Books for July

Starclimber by Kenneth Oppel

Review

In this alternate reality space adventure, the world is in the early 1900s and airships, not airplanes, are widely used forms of locomotion. The french are building an enormous tower that they believe will stretch in space and allow an easy docking point for spaceships, but the Babelites, an obscure sect that believes man should not travel into space, are working to stop anyone who wants to reach the heavens. When the main character, Matt Cruse, is asked to join one such expedition to the heavens, he agrees and goes through rigorous training exercises that prepare him for his journey into space. But life on board the Starclimber, as the ship is known, may be far from easy. Kate de Vries, a biologist, who he was going to ask to marry him, has just got engaged to a man Matt considers a creep, and Kate is having a hard time with another naturalist, who refuses to believe that there can be life in the upper atmosphere despite the evidence. And what of the strange moving lights that have been seen in the night sky recently? Could it be asteroids of meteorites? Or is it something far more sinister?

Storm Dragon by James Wyatt

Review

In this action packed fantasy adventure, Gaven has been imprisoned in Dreadhold for the last 26 years, too useful to kill but too dangerous to leave alone. Somewhere in his journeys in the dark caves beneath the ground, he saw or found something that broke his mind, or at least, that is what his captors think. He is obsessed with the Draconic prophecies, that concern a figure known as the Storm Dragon and a coming time of darkness. When Gaven is rescued from Dreadhold by the companions of the general in the cell across from him and a bronze dragon named Vaskar, he realizes he is being used by Vaskar so that the dragon can become the Storm Dragon and ascend to godhood. But Gaven has plans of his own, and knows he has a pivotal place in the prophecy, one that he doesn't want. As he struggles against the prophecy, he comes closer and closer to achieving it. As the Soul Reaver breaks out of its prison, he struggles with a question: Is he the Storm Dragon?

Dragon Forge by James Wyatt

Review

In the second book of the Draconic Prophecies Trilogy, Gaven travels to the land of the dragons, where he seeks to find out more about the mysterious prophecy, which he is a large part of. There he is once again captured, this time by an ancient dracolich named Malakith. Malakith has signed an alliance with Gaven's old enemies, who seek to create a hideous and blasphemous device, The Dragon Forge. Tapping into the power of a chained demon, Malakith and his compatriots seek nothing less than to rip Gaven's dragonmark off his body, denying him the power of the Storm Dragon and using it for their own ends. Meanwhile, other plots are brewing, and a barbarian chieftain named Kathric Mel inspires his hordes into an all-out assault on the civilized land, believing himself to be the Blasphemer that the prophecy spoke of. Can Gaven escape these nefarious plots?

Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo by Obert Skye

Review

When Leven was born, a terrible storm swept through his country. This storm was not a freak of nature, as the weathermen explained, but the work of a foul being from another world, the land of Foo, searching for Leven. This thing that once was a man, now known as Sabine, has sent his shadows across the earth, trying to find the one person that could end his terrible reign and his dream of purging Earth of all imagination. Because Leven knows where the gate to Foo is, even if he doesn't realize it himself. Come to help him on his journey to open the gate and stop Sabine are a small, wisecracking sidekick named Clover and a girl named Winter, who unsurprisingly, can freeze things. Can they stop Sabine and return the world of Foo to its natural state?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J K Rowling

Review

When the sixth book of the Harry Potter series ended, Harry had lost Dumbledore, his last and greatest protector and teacher, and has begun on the search for Voldemort's horcruxes, the pieces of the Dark Lord's soul that keep him alive. The journey will be long and dangerous, but he knows he will have the support of his friends Ron and Hermione. However, nothing could have prepared him for the shocking facts that are coming out about Dumbledore, and he wonders whether the man really was his friend. The search must go on, but as he and his friends search for the horcruxes and how to destroy them, he wonders about what he has learned. As the last book in the tale of Harry Potter reaches its conclusion, the truth will be revealed about Dumbledore, Snape, Voldemort and many of the other characters in the world of Harry Potter.

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

Review

When Matt Cruse rescues an old man in a hot air balloon while on the airship Aurora, the man, who is dying, speaks of wonderful creatures in the air. It isn't until two years later that Matt meets his granddaughter, Kate de Vries and wonders if his words were more than just the lunatic ravings of a sick man. Kate says the she believes her grandfather actually saw something, and she intends to see it also. While the island her grandfather spoke about is not on any map, she is convinced it's there. What with storms and a meeting with the infamous pirate Szpirglas, she ends up getting her wish as the Aurora crash lands on the very island her grandfather flew over. There they do find the mysterious creatures her grandfather described, but they also find danger. Can they escape with their lives to tell the rest of the world about their discoveries?

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J K Rowling

Review

In the fourth book of the Harry series, an old contest has returned to the world of Hogwarts, the Triwizard Tournament. In this tournament, the players, selected from three different schools, must test their wits against magical creatures and spells as well as contestants from other schools. Of course, due to the danger of the tests, only students who are of age are allowed to enter by placing their names into the goblet of fire, which will pick one student from each school. When Harry's name is entered into the goblet by an unknown person, he is nominated to take part in the competition. The competition is fierce and the challenges intimidating, but they are even more so when Harry realizes that whoever entered his name into the goblet was probably trying to kill him.

Area 51: The Reply by Robert Doherty

Review

In this action packed alien contact story, a strange alien computer has been discovered under Easter Island, placed there by an alien named Aspasia, leader of the Arlia. When the guardian computer, as it is called, contacts Aspasia, he wakes up from a several-century-long sleep and contacts earth, telling the world that he now believes they are ready to accept his message of peace. But is Aspasia the peace-loving being he claims he is? Is there more to his return than he is saying? And what happened to the rogue aliens who escaped the old Arlia base? All will be revealed as the alien ships make their return to planet earth, and nothing will ever be the same again. -- JackW - 06 Jul 2009