Shaohua Dou Dou থেকে Koshta, Madhya Pradesh, India
This was a very very slow read, but I did enjoy it. I may have to check out The Historian next.
Picking up right were Firelight left off, Vanish is a must read full of surprises and passion, all the things that made the first installment so wonderful! Vanish delves deeper into Jacinda's past and what it means to be adraki introducing us to a foreign life, new characters and letting us fall in love with some of the old ones. As with the first, Vanish still glows with that same simplicity as the first making it an addictive read. Jacinda's journey just gets harder in Vanish. I felt like her grief of leaving and the way she was received back into the pride felt very realistic to me. I can feel her loneliness and my heart went out to her. Even when she was doing things I didn't quite agree with, I understood her reasoning and because of that, I was able to forgive some of the mistakes she makes. I did want her to be a little bit fiercer. Because she's this great fire breather, I wanted her to embrace this role and fight back when she was in draki form. I felt like she gave up a little bit and I wanted her to push back, especially since she's had such a rough time. I really liked some of the minor character's roles in this second novel. Tamra's journey was interesting and I loved watching her re-adjust to her new role in the pride. Her fierceness was a nice change. Will was as steady and devoted as ever but his story doesn't change as much in this story. Cassian , on the other hand, grows leaps and bounds. After Jacinda strips away some of her preconceived notions and starts to look into Cassian more, his motivations and feelings are revealed. He really made a strong comeback for himself in this novel and I loved every moment of it. While I agree with Jacinda's path, I think Cassian definitely has a role to play and I can't wait to see where he's going. Vanish is drenched in that beautiful simplicity that the first novel shines in. The plot is straight forward (with some twists) and isn't bogged down with too many strenuous details. The writing is clear and beautiful and Jacinda's voice reads naturally. Vanish answers some of the questions posed in Firelight about draki and the pride. I was especially interested in their lifestyle and how they live and my curiosity was more than satiated. Bottom line, if you loved Firelight, you'll love Vanish. It's got that same passion even though Will and Jacinda are apart plus it answers a load of questions from the first novel. Action-packed, intense and fun, Vanish is one hot read that you don't want to miss!
Some present facts, some introduce concepts and present facts, some introduce concepts, present facts and a story after that. I am intrigued with the way Simon Singh articulates the introduction of some of the major break throughs in the astronomy. I must admit that the way Simon Singh's presentation of Einstien's versus Newton's gravity theory was biased toward Einstien's from the begining. He may be on his way to prepare the readers for the Big Bang. But he leaves the readers like me, thinking - why is Einstien's theory so great compared to Newton's when Newton's can explain every thing that we see feel in day to day life from apple from the tree to rocket launches.