Book Review: Firmament: Reversal Zone

I'm participating in the blog tour for J. Grace Pennington's new book Reversal Zone, part of her Firmament series. Obviously, I'm reviewing the book. But first, read more about the book below.

J. Grace Pennington has published four science fiction novels. They each have a unique bent to them, but this one is very different. Each book is a standalone, but as with any series, you get more of the story if you read them all in order. In Reversal Zone, the main character, Andi Lloyd, becomes the only one who can save the ship and crew. Can she do it in time?

About the Book

Nothing is as it should be.

After weeks of boredom, Andi is excited when the Surveyor is called upon to rescue a freighter that mysteriously vanished in uncharted space.  Excitement quickly turns to unease when the ship encounters an unknown phenomenon—a cloud that appears not to exist.  But with the freighter's crew in danger, the Surveyor has no choice but to venture into unknown territory.

As soon as they enter the cloud, its unstable effects wreak havoc on the ship.  They're flying blind.  Every piece of equipment is malfunctioning.  And every member of the crew is unable to think straight or act like themselves—except Andi.

Now she's expected to guide them through the predicament with no previous command experience and no one to turn to for support.  And with each passing hour, it becomes clear that if they don't escape the cloud soon—they won't escape it at all.

Recommended For: Ages 13 to Adult (interest level)

Rating: PG

If you like sleep, then this book isn't for you. However, if you are perfectly willing to stay up all hours of the night to finish this book, then you must read this book. Because it is amazing.

Rightly is Grace called "The Sleep-Stealer." I stayed up way later than I should have reading this book. But being incredibly tired the next day was totally worth it.

Writing: 5/5

I read another really good book for a different blog tour before writing this review (perhaps not the most brilliant plan?) so I might forget something, but I don't remember any flaws in the writing. The story was clear and concise, the wording well-put, and I don't remember any typos. It moved the story along brilliantly and kept the focus where it should have (Crash! Why did he have to-but spoilers). 

Setting: 5/5

This story is set entirely on the Surveyor. Same good old ship we know from the previous books. Well-described, perfect setting for the story.

Plot: 5/5

*Incoherent screaming* SPOILERS Andi's going to die. The radialloy isn't working any more because she's so brave and saved them all and now she's going to die and it's awful. And CRASH HOW COULD HE DO SUCH A HORRIBLE THING? I get why, but EVERYBODY ALMOST DIED! Is being a responsible and reliable human being really worth that? And August was so mean to Andi, how could he? The captain was really that lazy? HOW COULD AUGUST BE SO DARN SNAPPISH TO ANDI? END SPOILERS Okay, I'm good now. Man, what a plot. I did see both of the major plot twists coming, but the second one was still really heartbreaking. The plot was all twisty and turny and exciting and kept me up reading too late.

Character Development: 5/5

Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. The amount of work it took to invert the personalities of all the characters and make it seem natural...wow. Andi, of course, was great. The Doctor was pretty good when he was himself, August, too (when he was himself), and Crash...well, you're just going to have to read the book. The other characters were good, too, down to Spock-ish Guilders, but I much prefer when they're being their normal selves. Granted, I think the book would have been much improved by Elasson, but I think I'm going to have to wait a few more books before he comes back in. (How could Grace be so cruel and make us wait so long?) In short? Characters: Brilliant. But I need more Elasson.

This book is amazing. You have to go buy it right now HERE! and read it as soon as possible. If you haven't entered the Firmament series yet, you must do so. You can buy the first book HERE! or enter the giveaway below for a chance to win them for free. And the series needs more Elasson. Just saying.

Another link to buy Firmament: Reversal Zone:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LZV1ILB

About the Author

J. Grace Pennington has been telling stories since she could talk, and writing them down since age five.  Now she lives in the great state of Texas, where she writes as much as adult life permits.  When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading good books, playing movie soundtracks on the piano, and looking up at the stars.

You can find out more about her writing at www.jgracepennington.com.

Giveaway

Grace is generously offering three prizes. A signed copy of each of her three previous novels in the series. They are each standalone stories, but they are also connected. If you would like to read more about them, you can read about them here: Radialloy, In His Image, Machiavellian.

To enter the giveaway, please fill out this form.

You can find the rest of the blog tour below. Go check it all out!

Friday, October 7

Bookish Orchestrations-Tour Introduction

Fathers and Sons-Sports and Life-Guest Post

The Destiny of One-Guest Post

Perpetual Gardener, Writer, and Mormon-Excerpt

Rebekah Lyn Books-Author Interview

Saturday, October 8

Shout outs-Guest Post

Author Franky A Brown-Excerpt

Shire Reviews-Book Review

Sunday, October 9

Letters from Annie Douglass Lima-Excerpt

Zerina Blossom's Books-Excerpt

Monday, October 10

Rachel Rossano's Words-Excerpt and Guest Post

In the Bookcase-Excerpt and Book Review

Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections-Book Review

Tuesday, October 11

The Abrahamic Adventures-Book Review

The Overactive Imagination-Excerpt and Guest Post

Morgan Elizabeth Huneke-Book Review

Lisa Swinton Queen of Random-Excerpt

Wednesday, October 12

Bookish Orchestrations-Giveaway Winner

 

Movie Review: The Emperor's New Groove

The Emperor's New Groove

Recommended For: All Ages

Rating: G

In this animated comedy from the folks at Disney, the vain and cocky Emperor Kuzco is a very busy man. Besides maintaining his "groove", and firing his suspicious administrator, Yzma; he's also planning to build a new water park just for himself for his birthday. However, this means destroying one of the villages in his kingdom. Meanwhile, Yzma is hatching a plan to get revenge and usurp the throne. But, in a botched assassination courtesy of Yzma's right-hand man, Kronk, Kuzco is magically transformed into a llama. Now, Kuzco finds himself the property of Pacha, a lowly llama herder whose home is ground zero for the water park. Upon discovering the llama's true self, Pacha offers to help resolve the Emperor's problem and regain his throne, only if he promises to move his water park.

Last Thursday I got a bad cold, so I spent two days mostly sleeping and watching TV. This movie was going off of Netflix, which we have now gotten rid of, so I decided to watch it. It was so cute and funny! It didn't quite have the feel of most Disney movies, but it was hilarious and awesome!

Technical: 5/5
Do you really need to wonder? It's Disney; they always do a good job. They have great animation and actors and everything else! The dialogue is hilarious. It's quite a funny movie, filled with entertainment, fun, and a little bit of satire.

Setting: 5/5
Just a normal fantasy country... Seriously, though. Jungles, hills, large palaces, llamas, restaurants that serve bugs, squirrels and panthers... I'm not sure if it's supposed to be in a specific place, but it is a very vibrant setting that is the perfect backdrop for the story.

Plot: 5/5
Fun, imaginative, and completely hilarious. If you can't tell, this movie had me in stitches! Kuzco's narration of the entire plot is fabulous. A bit conceited and self-obsessed, but that's just Kuzco! I don't know what else to say about the plot without giving stuff away, so I'll leave it at that.

Character Development: 5/5
Wow. Just... The characters in here? Wow. Kuzco was hilarious and sarcastic and conceited and his character arc was just amazing. Kronk is...Kronk. I like Kronk, even though he is stupid. Yzma...I just love how the entire plot was borne because she was lazy and wanted to save on postage. And Pacha. He was amazing, and made even more amazing by the fact that he was voiced by John Goodman, better known as James P. Sullivan.

I love Sully, so that made it even better.

Basically, this is a hilarious, fun movie that everyone should see at least once.

Movie Review: Big Hero 6

Big Hero 6

Rating: PG (violence)

Recommended for: Ages 7 and up

A boy and his robot join with a band of nerds to save the world.

I had been wanting to see this movie, especially since I had drawn one of the characters at Disney World, and when it was shown in the park, we got to go see it.

Technical: 4/5

As an animated movie, the characters weren't completely realistic looking, but it was better than some of the animation that Disney has done. The plot was easy to follow and didn't drag, it was also sad and funny and entertaining.

Setting: 3.5/5

This movie takes place in the city of San Fran-Tokyo, which ended up being a mixture of the two cities. I mostly noticed the San Francisco elements, mostly from watching a lot of Monk. Since at the beginning of the movie I got the impression that they were in San Francisco, and I got a little confused about it. While no such city actually exists, it was an interesting blend of the two cities.

Plot: 4/5

The plot was a little bit cliche and somehow I didn't guess the plot twist because I thought something else was going on. It had a sad beginning and because it is a Disney movie, it had a happy ending. It is a super hero movie but instead of having super powers, the characters are nerds and create all of their equipment. It was a little complex for a kid's movie, but still easy to follow.

Characters: 4/5

The main character was pretty well developed but there wasn't a lot of time to spend developing the secondary characters, and I can only remember one of their names. Baymax is funny and and even though he doesn't have many emotions as a robot, he is still an interesting character. The main character is not perfect and he grows throughout the story.

While not the best movie in the world, it is a good movie and worth watching, especially if you like Disney movies.

Movie Review:Ben-Hur

Ben-Hur (1959)

Rating: PG (violence and injuries)

Recommended for: Ages 14 and up

A member of the Jewish nobility living in Jerusalem, Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) lives a religious life and peacefully opposes the tyrannical occupation of Judea by Rome.

After months of waiting to watch this movie (we recorded it the week of Christmas) I finally got to see it. It wasn't nearly as good as the book, but it was still good.

Technical: 4/5

This is an old movie, so the acting was a little stiff and awkward at times. There was some good acting too. The film score would get dramatic at strange times and was also a little weird. The chariot race was pretty realistic (and a little horrifying) and left us wondering how they would have done it. The pacing was good and I wasn't confused about things, even when they changed things.

Setting: 4.5/5

The setting was true to the book, from what I can remember. Things didn't seem to be historically out of place. I don't know a ton about the area, but nothing was obviously out of place.

Plot: 3.5/4

There was a lot that was changed from the book and in my opinion, it was not for the better. They cut a major character, killed a major character that didn't die, and changed a very major event. The basic plot line is still the same and they keep some of the most major things. Some of the things they cut probably would have taken the focus away from Ben-Hur.

Characters: 4.5/5

For the most part, the characters are the same as they were in the book. They also let you see two characters' good friendship before it went bad. Ben-Hur wants to protect his family and to get revenge. The actor was a little too old for Ben-Hur and didn't exactly look the part but since he is on the cover of the book I read, I think of him as Ben-Hur.

This movie is semi-faithful to the book. It is an old movie but it is still good. I would recommend it. and if you like the book, it is still worth watching (just be prepared for major changes) and it is a good movie despite its differences from the book.

Book Review: Journey to the Center of the Earth

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

Rating: PG

Recommended for: Ages 13 and up (interest level)

 Jules Verne's perennially popular Journey to the Center of the Earth begins when irascible but dedicated mineralogy professor Otto Lidenbrock finds a centuries-old parchment inside an even older book. His nephew Axel decodes it, and discovers instructions on how to get to the center of the Earth: "Go down into the crater of Snaefells Yocul," an extinct Icelandic volcano. As they descend, the explorers also travel backwards to the past, through layers of human history and geologic time, encountering prehistoric plants and animals and ultimately coming to understand the origins of humanity itself.

I have been wanting to read this book for several years,  since I liked Around the World in 80 Days, and about a year after finding it at a library book sale, I finally read it.

Technical: 4/5

The book is mostly from Axel's point of view as if he is telling the story afterwards, except for the random part where it switches to the author's narrative without any break. The story was easy to follow but it dragged a little when they talked about scientific things and some of their journeying. Overall, it was an interesting read. This is a translation, so different editions will have some differences.

Plot: 5/5

The plot was pretty simple, all they did was go on a journey to the center of the earth, there was no villain. It was just an adventure story, and that was about it. It was very simple, so there were no plot holes. The reason they decided to go on the adventure, while not the best reason, was due to a character's personality while another character thought he was crazy but was still dragged along.

Setting: 3/5

While the setting makes for an interesting story, it is not very realistic. It doesn't get incredibly hot as they go down towards the center of the earth and there probably is not an ocean, or extinct animals living in the earth. There were also mentions of evolution in the story and in the notes. The notes would also mention when Jules Verne got geographical or other facts wrong or confused. The characters are from Hamburg, Germany, and they also travel to Iceland while above ground.

Characters: 4/5

There are three main characters: Hans, Professor Lidenbrock, and Axel. Hans is an Icelandic guide who is hired to take them to the crater of Snaefells and to help them along the way. Hans does whatever the Professor tells him to do. He is resourceful but is mostly there. Professor Lidenbrock is eccentric and impatient and is determined to go on the journey, He can sometimes be nice but gets very worked up over things. Axel is the one who tells the story. He has his moments of despair and of enthusiasm. He is realistic and since he narrates the story, you get into his head.

While this book is not perfect, it was still an interesting read and a good classic and I would recommend it.