A weird and wonderful journey by Haruki Murakami, this is now one of my favorite books of all time! The imagination is stunning and the fact that it all starts with a missing cat is beautifully simply :)
The ending is a touch underwhelming. But I highly recommend this book.
P.S. I find it highly annoying that a couple of chapters from the Japanese edition have been excised from the English translation :/
The final book in the Millennium trilogy continues the story from book two. It ties up many of the loose ends, documents Lisbeth's fight in the courts, and provides closure on a few topics. However, it does this by inventing the clichéd freemason-like secret department within the secret service. This department, apparently very powerful, is also populated by idiots and the plot fails completely because of this.
But, if you liked books one and two, you can consider this book the longest epilogue ever written and enjoy it for that reason. Disappointing.
Book two in the Millennium trilogy explores Lisbeth Salander's past. While not nearly as tight as the first book, it still makes for entertaining reading. However, the background with the villain, "Zala", feels a little too contrived and the plot has a few too many holes in it. But, if you liked the first book, you'll enjoy this one too.
This book by Stieg Larsson is an entertaining mystery-thriller and something of a coming-of-age story as well. The reader is always rooting for the female protagonist, Lisbeth Salander, who is a reclusive, reticent, abused woman with hidden "superpowers". A good read without any major holes in its plot as long as you suspend a little sense of disbelief in the build-up. The setting in Sweden gives it that extra something as well.
While it is the fifth book of the Earthsea cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin, "The Other Wind" is more like a direct sequel to "Tehanu", the previous book in the series. Compared to the other books, this one has many more characters and attempts to create "grand" fantasy. IMHO, it fails in this respect. It also loses the key element that underpins this series, its serene atmosphere.
While I found its denouement interesting and fulfilling, I was on the whole quite disappointed with its flow and characters.
I watched the movie first many, many years ago. Looking back it's mostly a faithful reproduction of this excellent Chuck Palahniuk novel, albeit not as "schizophrenic". The book mostly reads well. However, whether it was because I'd seen the movie before or not, the "Reveal" wasn't as satisfying as there were a number of suggestive hints throughout the lead-up which seemed to give the game away too early.
One of those rare situations where I enjoyed the film adaptation more than the book. That said, this is recommended reading.
Tehanu is the fourth book in the Earthsea cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin. Written almost a couple of decades later when the author was nearing 60, it has a more mature, feminine feel to it. The central character is Tenar (from book 2) who has now grown old, and her relationship with everyone and everything around her. It's a slow-paced but measured read which is for a good portion of the first half, almost like a side-story. Things pick up once Ged makes his entry.
A good read if you like the Earthsea universe. However, it is not standard fantasy fare.
As book three of the Earthsea cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin, this one had some living up to do and it does. The story takes place a few decades after its prequel and involves another quest by Ged along with a passenger, a young prince, as they investigate the reason why magic is being drained from Earthsea. The atmosphere is just as harmonious as the other books in the series and the imagination, magnificent. There are a few areas that do not flow very smoothly. But, by and large, this is an excellent read.
This is the sequel to The Wizard of Earthsea and while a little underwhelming, is a nice read. The protagonist from the first book does play an important part in this book. However, he does not appear until half-way through and primarily plays the role of a mentor-like supporting figure to the central character, a young girl brainwashed by religion.
I wish the Miyazakis had made this book into a movie rather than some shambolic hodge-podge combination of the lot.
While I'm a big fan of Terry Pratchett (based on the book that I've read thus far), Mort, for all its hype, was a tad underwhelming. There were occasional moments of utter brilliance. But they were largely overshadowed by bouts of dull mediocrity. I really did not dig the character of Cutwell and the plot itself was a little too haphazard.
