Sunday, November 25, 2012

Eyes of the Dragon


Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King

Unabridged audio read by Bronson Pinchot

I really, really liked this audiobook. The narration was excellent and the story a bit different from any Stephen King I've ever read. It was more wizards and demons and beloved kings. Much more of a fantasy with a bit of the supernatural. Excellent!

Written in 1987, this is the only description I can find. From Barnes & Noble:
A tale of archetypal heroes and sweeping adventures, of dragons and princes and evil wizards, here is epic fantasy as only Stephen King could envision it.
In the kingdom of Delain, a young prince must struggle against powerful forces to gain his rightful inheritance.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Matched




Matched by Ally Condie

Audio-ebook Read by Kate Simses, Jack Riccobono, and Matt Burns
Book #1, Matched, is a very good, very disturbing book. The society in the book, make all the choices for everyone. What to eat, how to exercise, what their career will be, who they will be marry. 100 books, 100 paintings, 100 poems were chosen to keep. Everything else was destroyed. Archivists are made to destroy artifacts and books. Botanists are made to destroy plants that don't serve a purpose. Everyone wears brown or black except on special days like on their matching. It puts me very much in mind of libraries now where librarians are forced by city or school officials to get rid of books. Books are no longer needed "everything is on line." Disturbing.

The two books that follow, Crossed and Reached, continue the story of Cassia, Ky and Xander as they loose each other, find each other and fight for freedom.

An awesome trilogy.

Book Description from Amazon:
Matched: Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

Crossed: Cassia and Ky grapple with secrets, wilderness and the tumultuous meanings of love in the second installment of this addictive, layered dystopic trilogy… Although two-boys-one-girl triangles run rife in this genre, Condie’s is complicated and particularly human, involving real emotional scars… Both rich and easy to digest, this will leave fans hungry for the third book.

Reached:
Cassia’s journey began with an error, a momentary glitch in the otherwise perfect façade of the Society. After crossing canyons to break free, she waits, silk and paper smuggled against her skin, ready for the final chapter. The wait is over. One young woman has raged against those who threaten to keep away what matters most—family, love, choice. Her quiet revolution is about to explode into full-scale rebellion. With exquisite prose, the emotionally gripping conclusion to the international–bestselling Matched trilogy returns Cassia, Ky, and Xander to the Society to save the one thing they have been denied for so long, the power to choose.