7+: Three Tales of Magic and Mischief - Roald Dahl

Release Date: 27/09/12

Book Blurb: 
A marvellous mix - this wonderful hardback bind-up contains George's "Marvellous Medicine", "Matilda", and "The Witches" - a perfect gift for any child to get swept up in the magic of "Roald Dahl"...

Review: 
To be honest with you I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this novel, but knowing how much fun I’ve had with Pittacus Lore I was hoping for something to fill the gap whilst I waited for the next in the series. What I got was a book that whilst the story was interesting failed to grip me due to the characters. They felt a little flat for me, not rounded and whilst individually they each have their own abilities, as a group I’m not sure how well they’re going to gel in the overall quest.

That aside, the pace is reasonable, the prose solid and all round its readable but for me, if I don’t get on with the characters its always a struggle to carry on. A great shame but here’s hoping that it improves with the next outing.

   

12+: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vol 1: Night of the Living Rerun, Coyote Moon, Portal Through Time

Release Date: 02/09/10

BOOK BLURB:

As long as there have been vampires, there has been the Slayer. One girl in all the world, to find them where they gather and to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers...Night of the Living Rerun ~ As if real life wasn't already overflowing with vampire-staking, Buffy is now dreaming about slaying! Night after night, it's the same thing...What could it mean? When Xander and Giles start acting like they have ancient alter egos, Buffy begins to realise what's going on. Can Buffy prevent the Master from escaping his supernatural prison before Sunnydale becomes history! Coyote Moon ~ The seedy carnival looks like just the thing to give Buffy and her friends, Xander and Willow, a break from staking bloodsuckers. Some greasy food, a few cheap thrills - what more could a Slayer ask for? But then Buffy senses something evil behind this carnival. Could it be connected to the corpses that are turning up around Sunnydale. Can Buffy find out what's going on in time to save her friends? Or has the Slayer become the prey? Portal of Time ~ The Master, Buffy's nemesis, may be gone, but he is by no means forgotten. One of his devotees has set out to alter the past, killing off Slayers in order to change the future. With the Slayer line extinguished, there will be no Buffy. And without Buffy, no one will be able to prevent him as he resurrects The Master. Having opened a portal through time he is about to send his minions into the past to murder the most influential Slayers in history. Buffy is forced to follow them through the portal in a race against time and evil. But the problem is...you can't change the past without altering the present...


REVIEW:

A compendium of tales revamped (if you’ll pardon the pun) in this offering by Simon and Schuster Children’s Publisher. The stories within are pretty average and if you’re a long term Buffy fan, you’ll have seen these tales in one form or another in the TV series. Whilst I had a bit of fun revisiting and getting my Buffy fix, the Buffy within the stories was different to the Buffy that many fans are more familiar with as she came across more as a ditzy airhead (like the character played by Kristy Swanson in the 92 film instead of the Sarah Michelle Gellar Buffy of TV fame.) Add to that, a mismatching Willow and Xander which also felt awkward with Willow getting her magical gift earlier than she did in the series and you can also understand why this failed to impress, especially with the authors making some glaring errors such as “Angel” being referred to as a boy when he was turned at 26.

Whilst the publishers have done well to bring the tales together, a personal gripe of mine is to do with paper quality which whilst having to compress so much into one volume felt that they’d found the cheapest paper that they could get and one that I fear won’t survive multiple readings. Finally, the other problem is that these books feel more like they’ve been written for a much younger audience than those who originally enjoyed the TV series, which seems a bit silly to be honest. Whilst this may come across as pretty harsh I have been a Buffy fan since it originally arrived on UK TV and felt a little let down. That said, if you have a Buffy fan in the house and want something to help them get some additional fixes (and if they don’t own any of the novels currently) they’re some of the better TV to book conversions.

TEEN: The Forbidden Game - LJ Smith

BOOK BLURB:

It all started with a board game. But what was supposed to be an evening of friends, fun, and games, becomes a night of danger, drama, and obsessive love. Because when Jenny and her friends try to play the Game, it comes to life. Suddenly they are in a dark world where Julian, the gorgeous guy who sold Jenny the game, rules as Prince of the Shadows. Julian is in charge, making their darkest nightmares reality. And he will do anything to claim the beautiful Jenny as his prize. The Game is real, and these friends must play through - and the only way to win is to face their most secret fears. To lose the Game is to lose your life. And that is only the beginning...


REVIEW:

In the modern market, its always a hardship when you start a series and have to wait for the next novel in order to continue your adventure. In my own youth I remember how hard it was to wait for your favourite authors next title and by the time you’ve gotten around to it, you may well have forgotten what’s come before.

What you have here in the latest release from Simon and Schuster is the compendium of the Forbidden Game series (The Hunter, The Chase and The Kill) and you know that you’ve gotten value for money to start with. Whilst many know LJ more for her Vampire Diary series this one is just as eerie, just as spooky and above all else just as gripping. You have a great cast of characters, some reasonable dialogue and quite a few twists and turns that you’re not expecting. This is definitely one of the series to set the standards in the Young Adult realm and one that will help a great many progress to the Adult Urban Fantasy genre. A real joy to read.