REVIEW: The Pact by Jodi Piccoult

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The Joy of Books

  

The Clockwise Man by Justin Richards
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy Pages: 258
Series: Doctor Who New Adventures
Start: January 5 Finish: January  8

The Clockwise Man by Justin Richards is the first novel in the Doctor Who New Series Adventures, and the first to feature the Ninth Doctor from the revival BBC television series.

In this novel we find Rose and the Doctor on yet another adventure through space and time in the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space). They arrive in London in 1924 intending to visit the British Empire Exhibition but find themselves on the hunt for a vicious and inhuman killer. They discover a cat that cannot die, and a masked woman who never shows her true face. It comes down to Rose and the Doctor to solve the mystery. For those unfamiliar with the characters of Rose and the Doctor, here is a quick overview.

The Doctor (9th incarnation):

The Doctor is a Time-Lord, a centuries old alien hailing from a planet called Gallifrey. He travels in his TARDIS; a space ship and time machine which looks like a police box from 1960's London. The
Doctor is a survivor of the Time War which wiped out his people and their enemy, the Daleks. The Doctor often brings companions on his journeys and the first of the Ninth Doctor is Rose Tyler. Underneath the Doctor's jovial, witty, and forthright exterior lies centuries of loneliness and guilt.
 
Rose Tyler:

Rose Tyler is the companion of the Ninth, and later the Tenth Doctor. Before she met the Doctor Rose was working as a shop assistant in London, and lives with her mother Jackie.Rose is the first companion whose family knows about her travels with the Doctor and despite her mother's pleas Rose continues to travel with him.

Because this book was based off of characters of a popular television series characterization was very important to making the story work. In the case of the familiar characters of the Doctor and Rose, I found their portrayal to keep in tune with the series. The only difficulty I came across was that I kept picturing the Tenth Doctor, instead of the Ninth! This may have something to do with the Tenth being my favorite. However, I also feel that the regeneration aspect of the Doctor's character might not work as well for the books as it does on TV.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book. It's the next best thing for the show and I loved being able to read of another adventure involving the Doctor and Rose. I enjoyed the plot as well and loved the idea of mechanical men and cats running around 1920's London because clockwork creations fit well into that era.

I am looking forward to reading more books from the New Series Adventures. Anyone interested in learning more, or perhaps getting a copy of their own can just click on the book cover above. The link will take you to the Amazon page for the Kindle edition of the book.

Thanks for reading!
Later Days!

55 Questions for Readers

I was reading another review blog of a former classmate (Just A Good Book) and came across a questionnaire she filled out. I love filling out questionnaires so I thought I would give it a go as well as a means of posting an update while I am reading though my next book. So here we go...

Here goes...

Books Read to Date: 3

I have decided to start on a little project this year. I am a very avid reader and tend to go through books quite quickly, especially ones I am enjoying. I decided I would open an Excel sheet and start tracking books I read this year as well as when I start and finish them and what I thought about them. Then I had another idea...why not blog about them too!

So in this blog I will be posting my reading progress and reviews and thoughts on the books I am reading. As many of the books I plan to read are in a series or are adaptations of shows (I am currently reading the 'Doctor Who New Adventures' series, which I suspect could wind up being quite repetitive review wise) I may just post a quick update about my start/finish and a brief thought on the book.

That being said I have already finished three books this month so here is just a quick review of these:

1. The Carrie Diaries and
2. Summer and the City by Candace Bushnell.
Genre: Teen Pages: 404, 421
Start: January Finish: January

I received both The Carrie Diaries and Summer and the City for my Kindle as gifts from my Fiance for Christmas. We had watched the Sex and the City series together in 2011 and knowing how much I enjoyed it he thought I might enjoy the books.

While geared towards teens I actually found it hard to put the book down. It was interesting to have a glimpse into Carrie Bradshaw's past. For me, what was most interesting about these books is it tells us how she meets her best friends, also characters from the television series as well as how Carrie comes to live in New York. While not at all in line with the series, Sex and the City fans might find this an interesting read.

3. The Stone Rose By Jacqueline Rayner
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy Pages: 259
Series: Doctor Who New Adventures
Start: January Finish: January

I recently became a huge Doctor Who fan and after finishing the last season was a bit disappointed to be finished. I was rather excited when I came across the Doctor Who books, of which there appears to be hundreds. What interested me most was the 'Doctor Who New Adventures' novels as they follow the Ninth Doctor onward.

I decided to start with 'The Stone Rose' because it is the first story with the Tenth Doctor, as played by David Tennant because he was my favorite. I was very disappointed when he regenerated so I was glad to see I could get more of him from the books. Rayner does a pretty decent job keeping true to the series and to the character of the Doctor himself as well as the other characters such as Rose (Billie Piper). I found reading the books to be a lot like watching the shows because in my mind I could really picture Rose and the Doctor as Raynor portrayed them. I'm really excited to start the next one, however I have decided to go back to the beginning of the new series with the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston).

So that was just a quick overview, my next updates should be a lot more organized and will include a start and finish date as well. Until then I am off to begin my next book:
The Clockwise Man By Justin Richards.

Later Days!
Jessie