Fiction

=Emperor-The Gates of Rome= by Conn Iggulden

This is the first in the //Emperor// series, which tells us the remarkable story of Julius Caesar, right from childhood. It is not a biography of him but a combination of mostly facts and fiction. This book is about his childhood and part of his teenage years, during which he lost his father, uncle, became in charge of family business, was separated from his friend, was nearly killed a couple of times, married and banished from Rome. It is a wonderful tale of an ambitious young man struggling to make his way in the world and follow in his father's and uncle's footsteps. Caesar is caught in a titanic power struggle in Rome where two men are fighting for control.

This was a really marvelous book that held me captivated as I turned over each page. As I read through, I couldn't help thinking that this was not the type of book for my age, but nevertheless a good one.

Shilpa ;)

=The Tiger in the Well= by Philip Pullman

This book is by the excellent author of the His Dark Materials series. I know some people think he's boring and describes too much, but I for one love his books. They are really gripping and heart-stopping, and this is one of the books I've really got totally lost in. This book is about financial advisor Sally Lockhart's fight to keep her child, Harriet from the clutches of a Mr. Parrish, a man who claims to be her husband. He's somehow planted a fake marriage certificate, and everything points to her being his alcoholic, ungrateful wife. The courts are deciding who will retain custody of Harriet but they are definitely in favour of Parrish. To protect her child and to start some investigation of this mysterious Parrish, she goes into hiding, which hard, though. The police are ordered to arrest her on sight and with newspaper headlines screaming her name, Sally is forced again and again to move. She unearths some facts, however, and discovers that there's more to this than petty kidnapping. There's larger forces at work; someone who has been seeking revenge for an unforgivable offence done to him, someone people consider supernatural and mystical: the Tzaddik. I'd reveal more, but I really don't want to spoil the book for you, so read it and see for yourself. By the way, Tzaddik means holy man in Yiddish. If you want to discover what's so mystical about him, read this for yourself!

Shilpa ;)

=The Wish List= by Eoin Colfer

This is another great book by another great author. It is about a delinquent girl called Meg Finn. After her mother died, Meg was left to the care of her mother's repulsive second husband who abused his power and cared only for television, using Meg's money and her mother's jewelery for his own needs. Meg embarrasses him in public and runs away to get money for a passage by ship to another place. She ends up with a notorious street hoodlum, Belch Brennan, 16, and his dog. She helps him break in and enter an old pensioner, Lowrie McCall's apartment to steal money when he catches them in the act. After Belch's dog takes a big chunk out of McCall's leg, Meg grabs McCall's gun and forces Belch to call his dog off. When Meg is distracted, Belch grabs the gun and Meg runs for it. The duo converge on her in a blocked alleyway, with her back to a rickety gas tank. Belch sends a shot over her head and blows them both to pieces. When they enter the tunnel for afterlife, Belch goes spinning to hell, his spectral trail fully red. Meg, however, ends up as an in-betweener. Her spectral trail is purple, which means that she's done an equal amount of good and bad in her life. Now, she has to go back and help Lowrie McCall fulfill his wish list. Sounds easy enough. But there are complications. Satan wants her soul and he sends Belch back too, to make her fail in what she does. Belch is determined to fulfill his task and drag Meg to hell. Together with his irritating and intellectual robot Elph, he sets out to try and make Meg's task as difficult as possible. This book was full of suspense and mystery and it was really exciting. However, the one thing I have noticed about Colfer's books is that all of them are about supernatural creatures and are pretty similar. Anyway, this book is a must read if you liked Artemis Fowl!!

Shilpa ;)

=The Power of Five=

Raven's Gate
by Anthony Horowitz

Raven's Gate is the first in the Power of Five series by the best-selling author of the Alex Rider series, Anthony Horowitz. Long ago, there was a civilization, even before the Greek, Chinese or any other ancient civilization. This civilization is so ancient it has been almost forgotten: Atlantis. Then came the Old Ones, the evilest of evil creatures, who slowly destroyed Atlantis. Their only desire was to see pain and misery around them. The Christian Church now refers to Satan and Lucifer, who are but memories of the older and greater evils. If the Old Ones had it their way, they would have reduced the world to nothing but an empty swamp. Then, a miracle arrived in shape of 5 children, 4 boys and a girl. Where they came from is a mystery. They organized a resistance against the Old Ones and won the battle, forcing the Old Ones to be expelled from our dimension. The Old Ones were sent to another dimension, and a magical gate was built to ensure they would never return. It took the form of a stone circle and was later called as Raven's Gate. No record of this ever existed but there was few evidence. A diary of a Spanish monk; a few carvings on temples and walls. These were found by a secret organization called the Nexus, which consisted of people all over the world, whose function was to monitor the gate. If there was ever a plan to open it, they were responsible of finding the 5 children.

Matthew Freeman is currently 14 years old and living with his mother's half-sister in Ipswich. His parents died when he was eight in a car accident. He is an exceptional child and he knows it. He can see the future and control things. But he can't control his power and he doesn't know that he's going to play a vital part in a bigger plan that will change the fate of the Earth if it succeeds. When he gets into trouble with the police, he is sent to live with Mrs. Jayne Deverill, an old lady living in Lesser Malling, who is to be his "foster mother" for a minimum period of one year. This is part of a project called "LEAF" which sends child delinquents to people living way out in the country to discipline them. When he gets there, weird things start happening. Mrs. Deverill makes him drink snakes blood when he has pnuemonia, leaves him alone at night, and there are mysterious lights shining at an abandoned nuclear power experiment called Omega One, in the forest.When Matt tries to leave, the roads won't let him. Whoever helps him is killed in various accidents. He teams up with Richard Cole, a journalist in Greater Malling and meets a member of the Nexus, Sanjay Dravid. Professor Dravid is kiled after telling Matt and Richard about the history of the Old Ones. The museum comes to life and Matt is captured by Mrs. Deverill and her sister. He believes that Richard is dead, killed by the falling ceiling. He is brought to Omega One and there, the whole plan is revealed. There are 3 things Raven's Gate needs to open - ritual, fire and blood. And Matt's the blood donater. Matt knows he has to escape, or he'll be killed and the world will be at the mercy of the Old Ones. He already knows that he's one of the Five and that he possesses incredible power, but he doesn't know how to harness it. If he can, maybe he can escape. It's worth a shot. But does he? Read the book to find out!!! This book was totally awesome and it kept me on the edge of seat the whole time. I just couldn't put it down!! If you liked Alex Rider, you'll love this one. Its got suspense, action and mystery; everything a good book needs.

Shilpa ;)