Rowling’s second book continues along the track laid out in the first novel and at first glance does little to enhance it. However, Rowling slowly seems to be picking up steam in the series. This book certainly spends more time focused on the plot and tension between Harry and the Dark Lord Voldemort appear [...]
Entries from July 2007
July 29, 2007
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone
J. K. Rowling’s debut novel is certainly a fine effort from a good story writer who is well acquainted with the elements of a good fantasy. Rowling follows in the footsteps of Lloyd Alexander and C. S. Lewis in sculpting a character, world and story that manages to entertain and capture the imagination. The [...]
July 7, 2007
Xenocide
The third novel in Card’s Ender quartet starts with a bang but ends with a fizzle. For almost 300 pages Card moves through a story that at first appears to be a more than adequate companion to Speaker for the Dead. However, the book grinds to a halt in the second half as [...]
July 7, 2007
Speaker for the Dead
Orson Scott Card’s Ender quartet reaches its peak in this second novel in the series. While Ender’s Game was content to settle for being an entertaining read which raises issues around war games, mind games and the psychological manipulation children, Speaker for the Dead moves into broader ethical issues and explores cultural conflicts by [...]
