous Bosch the writer's concepts are very good,intresting and most of all clear and mysterious.

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Have you ever seen characters riding out of books? But this is what happens in this book -- the whole story revolves around a book called Inkheart. 

Mo (short for Mortimer) and Meggie, father and daughter live peacefully, when Dustfinger (an old colleague of Mo) returns and brings back some dark memories. He tells of an evil rising called Capricorn and Capricorn’s men are hunting for Mo. So, now Mo, Meggie and Dustfinger move to Elinor’s house, Mo’s-aunt-in-law. But danger is still lurking and all of a sudden a frightening thing happens; Mo is kidnapped by Capricorn’s men and their leader Basta. So, now the remaining Dustfinger, Meggie and Elinor have to go south to help Mo. They are successful in reaching Capricorn’s village, but are captured. Then, Meggie and Elinor come to know why Dustfinger has nicknamed Mo 'Silvertongue'. Mo, who has the ability to bring characters to life out of books had read Capricorn, Capricorn's men and Dustfinger out of the book Inkheart. Meggie and Elinor see the ability come true the next day, when Mo reads out and brings to life real gold from Treasure Island and Alladin. They escape safely and Elinor returns home. But afterwards, Mo is out to set things right. He has to and does find the writer of Inkheart, Fenoglio. Mo has some business with Fenoglio. 

He asks Elinor to come back, but in this time Meggie and Fenoglio get captured. 

Such breathtaking things are going to happen, you cannot even imagine. These are some pages I cannot describe. SPECTACULAR!, FABOULOUS!, BREATHTAKING! and whatever describing word is there in the world, if you got to read a book it's got to be this one.

This review has appeared on the Guardian, UK's Children's Book Site at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2011/apr/18/review-inkheart 

If You're Reading This, It's Too Late by Pseudonymous Bosch

Ever heard about a Homunculus? I'll tell you -- it's a 'Man made Man' now you know. Weird huh? There's only one way to locate the Homunculus -- that is to locate the Sound Prism and find out the clues or I may say the Musical notes. You have to read this book only after you finish The Name of The Book Is Secret otherwise you won't get it. 

So this time, it's up to Cass and Max-Ernest to find the Sound Prism and locate the Homunculus (Mr. Cabbage Face). But now they are not alone. They have a new friend Yo-Yoji and as always their friend Owen from the Terces Society. And they have a surprise in store for them Yo-Yoji is from the Terces Society too!

They have to find the Sound Prism and the Homunculus, but remember the Midnight Sun is still lurking around. This is a very catchy book. Once you start reading the book you just can't stop reading until you've finished reading. The climax is very interesting but the part a little after the beginning becomes very boring, so compared to the first book this book is not as good. And, you don't get the level of excitement you get in the first book. The writer's stories are quite interesting, I also liked how in the book, the writer asks you to sign a very funny contract which he tells us to sign in blood (Tomato Ketchup - PLEASE don't try to sign in blood! He's just JOKING).
***
(My review is also available on the Guardian Children's Web Site at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2011/apr/15/review-reading-late )

The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas

This is a story about a pickpocket called Connwear, magician Nevery, body gaurd Benet, Dutchess's daughter Rowan and the villan Crowe who live in the magical city of Wellmet.
Connwear once tries to pick a magician's pocket and almost loses his life. The magician (who, you may have guessed, was Nevery) is suprised that Connwear didn't lose his life immediately while stealing the stone in Nevery's pocket. The stone is called a Locus Magicalicus. So Nevery takes on Connwear as a apprentice but the other magicians are questioning Connwear's ability. Now, it's up to Connwear to get a Locus Magicalicus but another alarming thing begins to happen - the magical levels in Wellmet are decreasing and Connwear thinks Crowe is behind this. So it's up to Connwear and Rowan to save the day.
(I can't tell you the ending otherwise there's no fun reading the book)
My opinion on the book is that it's extremly well written, story is fine and pictures are extraodinary. Really good if you like twists and turns and excitement (includes magic). By the way there are some good biscuit recepies too at the back.

The Name of This Book is Secret

In this book the author does not tell you his name (he calls himself the Pseudonymous Bosch - I hope you didn't think that is a real person's name) nor does he tell you the name of the book. After some pages you will find that two pages are filled with crosses instead of words! This page contains information about the characters that the author does not want you to know. So, the story is about this girl who's pet name is Cassandra (the author won't tell you her real name), then she makes a friend in school called Max-Ernest. He's quite a weirdo - his parents are divorced but live in one house. His father and mother divided the house down the middle - one side's for the father, the other's for the mother. The mystery begins when the children find a missing magician's diary. There's then a 400 year old witch whose the main Villain. I can't reveal anymore of the books secrets. By my opinion it is a very unusual and different book - a very well written book some people may like it as a exciting or scary but no one can deny that it is a fabulous book you must read it.
**
(My review can also be found on the Guardian Children's Website at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2011/apr/14/review-name-book-secret)

Percy Jackson - Sea of Monsters: Book 2

By my last review you may already know Percy - this is his second adventure. When Percy is in his new school the whole year has gone by without any vapourizing of maths teachers.(By the way Percy's mom has adopted a kid by the name of Tyson who is actually a Cyclops - a ONE EYED MONSTER but Percy doesn't know it). So on the last day he is playing dodgeball when an elderly group of kids turn into giant cannibals. So when a giant throws a ball at Percy Tyson is just in time to save Percy. Then Annabeth comes just in time to save both of them, and takes both of them to camp-half-blood. In the last review I forgot to tell you that a pine tree which is a border (a border for keeping monsters out) for the camp is actually Thalia daughter of Zeus. I can't tell you the Thalia story - you have to read the book. So the tree is weakening and the half bloods are attacked and the only way to save the camp is geting a golden fleece and to get it from a big Cyclops in the SEA OF MONSTERSSSS! Even Grover is trapped there you have to save Grover and get the fleece. This time the quest has been given to Classerie the daughter of Ares!!!!! But any way Percy follows them. Now no more.... direct to climax! They get to the island and see the fleece is on a tree which is in the middle of carnivorous sheep so now they have to save Grover. The next part is too interesting - I can't say more. Please read the book now. So to my comments: It is a well done book but not as good as Book 1: it is smaller as well but this book is also nice. Not exactly a must but fine.

Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief: Book 1

Percy Jackson is a book about a Greek boy who is a half blood - half boy half god and he is the son of Posiedon, the Greek sea god. The BIG THREE of Greek mythology are not mythology in this book: the god of air Zeus,the god of water Posiedon and Hades, the god of underworld are respected the most in Olympus, the abode of the gods and are alive and real in this book. This book is the one where Zeus accuses Percy that he has stolen his Masterbolt - the most powerful weapon though he is innocent.

With his friends Annabeth, the daughter of Athena who is the goddess of wisdom and war, and Grover, a Satyar, he sets out to find the Masterbolt. Hades thinks that Percy has stolen his devil helmet. So what will Percy do? And of course Percy and his friends stay in half blood camp and are appointed for a quest to find the bolt in 10 days. By my opinion this is a very mysterious, fast and exciting book because in the starting Percy does not know that he is a son of a god until he accidently vaporises his maths teacher with a pen which turns into a sword whenever he uncaps it and always comes back to its owner wherever he loses it. Isn't that cool? After he finishes his quest his best friend Luke tries to kill him, but he escapes. A must for children above 9 years but if smaller children want to read it no problem.