Killing Floor (1-146)

I thought that since I have nothing to read now, that I would go back to the Reacher novels, with the first book.

Ranger's Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw (251-320)

This isn't a blog post, but I want to talk this book in its whole, now that I have read the ending. The book starts of kinda slow, recapping what has happened in the previous book, ad then the rest of the book is just setting up the big battle at the end, witch we how how its going to end from the first few pages of the book. The execution is really good, and the battle feels like your actually there. This proves that John Flanagan can handle material well, but he is very predictable. I feel that the ending is a good set up for the next book, which will come out next year. So all in all, if your a fan of the series like me, you should defiantly read this book, but in you haven't read the other books, by all means, start at the beginning of the series, and and I guarantee you will love it.

Flanagan, John. Ranger's Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw: Book 6. New York: Philomel, 2008.

Ranger's Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw (123-250)

The battle for Macindaw has begun. I have reached the climax. What has happened in this segment is that Will has acquired a small army to fight the invasion from the Scotti. And Will and Hoarce took some Scotti prisoner, and they learned that the Scotti were planning to use Macindaw as their main fort, and they would arrive in two weeks time. So now will had a time frame, because if they didn't take Macindaw by the time that the Scotti came, then it would be to late. So now Will came up with a plan to take the castle, and I am at the part where the plan has started, but the battle hasn't. So I am in this weird in between phase. My quote take place when they were interrogating the lead Scotti of the group they capture.

The forest itself seemed to personify a massive, ancient evil.

Will shivered at the thought of it and pulled his cloak more tightly around him. The darkness and the silence were causing him to have fanciful thoughts, he told himself. There was nothing here to be afraid of. He knew that the manifestations he had seen and heard when he first entered the forest had been the result of Malcolm's trickery. (Loc. 1795)

This quote is extremely interesting because you have heard me write about Will, the ranger, in other posts. He is a ranger, he's not scared of anything, but yet he is afraid. The setting Malcolm had portrayed was fear full even to a ranger, who knew what was happening. So think about how the Scotti was feeling, who was the one they were actually trying to scare. He was unaware of what was happening, and he was superstitious. No wonder he gave in to the interrogation. And it even says that afterward, he was crying. A grown man, crying. After this post I should finish reading this, and I can't wait.

Flanagan, John. Ranger's Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw: Book 6. New York: Philomel, 2008.

Ranger's Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw (72-112)

All good fantasy books have 3 main points: the hero, the villain and the mistress in distress. I have already talked in length about the hero, Will the ranger. Now It's time to focus on the villain and the Alyss. In book 5, the villain, Keren, took over Macindaw and kidnapped the princess, Alyss, and locked her in a tower. Sounds Cheesy? Well, it is. But it works. And Keren has this stone he uses on his prisoners to get information on his enemy. Upon hearing this Will, being an expert archer, shoots an arrow with a gem that will counter act Keren's gem.

"Did you se them?" he askedd.

Suddenly, she felt the urge to answer truthfully. To say, "Yes. I saw them. They were signals." She stroked the stellatite, felt the compulsion recede as her resolve strengthened.

"No," she said, and her heart leapt. She had broken his hold over her. (Loc 796)

This quote shows how reliable will is. I'm now at the highest part of the rising actions of this book, almost at the climax, or the big battle. The tension is so great.

Flanagan, John. Ranger's Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw: Book 6. New York: Philomel, 2008.

Rangers Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw (60 to about 72)

Not much reading time in this week because of my project and EL&EC. but I did manage to get 12 pages in. What has happened in these 12 pages is the Will, a ranger, and Hoarce, A knight have reunited to take down the Macindaw. This quote is in a side conversation about naming Will's dog.

"Blackie! Stay, girl!"
Instantly, the dog stopped her questioning and turned to face him, one fore paw raised, her head tilted inquisitively. Hoarce made a triumphant gesture in Will's direction. Will snorted in derision."That doesn't prove anything," he protested. " She heard the whistle, that's all! You could have called out... Bread and Butter Pudding, and she would have stopped. (Flanagan Loc. 674)

Both Will and Hoarce are relatively mature adults, and this quotation shows just how well they know each other. You can tell that they can be their selves around each other and that they can also act immaturely, but it's all in good fun.

Flanagan, John. Ranger's Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw: Book 6. New York: Philomel, 2008.

The One-Eyed Giant 1-105

I have been wiped out recently. With this Stop Motion I am making, it has been taking up all of my free time. So I have found a way to incorporate my reading with my project. I read The One-Eyed Giant, by Mary Pope Osborne. It is pretty mush a five book series of the Odyssey, written in very understandable english as opposed to Homers Odyssey, which can be hard to understand. This book takes place from the end of Troy, through the land of the Cyclops, and ending after the bag of winds.

Odysseus moved quickly. He jammed the sharpened end of the stake into the burning embers. He beckoned to his men to stand near him. Them he pulled the stake from the fire.

"Help us, O Zeus!" Odysseus prayed.

The mighty god finally deemed to hear his prayer. As Odysseus took a deep breath, he felt a surge of strength and power.

Odysseus gave a sign. Then all together, the men raised the stake and rammed its burning point into the giant's huge, bulging eye.

The Cyclops let out a piercing howl. The eye hissed and sizzled. (62)

This Quote shows how the text of this book keeps the same tone of the original Odyssey, but it takes it into a much more understandable context, without making it a children's book. This passage shows the simplicity of the book, while keeping it towards the main message, without talking down to you.

Osborne, Mary. The One-Eyed Giant. New York: Hyperion Paperbacks, 2003.

Rangers Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw (1 to about 60)

First of all, I would like to apologize for the page numbers. This is my first book read on my Kindel, and instead of pages, it does locations. Their are 3737 locations in this book, and their are 320 pages. so their are about 13 locations per page. I am 757 locations in, so I am about 60 page in.

Wow, I love this series. I have been reading the ranger's apprentice series since the first book came out in 2006. John Flanagan originally wrote books 5-8 of this series, like in star wars, but those only had a limited release in Australia. When he released his first book in the United States, he wrote book one, so we got the books in order. He has now released his 6th book from his original series in the United States, and it is just as amazing as all the other books he has written. The Rangers apprentice series is about a boy called Will, and he was taken up to be a Ranger, which like a mix between a spy and a knight, who works for their king. The rangers are also masters at combat, archery and magic. In this book, Will is trying to take down a city which has been taken over by thiefs. This passage, which I have taken from the book, will show you just how cool a ranger is.

There was a strange figure, wrapped in an odd black-and-white-mottled cloak, sitting on a log a few meters behind him. As Gundar said the word devil, his hand hesitated, sword half drawn, and he peered more closely at the apparition. This was an ancient forest, dark and forbidding. Maybe this was a spirit or a wraith that protected the area. The patterns on the cloak seemed to shimmer and change form as he watched and he blinked his eyes to stabilize them.[...] There was something about the cloaked, hooded figure that worried them too. ( Loc. 95)

This is a good intro to rangers for people who have never heard of them. The Ranger's cloak is designed to be perfect camouflage, and if they tried to stay still, he would be completely invisible.Will is just sitting down, and these people are stricken with fear by him, and he is just 17 years old. These group of muscular raiders are afraid of a boy, and they even fear he may be a ghost. This is a great book series, and if you haven't read them, and you are into medieval/ fantasy books, I suggest you should pick up this book, or download it on your kindle. :)

Flanagan, John. Ranger's Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw: Book 6. New York: Philomel, 2008.

Running Blind 54-486

Finally, I have finished my first Reacher novel. Were I left off last post I was just before I arrived at the hook, when Jack Reacher figured out that women he knew were being killed. After that, it was so good I couldn't put the book down. I even refused to post this on the due date because I was just 30 or so pages from finishing this book. I find it fascinating how Reacher thinks. His mind is like a computer, calculating every possible scenario like a split second before a life and death scenario. I also like just how he acts, like his behavior. It is almost imposible to describe him, he's one of a kind. For my quote, I chose a quote which I feel that describes Reacher the most throughout this book.

The problem was, it was a challenge. He was sealed in his room, lying alone on the bed, staring up at the blind eye of the hidden camera. but he wasn't seeing it. his gaze had dissolved just like it used to, into a blur. A green blur, like the whole of America had disappeared and returned to grassland and forest, the buildings gone, the roads gone, the noise gone, the population all gone, excert for one man, somewhere. (158)

This quote shows Reacher's thought process as he tries to find the killer, be eliminating everything but him. I envy this character and just how brilliant he is. I will definatly continue to read Child's books about Reacher. The is my favorite series.


Child, Lee. Running Blind. New York: The Berkly Publishing Group, 2000.

Running Blind 1-53

I have just began Running Blind by Lee Child. This is my first Jack Reacher novel, which from what I get is a book series based upon a character called Jack Reacher, who is an ex military police investigator, who got laid off when his unit got closed down, and is now for some reason trying to be untraceable. I have not yet got to a good part yet, so it's a struggle to keep reading. My quote is from the begining of the book when he is getting mugged by 2 guys.

He hit the right-hand guy in the side of the head with his elbow. Lots of good biological reasons for doing that. Generally speaking the human skull is harder than the human hand. A hand-to-skull impact, the hand gets damaged first. The
elbow is better. And the side of the side of the head is better than the front or the back. The human brain can withstand front-to-back displacement maybe ten times better than side-to-side displacement. some kind of complicated evolutionary reason. So it was the elbow, and the side of the head. (12-13)

This is the most interesting paragraph of the book so far to me for many different reasons. Fist of all, I didn't know this character at all and then it has this paragraph. I got that he is probably very skilled an fighting and that he always thinks thoroughly about all his actions before he does them. Now I have a much better understanding of this guy and what the author is trying to say, don't mess with Jack Reacher.

Child, Lee. Running Blind. New York: The Berkly Publishing Group, 2000.