The October Country

The October Country by Ray Bradbury

OCTOBER COUNTRY ...that country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and midnights stay. That country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal bins, closets, attics, and pantries faced away from the sun. That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on the empty walks sound like rain...

Oooh it just sounds so......October! I love October and this book just gave me a jump start on autumn. Bradbury's style of horror is so subtle that you don't get the full blow until the story wraps up.

This is a book of short stories. My favorites were.......The Jar, The Lake, The Scythe, and The Man Upstairs. Some of the other stories were just weird and Bradbury's style did take some getting used to. Probably because I have immersed myself in shallow teen reads lately.

Rating 3.5 Some great stories mixed with some less great. I have a hard time ending one story and entering right into another one. Maybe I should be putting the book down between stories.

Rating PG I don't think the stories were that horrifying.

Shadow of the Hegemon

Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card

The Bugger war is over and the children taken into space for battle school have returned to Earth (2170 AD). Bean is with his new family in Greece. Locke (Peter Wiggin and Ender's brother) has had Ender exiled from Earth so that when war on Earth begins Ender won't be fought over by the leaders there.
Now that the Bugger threat is over, it is time for Earth leaders to fight over world dominance. The children that fought with Ender, or Ender's jeesh are now considered to be the optimal battle minded people on the planet. In quick succession they are all kidnapped, except for Bean. Achilles is back and he wants Bean dead. Just before Achille has the Delphinki family blown to bits, Bean realizes what is about to happen. The family makes it out of the situation alive, but Bean must go into hiding. He and Sister Carlotta run off and try to stay under Achilles' radar. While in hiding they go to meet Locke. They convince Peter to come out under his real name so that eventually he can be trusted by other governments and eventually become Hegemon. With Locke's help, Achille is shown for the nutcase he is and all Battle School children are released except for Petra. Achille keeps her as he travels from Russia to India to begin a world wide revolution which he hopes to win. He plans attacks on Asian countries and secretly plans to join forces with China.
Bean goes to Thailand to try to head off some of Achilles' attacks. While there he learns from another Battle School graduate....Virlomi, where Petra is being held. Petra is with Achille. He takes her everywhere and leaves her no way to contact anyone. At one point she is able to beat Achille up but this probably just seals her fate.
Bean makes his own small force in Thailand just like the one he was over in Battle School. They train in as many ways as possible. Finally Bean is able to save Petra, but Achille is set free and is taken to China by the Chinese leaders.
Sister Carlotta is killed by Achilles. She leaves a letter for Bean revealing his genetic heritage and Anton's Key. She tells Bean he will be lucky to make it to the age of fifteen. Bean decides he will never marry and have children. Just as Bean makes this vow for his life, Petra tells him she has feelings for him and offers herself up.
Locke reveals the treachery of China. He is made Hegemon over the world.

Rating 4.5 I really think I like this series better than the original Ender series!
Rating PG 13 murder and mayhem

Life Expectancy

Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz

The Master of Horror, Dean Koontz, has put out a book somewhat horrific, suspenseful and funny as heck!! The book begins with the night of Jimmy Tock's birth. As his mother labors, his grandfather nears death in another part of the hospital. Just as Josef Tock is about to take his last breath...........he wakes from stoke induced coma to utter prophecy. He speaks of 5 terrible days in the life of his grandson Jimmy Tock.
The book follows through Jimmy's life up to the 5th terrible day..........through the eyes of Jimmy. As horror befalls Jimmy and his family..........I laughed out loud. Jimmy........or rather Mr. Koontz is hilarious!!
I felt like it rushed the end a little and skipped some sort of pertinent info. about ........some suff (I don't want to spoil.) But I was kind of tired of Jimmy being in peril all of the time so I was mostly okay with it.
This book is a great look at basic good vs. evil. It is also a sweet story about family and what should matter most in our lives even though we don't know in advance what our future holds.

Rating 5 Love, laughter, family life, food, evil, good, crazy, suspense, horror. It's all there. I would read it again. That's how I usually determine if I will rate a book a five.
Rating PG 13 Violence and one nasty sexual word I hate.