Persy -- The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Life is acceptable.

 

Sure, things aren't great. Mary's father is gone, her mother sits by the gate staring into the Forest of Hands and Teeth waiting for some sign of her husband, and her childhood friend Harry is getting a bit too close. But the Unconsecrated are still safely beyond the gate, and the villagers are surviving. Mary still tells herself the stories of her mother, stories of a time before the Unconsecrated and a neverending ocean.

 

But then Mary's mother does see her husband -- and gets too close. She is infected in an instant, and condemned to death. By the time Mary's brother Jed gets back, it's too late to say goodbye. Their mother is shoved outside the gate to join the rest of the Unconsecrated.

 

Life is hard.

 

Now orphaned, Mary expects to be taken in by her brother Jed and his wife Beth, but Jed stonily tells her that she is to be taken in by the Sisterhood, the religious women who rule the village. Harry doesn't come through on his interrupted proposal, and, with nowhere else to go, Mary is forced into the Sisterhood, where her world starts to turn upside down.

 

First of all, Travis, Harry's brother, is injured and taken to the Cathedral to be looked after. Mary has always been in love with him, and she now finds it harder than ever to give up on him (he's engaged to Cass, Mary's best friend) when she sees him every night.

 

And, to top it all off, Mary discovers the impossible: a stranger has come from outside the fence. Does this mean that they are not the last survivors of humanity? That there is an end to the Unconsecrated and the Forest of Hands and Teeth? That her mother's stories weren't just nonsense, but true? Is there really an ocean out there, as she's always dreamed?

 

Life is unacceptable.

 

Mary begins to unwind the lies and mysteries surrounding the Sisterhood and the limping little village. But before she can get very far, the unthinkable happens: the gates are breached, and the Unconsecrated flood the village. Mary only barely survives along with Harry, Travis, Jed, Beth, Cass, a little boy named Jacob, and Mary's dog Argos. The group escape the village and start along one of the many fenced paths leading into the Forest. Mary is confident that there is something waiting for them, something better. Something free. The ocean.

 

I had mixed feelings about The Forest of Hands and Teeth. I've also been rather oblivious about it. When it first came out, I declared it uninteresting and so didn't put it very high on my to-read list. And then when I finally picked it up the other day, I realized it was about zombies. ILOVEZOMBIES. Buuuut then I saw some of the tags it had on various book websites: die-heroine-die, stupid-love-triangle... you get the picture. My excitement faded.

 

Ten pages in: dull dull dull dull Mary is such a stupid whinypants.

Ten - thirty pages in: hey, this is pretty good.

Thirty - one hundred pages in: ugh, Mary.

One hundred - end of book: AAAAAAAAAAAGH.

 

This is one of those books with terrible chars. They're all stupid in their own special way, and I can't help but wonder if they all had some actual mental problems. But then again, seeing as how they live in a post-apocalyptic zombie world, I'll cut them some slack. I doubt I'd have all my lightbulbs screwed in just right if I were in their situation.

 

But this is also one of those books that is just so tragic and well-written and realistic that it somehow ends up beautiful in my head. I closed the book with a sense of awe and shock, completely exhausted from the trip. Talk about a climax done zombie-style. I even sort of ended up liking Mary towards the end. She's still not exactly smart, but I can see her being awesome in a kind of Resident Evil-one-woman-against-the-zombie-horde way.

 

This review reminding you of another book? Life As We Knew It, for example? Yeah, the books are ridiculously similar. They both follow the basic plot of an apocalypse with a character who is incredibly dull and yet resourceful. None of the main chars are all that interesting (though "Forest" had the advantage of a dog; I'll put you out of your misery and give you a small spoiler: Argos survives the entire book), but the writing is spectacular, and for the last half of the book, it's impossible to stop reading. Both books are the first in a series, and both sequels are about different characters. Both main characters are female with names beginning with M. If Carrie Ryan and Susan Beth Pfeffer aren't already friends, they should definitely get together and see what other tragedies they can come up with. Can you imagine what would happen if they wrote a book together?

 

"Forest" definitely isn't for everyone. I don't expect it to become the next great classic or anything, but I still encourage you to give it a try, as long as you aren't too incensed by stupid main chars or too sensitive to mental and physical pain. Yikesies.

 

You might like this if you: like Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer; like apocalypse/futuristic stories; love zombies and therefore must read/see/listen to anything related to zombies; enjoy amazing, unique writing styles (if you can call it unique... let's just say Pfeffer and Ryan are the only two with it); or if you feel like your life is not enough and that there's something else waiting for you beyond a deadly forest. Perhaps this book can give you examples of the does and don'ts (DO practice archery. DON'T be indecisive about your one true love).

Persy -- Replication by Jill Williamson

Yaay, I'm back! Though I'll admit, I'd rather be back in Ireland right now... but I'll suck it up and face the music and write a review already.

Abby Goyer wasn't too pleased with her life to begin with, what with her parents' divorce and all. But then her dad drops the bomb: they're moving to Alaska, and she has about a day's notice. So she packs up and moves, only to discover that she's not very well-equiped for life in Alaska (her car certainly isn't practical).

J:3:3, AKA Martyr, has none of these troubles. He's lived at Jason Farms for all seventeen years of his life, and has never questioned his purpose. He knows that the outside world is toxic and suffering from a deadly sickness, and he knows that when he and the other Jasons turn eighteen, they will expire for the good of humanity.

But when a new doctor turns up at Jason Farms, Dr. Goyer, Martyr is suddenly allowed to ask questions he never could before, and he suddenly wants things he never even knew about. After talking with Dr. Goyer, he wants to see the sky just once before he expires. Is that too much to ask?

Escape proves easier than he expected. He sneaks out of Jason Farms, hides in the back of Dr. Goyer's truck, and is whisked away into the outside world, where he eventually comes face to face with Abby Goyer.

What follows is a very interesting adventure in which Abby struggles to understand Martyr's existence, struggles to survive her new high school, and struggles to keep a hold on her faith in God.

Clones. Christianity. Alaska. Skeptical? Don't be, 'cause this stuff is EPIC.

The summary I read of Replication: The Jason Experiment did not do justice to the book. I had no idea there was another subplot going on about Abby; in fact, the summary didn't even mention Abby. Which is a shame, 'cause she's pretty awesome.

When Abby's first moving out to Alaska, I couldn't help but be reminded of Twilight. As in, Jill Williamson was doing the same kind of girl-moves-to-a-freezing-area-and-starts-at-a-tiny-high-school-where-she-is-the-focus-of-all-attention-and-by-the-way-she's-really-smart story. The difference is, Jill Williamson made it work. For one thing, the reason why Abby becomes the main attraction is because she IS a rich girl from a big city and stands out a bit until she figures out how to blend in better. And then when the captain of the football team starts smirking at her, she RESISTS!!! She doesn't stand there stupidly with her mouth open. Oh, and by the way, Abby actually is smart.

That's really the only similarity between Replication and Twilight. So now we can move on with the review.

Martyr is freakin' awesome. Awesomer even than Abby. He's just so... cool. And he and Abby are freakin' adorable.

Oh, and did I mention that this book is Christian? And that it's still good? 'Cause it is, and it is. Very rarely have I encountered a Christian scifi book (thinking... thinking... actually, can't think of one at all), much less one that is actually made of awesome. But this is sooooo gooooood.

I'm really not sure how to go into more detail without giving anything away, but let's just suffice to say that YOU NEED TO READ THIS. Yes, YOU, the one on the computer! YOU need to read THIS BOOK.

I'm not exactly sure how you'll get your hands on it though; it feels a little obscure. I dunno, maybe it's not, but it just has that feel, if you know what I mean.

Well, we're one week into RAMFAP month, and I've read only three of my favorite books (but I'm picking up speed as we go). How are you guys doing?

--Persy

You might like this if you: like low-key science fiction; like clones; think Bella Swan is an idiot; want some actual good Christian fiction; or if you've recently discovered a bald clone in your bedroom and aren't sure what to do about it.

Persy -- Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Everyone knew the meteor was coming and it wasn't a big deal. Everyone left their houses to watch it strike the moon. Some were scared, some excited, and some didn't care. But then the unexpected happens. The moon is knocked closer to the Earth, and Hell breaks loose -- slowly.

Tsunamis sweep the globe due to the tidal change, power frequently goes out, and that's just the beginning. Hundreds die in just moments. Others take a year to flicker out of existence.

During all this, Miranda, a teenager in Pennsylvania, is faithfully keeping a diary, starting a few days before the collision and continuing it on throughout the apocalypse. She takes us through months and months of survival along with her family: Mom, Jonny, Matt, Dad, Lisa (stepmother), Peter (Mom's boyfriend), and Mrs. Nesbitt (next-door neighbor).

I'm kind of hesitant to review this right now, because I JUST finished it a few hours ago, but I really want to. So I hope you're all prepared for some scattered and disconnected thoughts.

The beginning is really dodgy. I almost put it down countless times, but for some reason I kept on reading. When I was about halfway through, it started to get really good and really hard to put down.

At first, Miranda is the dullest person ever. She's not really annoying, and she's miserable, but she has some pretty good reasons, so I don't mind that so much. She just seems like a really boring person. And she never gets exactly interesting, but she grows so much and when I set the book down, it took me a minute to connect end Miranda with beginning Miranda. And yet, she's still the same character.

None of the characters are really likeable, but they aren't meant to be. It's a very realistic book, which means none of the characters are mind-blowingly awesome. That's just something you have to get over, but the suspense makes it easier.

And the ending is really good. I don't want to give anything away, so... I really can't say much, but I'm impressed with Susan Beth Pfeffer's ability to write a good, final ending. And yet, it's not final final. If you know what I mean.

The only thing that really really irritates me (besides the beginning) is the scene where they burn hair. Burning hair produces an awful smell. Geez.

The second book in the Last Survivors series,The Dead And The Gone, is about someone completely different going through the same disaster, so I'm looking forward to it. Even though I grew to almost enjoy Miranda, I'm glad we're done with her.

In short, I'd strongly recommend Life As We Knew It, but it requires some persistence in order to get past the beginning and into the good stuff.

--Persy

You might like this if you: like survival/apocalyptic novels; enjoy books like Unwind (Neal Shusterman, http://persyandarty.blogspot.com/2010/09/persy-unwind-by-neal-shusterman.html) or Gone (Michael Grant); like beautiful moon covers; or if you're worried about the moon and want a guide on how to survive the oncoming apocalypse.

Arty -- Behind The Gates by Eva Gray

Dystopian. The new paranormal romance, as many people are saying. Which is a shame, because good dystopian is really good. I haven't come across a good paranormal romance (in all my experience with the genre, y'understand). Anyway, dystopian has now reached its totalitarian paws into the middle grade area of the library with the series Tomorrow Girls, by Eva Gray, starting with Behind the Gates.

It's 2020. America is in trouble because of a strange war with someone called the Alliance. Everything is different. (Don't ask me how, I don't remember.) But 13-year-old Louisa isn't worried about the war right now; she's about to go off to privileged Country Manor School with her best friend Maddie.

CMS isn't exactly what Louisa expected, with the wilderness training and sharpshooting classes; still, she loves it. But Maddie doesn't. And one of their roommates, Evelyn, thinks it's all suspicious. But CMS is just trying to keep the girls safe - right?

I don't really need to explain anymore, because we've heard the plot about a hundred times over. Girls sent away to school, school seems weird but strange, girls learn about nefarious scheme behind school, have to... do something. And it's all in this little 240-page book. Very different girls fighting at first and then binding into an unlikely team - check. Main charrie is bland and pretty stupid but OMG SO GOOD AT EVERYTHING - check. One of the girls seems paranoid but is actually OMG SO RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING - check. Another girl - Rosie, their other roommate - is a snobby jock girl but OMG SHE'S ACTUALLY NOT BAD - check.

Which brings me to Maddie, possibly the most annoying best friend I've ever read. This book might have been better if it hadn't been for poor, pathetic, angsty, whiny Maddie. Louisa and Maddie are supposed to be bestest of best friends - they have to pass as twins because Maddie's family is too poor to send her to CMS, and breaking the law is Louisa's way of saying 'I love you' - but as soon as they get to CMS, it's like their friendship dissolves. Maddie angsts. about. everything. I kid you not. And when the inevitable reconciliation comes, it's just so sudden and cardboardy, I laughed straight through it.

And then we have the villains. Oh, the villains. I don't want to 'give anything away' (not that there's anything you won't be able to guess from the get-go), but... there was one scene where it looked like the bad guys would win, and the women villains all laughed over their 'glorious victory.' I was laughing there, too.

There were a few things to like about this series, I guess, but it's really not worth reading it to find them. I hear the second book Run For Cover is better. Still, I have better things to read.

Persy -- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

If you follow my vlog (hint hint?), then you'll know that I recently (as in a month or so ago) read the great classic dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and...was disappointed.

Guy Montag is a fireman of the future, which means he doesn't stop fires, he starts them. Books of all kinds are illegal (and yet, everyone is still taught to read?), and when books ar discovered, the firemen appear on the scene to destroy all traces. He has always enjoyed his job, but then he meets his new next door neighbor, Clarisse McClellan. After many conversations with her, he suddenly begins to wonder, begins to think, begins to imagine.

Montag's perfect world of order begins to crumble until he barely knows up from down. And, to make it all even worse, he begins reading.

This novel held me in rapt attention all the way to the end, where...it stopped. The last chapter left me with a strange and very unsatisfied feeling, which is a shame because the rest of it was so good.

It was like being Guy Montag. When he's going about his monotonous, grey life, you feel like you really are going about your own monotonous, grey life. When he starts falling into insanity, you feel like clutching your hair and screaming along with him as your brain explodes in confusion. The writing is that good.

I think Ray Bradbury just didn't quite know how to end it, or maybe he was in a hurry and so just scribbled something off without giving it much thought (or hey, maybe he thought it was brilliant), but I'm just not feeling it. It didn't have any of the same atmosphere as the first part of the book and seemed like a random addition that might've made sense if added to another book, but just feels...random. It even touches on the edge of ridiculous.

And the first part was SO GOOD. It's a CRIME against LITERATURE!

Well, maybe not that bad. But you know me and endings. If it's not just right, no matter how good the rest of the book is, it doesn't sit right in my mind. Once again, if you want a truly amazing dystopian novel, I have to point you in the direction of Unwind by Neal Shusterman.

While I do agree that Fahrenheit 451 is an important piece of classic literature, and I can understand why it's on so many reading lists, I do not think it is one of the best books ever. I can think of better dystopian novels (with way better endings), and other authors who can not only write an amzing beginning and middle, but also an end. So perhaps it is worth a quick read, but it's not destined to end up on my bookshelf.

--Persy

You might like this if you: like dystopian novels; want to read all the "great works of literature"; read for excellent writing; or if you find it on your required reading list for school.

Arty -- The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

"Fields of white opium poppies stretch away over the hills, and uniformed workers bend over the rows, harvesting the juice. This is the empire of Matteo Alacran, a feudal drug lord in the country of Opium, which lies between the United States and Aztlan, formerly Mexico. Field work, or any menial tasks, are done by "eejits," humans in whose brains computer chips have been installed to insure docility. Alacran, or El Patron, has lived 140 years with the help of transplants from a series of clones, a common practice among rich men in this world. The intelligence of clones is usually destroyed at birth, but Matt, the latest of Alacran's doubles, has been spared because he belongs to El Patron. He grows up in the family's mansion, alternately caged and despised as an animal and pampered and educated as El Patron's favorite." - from Amazon's Review

Yes, I stole Amazon's review again. It's a hard book to summarize - like Frank Beddor's The Looking Glass Wars, it's more of a modern mini-epic than a normal novel, with no one big change and no one big showdown. It just keeps going and going, like the Energizer Bunny.

Okay, that doesn't sound too complimentary, so before you get any wrong ideas, let me make it plain that this was an awesome book to me. I can easily see how some people might not like it - it is not your typical action-filled sci-fi adventure. I told Persy it's more like a character-driven dystopian/sci-fi novel than just a sci-fi. That sounds horrible, too, but Nancy Farmer really makes it work with everything that Matt and his friends and enemies go through.

Do clones have souls? Should they really be treated like people? If you have power, why not use it? If there are people in pain and suffering, why not make them mindless slaves who can't suffer any more? Questions, questions, questions. Usually this turns me off right away, especially if I see it pointed out as a positive in a review. Never to fear, the questions are so integral to the story that you don't even see them as questions. Just necessary problems for Matt to tackle.

Matt. I loved Matt. Flawed - he has to be, as clone of the 'Vampire of Opium' - but idealistic and intelligent, too, he displays a balance of good and bad that finally tips to good like any great hero. I just love him, if I haven't said so already.

The other characters are great too. Celia, Matt's adoptive mother of sorts, who seems sweet and grandmotherly at first, but shows a surprising backbone. Tam Lin, the Scottish bodyguard Matt chooses to watch over him, who has a disturbing past. Even El Patrón isn't a totally bad guy - which somehow makes him even scarier when he is bad. The only characters I didn't like were María and Felicia. María is your typical spunky love interest - pretty, doesn't take no for an answer, stubborn, critical... and she cries all the time. Matt deserved better. And Felicia was just... creepy.

I found a little fault with the ending. Again paralleling The Looking Glass Wars, it felt rushed and a little too easy. Still, Farmer redeems herself in the last few pages, and while marring my memory of the book a bit, it wasn't as bad as many that I've read.

So if you're in the mood for both a bit of sci-fi and a bit of a thought-provocation and a lot of great character building, read The House of the Scorpion.

Persy -- Pastworld by Ian Beck

The year is 2048. The place is London. But unlike the rest of the world, London has not progressed. London, better known as Pastworld, was long ago converted into a theme park where the key word is "authentic". The entire city of London was reverted back to the Victorian era, and is now a place where people from all over the world can come for a vacation of thrills and chills.

Most of the natives of Pastworld know they aren't actually in Victorian London. There are the legal natives who live there all the time. Then there are the illicit beggars, known as the Ragged Men, who aren't supposed to be around but are anyway. And then there's Eve. Eve is a native, supposedly legal, but she doesn't know that she lives in a theme park. She only has a few years worth of memories, and her guardian, the near-blind Jack, hasn't told her much. But as she learns more, she finds that someone is after her, and so in order to protect Jack, she runs away and joins a circus where she discovers her strange ability to dance on a tightrope.

Caleb Brown is a Gawker, a visitor come to enjoy a few weeks in Pastworld. His father is Lucius Brown, one of the imagineers who first created Pastworld. Caleb, though he doesn't want to show it, is thrilled to finally visit the city his father helped make, but the 'vacation' turns into a nightmare when a blind man is killed in front of him and his father is kidnapped by ragged men. Caleb disappears into Pastworld, struggling not only with his conscience, but the basic neccessity of staying alive.

The Fantom is a cold blooded killer who's been missing for years. Gawkers, and even some of the natives, don't believe he really exists, and just think he's a story created to add a hint of danger to the theme park, but he is more than real. And he's returned to Pastworld in search of Eve.

In one sentence, Pastworld is: a very unique book that is both dystopian and steampunk about a killer modeled after Jack the Ripper, a young girl with strange powers, and a few other dudes. And the cover is beautiful. Thank the Lord the book lives up to its cover and description.

So yes, this book actually was surprisingly good. I figured out the mystery of Eve and the Fantom very early on, and I don't know if that's because of a slightly similar plot I've seen or if it's just a transparent plot. But that certainly didn't make me stop reading. It has a great atmosphere and none of the characters are irritating enough to make the book unenjoyable. The basic problem is that it feels like it should be more complicated than it is. It feels like there should be violent plot twists, darker mysteries, and more intensity. Perhaps if this had been geared towards a slightly older audience, it would've been so.

Really, the only thing that bugged me was the punctuation. There were not nearly enough commas in the book, and there were a few random question marks where periods should've been. I was hoping this was just because it was Ian Beck's first novel, but turns out it isn't, so I'm not sure what his problem is. And the ending is a bit...anticlimactic. You know me and endings.

To conclude, Pastworld is a unique novel (set in the future but at the same time set in Victorian London) that, while it isn't going to win any rewards in my log, is definitely worth a look (at least gaze at the cover for a little while).

--Persy

Persy -- The Declaration by Gemma Malley

It's the year 2140, and everyone lives forever.

Well, that's not strictly true. In fact, I'm not even sure if you call what they do living.

A while back, a new drug called 'Longevity' was created, which had the power to extend one's life, theoretically allowing anyone to live forever. But pretty soon, a problem was revealed. People kept having children, and everyone kept on living forever. The world was becoming overpopulated. So The Declaration was created, allowing each family to have only one child and no more. But pretty soon, they decided that was too much too, and so no one can have any children at all.

Of course, some people still dare to defy the law, and those people are hunted down and arrested while any children (called 'Surpluses') are sent to special facilities where they are trained to hate their parents, think of themselves as trash, and to serve Legals.

Surplus Anna is what they call Useful. She Knows Her Place, and is bound to end up a Valuable Asset. That is, until Peter shows up at Grange Hall. Peter is full of strange thoughts and ideas, and insists on calling Anna 'Anna Covey' (even though everyone knows Surpluses only have one name, not two). Peter turns Anna's carefully organized world upside down, and soon she's confused and lost.

I'm really not sure what else to say about this book. From there it goes on as you might expect: Peter finally convinces Anna that her world is screwed up (though it takes incredibly long to convince the poor dense girl), and they run off into the night, etc. etc. There's a dramatic plot twist about Peter's ancestry, and there's various betrayals all throughout the book. So this story isn't exactly overflowing with originality.

Despite that, it actually isn't a bad novel. It's surprisingly disturbing at times, like all dystopian novels should be, but it just didn't pull me all the way in. Peter and Anna were cute, but Anna isn't all that bright and Peter's a tad on the reckless/aggravating side. When I really think about it, there isn't actually anything redeemable about this book except for the thought, "it wasn't bad."

Bottom line: it was good, but not anywhere near great. It doesn't leave a lasting impression, and I'm not going to bother reading the rest of the books in the trilogy. If you want a really good, really disturbing, really thoughtful futuristic/dystopian novel, check out Neal Shusterman's Unwind.

(http://persyandarty.blogspot.com/2010/09/persy-unwind-by-neal-shusterman.html)

-Persy

Persy -- Unwind by Neal Shusterman

In the future, a terrible war is fought over abortion. It ended with a compromise: that once a child had been conceived, that child was legally alive and illegal to terminate, but between the ages of thirteen to eighteen, a child's parents could sign him or her over to be unwound. It's not technically killing a child, they claim, since every part of the child is bound by law to be reused for someone else. The Unwind is still alive, just in many parts.

Connor Lassiter discovers that his parents have signed him over to be unwound, and resolves to run away. During his escape, he turns a tranquilizer gun on a juvey-cop (police assigned especially to Unwind runaways) and earns the nickname of "The Akron AWOL", and so becomes a legend among Unwind runaways.

He also meets up with Risa Ward, a ward of the state of Ohio, and Levi (Lev) Calder, a tithe. Tithes are children raised to be Unwound. They grow up hearing about how they're "special" and are a tenth of the family, so they are given to God. Trying to save Lev, Risa and Connor kidnap him and they end up on the run.

First of all, this is Neal Shusterman we're talking about, so of course it's going to be awesome. What I forgot about when I started this book, though, is that Neal Shusterman is also creepy as heck when he wants to be. This book was puh-retty disturbing at times.

In the beginning, none of the characters are all that awesome. Connor has a bit of an angery issue, Risa's just meh, and Lev is annoying. But as the story progresses, they all gain more depth and I think they actually mature as they continue on their journey. I have to applaud Mr. Shusterman on not only making his main characters round, but giving orotundity to the less important ones as well.

At first I really couldn't see where the plot would go. It seemed like the trio would just wander around eternally and never get anywhere, but there's a reason they call Neal Shusterman "The Storyman". Several points in the story felt a bit strange, but other than that, it was all smooth and perfectly paced, never dragging out boring scenes or rushing over something too fast to figure out what was going on.

I don't want to say too much about the ending, because I really don't want to ruin it, but let's just say it was fantastic. About three quarters of the way through, I had no idea how it was going to end. It was all set up for an unhappy ending, but... well, I'll let you find out for yourself.

It's also written in present tense, which can be confusing at times. After about two seconds, you get used to it and it's fine, but sometimes it'll abruptly pop out at you and you'll have to pause to orient yourself. In my opinion, only really good books can get away with present tense, so thumbs up to Neal Shusterman.

This isn't my favorite Neal Shusterman novel, but a not-as-awesome Neal Shusterman novel is still really awesome. It's one of those science fiction/futuristic novels that's not the space kind of science fiction (in case you didn't get that from the summary), so I wouldn't recommend it to fantasy or hard sci-fi fans. Also, I wouldn't put it in the hands of anyone under thirteen.

Now, you might remember a Wednesday Scrolls (http://persyandarty.blogspot.com/2010/08/persy-wednesday-scrolls.html) mentioning Unwind being made into a movie. It's still set to come out in 2012, but I haven't found any new news about it. You can still check out the movie website (http://unwindmovie.com/UNWINDMOVIE/UNWIND.html) for various contests, links, and such.

After reading the book, I'm not sure if it'd make the kind of movie I'd really enjoy. I can certainly see it as a movie, but it seems like there's a bit too much thoughtfulness in there to make anything other than a "meaningful" movie without a lot of diologue, if you know what I mean. So I'm a bit apprehensive... but still hopeful. I guess we'll just see in 2012.

-Persy