The Eye of Minds: Book 1: The Eye of Minds

            The Eye of Minds, by James Dashner, author of the Maze Runner series, is a great Sci-Fi book that any gamer should read. It takes place in a world where virtual reality has been invented and the grand net of games is called the VirtNet. Michael is a gamer, and like most gamers he spends most of his time on the VirtNet. He has made his way through the ranks so quickly that some might call him the next Gunnar Skale, the most famous gamer in the world. But Gunnar Skale has disappeared, and someone named Kaine is trapping people in the VirtNet and torturing them. VNS, VirtNet Security, has been watching Michael and want him to help capture Kaine.

            The Eye of Minds is very well written, and it has a very interesting plot twist at the end. Subtle hints as to what happens are scattered like breadcrumbs throughout the book, and not many people will notice them their first time reading it. I like this as it supplies re-read value. The next book, The Rule of Thoughts, comes out in the fall of 2014.

Ender Quartet: Book 1: Ender’s Game

            Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card, is a phenomenal book that follows the journey of a young boy named Andrew “Ender” Wiggin. He lives in a world were aliens called the Formic, nicknamed the “Buggers,” have invaded Earth twice, or at least tried to. Humans have pushed them out of the solar system each time. With fear for a third invasion gripping the overpopulated planet, the smartest children on the planet are being recruited to go to a space station called the Battle School. The Battle School is a place where a game–a sport, really–that takes place in zero-g teaches them how to command armies. Ender is one of those children.

            Ender’s Game is near the pinnacle of science fiction. It is very good at keeping the reader wanting to know what happens next. It is very exciting and has a climactic ending. Ender is a great main character as he struggles to prove he is good at what he does. The books in this series are Ender’s Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind. There are also many minor books that are canon in this series as well.

The Maze Runner: Book 3: The Death Cure

            The Death Cure, by James Dashner, is the anticlimactic ending to the Maze Runner trilogy. With the trials over the Gladers have been offered by WICKED to have their memories restored so they can help create a cure for the flare. Thomas, however, has already remembered more than WICKED thinks and knows enough to not trust WICKED. WICKED says that the time for lies is over, but Thomas is discovering more about WICKED and himself as he tries to bring them down.

            This book is, as stated before, very anticlimactic and is filled to the brink with unnecessary plot devices and deaths. Thomas has to fight his way through Denver as he makes one stupid decision that almost gets him killed after another. He then leaves to make even more stupid decisions and eventually gets his friends killed. This book shows exactly how stupid Thomas really is and that he had dumb luck in the first books. At the end of this book I decided not to read The Kill Order until it was the last book on my shelf. The books in this series are The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, and the prequel is The Kill Order.

The Maze Runner: Book 2: The Scorch Trials

            The Scorch Trials, by James Dashner, is a book that tells readers what happens after Thomas and the Gladers escape the Maze. Now that they are out, they face a whole new series of challenges. WICKED tells them that they have to cross the Scorch to reach a safe haven in two weeks. But with it, comes difficulty. The world, burned by sun flares, has a climate that has gone out of control and Cranks, people infected by the Flare a disease that makes people insane, are constantly on the hunt for their next meal. Thomas believes that somewhere in his supposedly empty mind rests the secret to defeat WICKED.

            If you ask me, the first book was better. This is still a good book; I just don’t like the ending. It is just too random for it to make any sense. I just don’t like certain things about it. I would specify, but since it is at the end I won’t. The beginning also wasn’t very gripping. The middle is the only part I liked. The entire series is The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, and the prequel The Kill Order.

Skyship Academy: Book 3: Strikeforce

            Skyship Academy: Strikeforce, by Nick James, is the epic conclusion to the series. With the Authority invasion beginning and humankind near extinction, brothers Cassius Stevenson and Jesse Fisher are Earth’s last chance of survival. They have to gather the planet’s corrupt governments to defend them against the merciless attack. However, the Authority still has a few tricks up its sleeves, and they push the brothers to their limits as they discover how closely their fates are linked.

            This is a great book and a great series that anyone who likes action packed sci-fi adventures should read. It is a solid story that has twists and turns throughout. This is one of my favorite books of all time. It did everything that could be done right, right. It has a great plot, great characters, great everything. The entire series is Pearl Wars, Crimson Rising, and Strikeforce.

Skyship Academy: Book 2: Crimson Rising

            Skyship Academy: Crimson Rising, by Nick James, is a book that continues the events of The Pearl Wars in a way that makes the reader not want to stop. After the battle in Seattle, newfound brothers Jesse Fisher and Cassius Stevenson found their world inside out. Skyship Academy is imprisoning Jesse in his home, afraid of his control of Pearls. Cassius ran to Canada to escape the Unified Party, yet they still threaten him. Jesse finds a red Pearl and starts a sequence that reunite him with Cassius and introduce him to Theo, a Pearlhound with a deadly secret. A larger enemy waits in space, and Jesse and Cassius just might set them loose.

            I really like this book, but I have one complaint; sometimes the characters are really stupid. It’s never both of them, but we learn information from one of them that proves the other’s information wrong, but they continue believing it until it’s almost too late. It really bugs me and made me take a break from reading for a while. Other than that, the book is perfect. It is exciting and mysterious. The books in the series are, in order, The Pearl Wars, Crimson Rising, and Strikeforce.

The Maze Runner: Book 1: The Maze Runner

            The Maze Runner, by James Dashner, is a great book. A boy named Thomas wakes up in the lift, remembering little more than his name. When he reaches the top and the doors open, he finds fifty to sixty other boys waiting for him. They explain that every thirty days the lift opens and a new boy comes out and that they are in a large football stadium sized room called the glade in the middle of a gigantic maze. If they solve the maze, they think they can leave, but they’ve been trying for two years and no solution has come up. Worse still, if you get trapped in the maze at night, creatures called Grievers kill you.

            I really like this book because it is action packed and is very mysterious. At the end of every chapter you just want to keep reading and finish the book. It has great characters and puts you in a mindset that you are just as confused as Thomas. It plays out very well and I love it. Other books in the series are The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure. There is also a prequel called The Kill Order.

Skyship Academy: Book 1: The Pearl Wars

            Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars, by Nick James, is a great book. On an Earth where most of the planet is scorching hot desert, humanities last chance is the Pearls: small, mysterious spheres that fall from the sky which have the capabilities to power entire cities. The Skyship dwellers–political rebels that live in city-sized ships in the atmosphere–and the corrupt Surface government are fighting for control over them. When Jesse Fisher, a Skyship student, and Cassius Stevenson, a Surface operative, come across each other, they trigger something that could reveal a secret about the pearls.

            I love this book. It starts smoothly and doesn't seem to drag along at any point. It is probably one of my favorite books of all time. I found absolutely nothing bad to say about it. It's just that good. My favorite character is a spoiler, but if you read the book you'll know who I'm talking about. There are two other books in the series, neither of which I've read. They are Crimson Rising and Strikeforce.

The Missing: Book 5: Caught

            The Missing: Caught, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, is a book that continues The Missing. Jonah and Katherine were sitting in class thinking that nothing weird could happen again, when time stops.  They have a short chat with JB, about a couple seconds long, before they go flying back in Time. The source of their problem originates in a bad job of returning Albert Einstein's secret daughter, Lieserl. Jonah and Katherine's situation gets worse though, Einstein's wife seems to have noticed them and will do anything to keep her daughter.

             I like this book. It starts taking shape in the first chapter. It starts quickly and keeps going, and I like books like that. The rest of the story is immersive and interesting. It has several parts were I couldn't stop reading and several parts that were like reading a textbook, but it keeps going throughout every chapter. It stops just before the last chapter, and then sets the scene for the next book just as the previous one did for this book. There isn't anything that I dislike about it. The books in this series are Found, Sent, Sabotaged, Torn, Caught, Risked, Revealed (March 2014), and Redeemed (Fall 2015).

The Missing: Book 4: Torn

            The Missing: Torn, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, is a great conclusion to Sabotaged. Jonah and Katherine must quickly recover from 1600 Roanoke Island in order to face their new situation. They are in 1611 now and are moments before a mutiny on the Discovery, Henry Hudson's ship in the frozen seas of the James Bay. They struggle to survive as they realize that something is wrong. The history they learned in school is different than what they're in. Jonah and Katherine try to save the future as they uncover the mysterious secrets of 1611 and the Hudson Passage.

            I really enjoyed this book, but it had a slow start. It just did not seem like it would turn into an immersive story, but it did. By the end, it was a great book that wraps up Sabotaged. Katherine is really awkward in this book, but it is fun to read. The books in the series are, in order, Found, Sent, Sabotaged, Torn, and Caught.

The Missing: Book 3: Sabotaged

            The Missing: Sabotaged, by Margaret Peterson, is a good book that continues the series The Missing. The person that has to go back in Time this time is the level-headed Andrea, or Virginia Dare, the first English settler born in the "New World." But, as fate would have it, Jonah, Katherine, and Andrea, along with a dog named Dare, lose the Elucidator and have no idea where, or when, they landed. As they struggle to survive with little food, water, or knowledge of the terrain, they discover what happened to the lost colony of Roanoke.

            This is an amazing book that will suck you into the story. The characters have to solve problems that nobody could predict and they ask questions that they didn't know they had. The book sets the stage for the next book, which takes place a few seconds after this one. Sabotaged is just the perfect sequel to Sent–it also continues the story of Jonah and Katherine. The series includes Found, Sent, Sabotaged, Torn, and Caught.

The Missing: Book 2: Sent

            The Missing: Sent, by Margaret Peterson, is a great sequel to The Missing: Found. Sent continues pretty much exactly where Found on left off. Jonah, Katherine, Chip, and Alex land in a different time and place, a time where Jonah and Katherine don't belong, but Chip and Alex do. They experience many things that Chip and Alex would have done if they were never kidnapped from Time. Chip and Alex actually turn out to be princes from the fifteenth century, and people are coming to murder them! Jonah and Katherine have to think fast and find out how to use the Elucidator, a time-travel device, or else Chip and Alex might die.

            I enjoyed reading this book. It flows smoothly and has just the right amount of plot twist that a Sci-Fi book should have. It doesn't have any problems that I noticed. My favorite character is Katherine because she is the bratty little sister that many people have. All of the books in this series are called Found, Sent, Sabotaged, Torn, and Caught.

The Missing: Book 1: Found

            The Missing: Found, by Margaret Peterson, is a great start to the series The Missing.  It is very mysterious and doesn't answer many questions.  That's what the rest of the series is for.  This book is just the one that asks the questions.  It is about adoptees, and others, that must find their way back to where they belong.  If they each don't find their way back, Time may fall apart.  It is a Sci-fi book that doesn't seem like one.  It is based on the fact that the main character Jonah and his friend Chip have no idea who they really are.  They eventually find thirty two other kids just like them.  The book ends with a cliff-hanger, so buy the second book before you finish this one.

            My one problem with this story is that it is more mystery than Sci-fi.  The entirety of the book is just them talking about a thing that they got.  They are pretty creative, but it's not like their getting anywhere.  Most of their theories are debunked at the end of the story.  This makes most of what they do pointless.  If just one of their theories was right, this story would be much better and not as pointless.

            As much as I don't like that, there is a reason for it.  The story of this book is just setting stuff up for the next one, and the author had to show how little they know.  In this series, my favorite character is Jonah's younger sister Katherine.  She is just so weird and she makes fun of Jonah a lot, and vice-versa.  She may not like Jonah that much, but she knows when to get serious and when to tease her older brother.  The rest of the books are called Sent, Sabotaged, Torn, and Caught.

Harry Potter: Book 7: The Deathly Hallows

           Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling, is the final installment in the Harry Potter series.  In my opinion, it is the second best book in the series with the previous being my favorite.  Harry has chosen not to go back to Hogwarts and go horcrux hunting instead.  He wanted to go alone, but Ron and Hermione go with him because he can't do anything without them.  This is where the last book left off, and I couldn't wait to start this one.  There are two new teachers this time and Voldemort takes over the school.  So you can expect many things from this book.

            If I could change one thing I wouldn't change anything important to the story, just a minor detail.  I would change how Harry feels about finding horcruxes.  He just doesn't seem to care that much about finding one.  When he finds one, he's just like "Okay, cool," but he should be like "Yes!  One more down!"  His reactions are under-exaggerated and he seems like a robot.  He is looking for things that can kill the most dangerous wizard alive and he doesn't seem to care much.

            I like this book a lot, except for that one detail.  It was well thought out and was very engaging.  It was a very good book and it is a very good ending to the series.  I recommend it to anyone that has read all of the other books.  If you haven't read all of the other books, you can still read it, it just won't make as much sense and you probably won't like it as much.

Harry Potter: Book 6: The Half-Blood Prince

            Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling, is my favorite book in the series.  I really like it and will be praising it in this.  Harry starts another school year and starts it with a new teacher, like always, something happens with Malfoy, like always, and Harry eventually wins, right?  Wrong, Harry does start another school year and something does happen with Malfoy and it's debatable whether Harry wins or not, but what is different is that another character dies at the end.  I say that it's different because nobody thought this could ever possibly happen under any circumstance, but it does happen.  Whether you like it or not, someone does die and someone gets seriously injured and the tide turns. 

            I like Professor Slughorn a lot just because he's so clueless.  He is good at the subject that he teaches, but he is so clueless when it comes to what Harry wants, kind of like Professor Lockhart but not as extreme.  And he does cause Harry to get the Half-Blood Prince's book, so he is a major story element.  He also gets a job that no one thought he would get.  Everyone thought he would teach Defense Against the Dark Arts; well, he doesn't.

            This is a great book and I think that the best moments of the series were in this book.  Everything about it is just great, except for this one thing that Dumbledore did.  It just takes so many turns that no one expects on their first time through if they haven't had spoilers.  And the way that the story flows is just amazing.  I was genuinely sad at the end after what happened, and that's the mark of a good book.  Also, Fred and George create something that I really want to go to.  But I can't go to it because it's not real.

Harry Potter: Book 5: The Order of the Phoenix

            Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling, is, in my opinion, the worst Harry Potter book.  It was very repetitive and not very engaging.  Plus, my second favorite character dies at the end.  And it's not Fred or George, because they are one character.  The movie, however, was the best movie.  It's weird how that happens.

            As you can tell, I didn't like this book very much.  Even though it has the funniest jokes in it, but that doesn't make up for the lack of anything interesting going on.  The entire book is just Harry is stupid, Harry gets in trouble, Harry is stupid, Harry gets in trouble.  And that goes on and on for entire book.  He even does it in the last chapter!  Why is he so stupid!  Also Fred and George do something with what Harry gave them at the end of the last book.  And they are awesome.

 

Spoilers

            Like in every book, they get a new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, and this one was appointed by the ministry to keep Harry and Dumbledore quiet about Voldemort.  Harry sneaks into her office so much, that she reinforced her door, a lot.  Harry also uses the Room of Requirement to host illegal activities called "a group of more than three people studying and practicing Defense against the Dark Arts spells," or Dumbledore's Army for short.  If you think that this is so well thought out that they never get caught, you are wrong.  One of the members tells the new teacher.  Thanks, thanks a lot.  Malfoy also catches Harry single handedly by tripping him with his foot, no magic, just a foot.

Harry Potter: Book 4: The Goblet of Fire

            Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling, is the fourth edition to the Harry Potter series.  In this book, three schools attempt a competition that was last done over two hundred years ago, and was tradition back then.  It is no longer done because of how many deaths it has caused.  Harry must face a mean new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, new spells that are illegal, and maybe a new creature.  Harry faces many people that don't like him or want to ruin his name, but he must power through it.

            I would like to make Crouch Jr. more important.  He was just introduced and then he's gone.  I would like for Crouch Jr. to be someone that was in another book before this.  If J.K. Rowling introduced him earlier in the series then it would fine, but he leaves never to return the same scene that he's introduced.  He is an amazing character with a great background story that was super important for like two seconds and he could have been important for a lot longer.  If he was just in the book for longer or if he was in a battle the book would have been way better.  I hate it; Crouch Jr. could have been an amazing storyline person for the whole series, but he wasn't.

            I like this book and it was an okay movie, but I was never really excited to pick it back up.  If you think it was great, then that's what you think, but I was just reading it to get the story instead of just reading for fun.  This is probably the most important book in terms of story for the series.  I won't spoil anything, but near the end is the thing that everyone knew was going to happen eventually.  Also, Fred and George are awesome in this book, they're just awesome.  They are selling things that they make that are popular, and the things that they make are things that I want/need.  They're even more awesome in the next book.

Harry Potter: Book 3: The Prisoner of Azkaban

            Harry Potter: Book 3: The Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling, is an excellent third book to the Harry Potter series.  It adds excitement and secrets to the series, as well as new characters including Harry's favorite defense against the dark arts teacher yet.  Harry must find out who was responsible for a crime long since forgotten to everyone except Harry.  He must learn to fight a new kind of foe.

            Like the other books, J.K. Rowling introduces a new element, like a spell or an enchanted object, somewhere in each book.  Harry must either use this new element or fight against it, in some books even both.  The Harry Potter series is amazing.  I really enjoy it and, if you haven't read the series, I hope you will too.  The books are, in order, The Sorcerer's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Goblet of Fire, The Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince, and The Deathly Hallows.

Harry Potter: Book 2: The Chamber of Secrets

            Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling, is a book almost everyone has read.  Harry and his friends are going to their second year at Hogwarts, a school where young wizards go to learn magic.  They meet many people, including a strange kid who is obsessed with Harry, Ron's little sister, and the rest of Ron's family.  Strange events are happening at Hogwarts, and a house-elf, Dobby, tries to prevent Harry from going to Hogwarts.  Everyone is blaming Harry for these events and Harry must face his most ridiculous year yet, with strange people and events, and a new teacher that is the strangest of them all.

            Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is an awesome book that you need to read right now.  I mean right now.  Well, after you read this anyway.  Or if you haven't read the first book, The Sorcerer's Stone, but you get my point.  The Chamber of Secrets is amazing. 

Harry Potter: Book 1: The Sorcerer's Stone

              Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling, is an amazing book that almost everyone has read.  I hardly have to say how good it is considering you most likely have read it.  The magical elements in the book let J.K. Rowling use a story structure that not many authors can use.  It also lets her make up new things along the way, like a lot of the spells and subjects.  Like Bertie and Botts every flavored beans, this book has everything in it.
            Harry Potter, the main character, is like Percy Jackson from The Lightning Thief. They both have many things that help them in similar ways, they both lived with people that hated them, and they both went through the Hero's Journey.  I recommend this book to everyone, and I mean everyone.  It is such an amazing book that I don't know what else to say.  Well, there are seven books in the series, The Sorcerer's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Goblet of Fire, The Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince, and The Deathly Hallows.  They are all amazing books.  At the time this was written, I am in the middle of The Goblet of Fire.