I haven't been neglecting all you faithful readers out there. The problem is that the new book in the Song of Ice and Fire series is out and I have been reading as often as I can. I feel like it is taking forever. I really like it so far, but with a 1000 page book, its hard to feel like you're getting anywhere. Last night, I was eating dinner with TC and he said something to which I had a great response. I kept it to myself because it was a joke about a Dornishman. Now, I know I am completely enthralled with this book when I am thinking of jokes about characters and people from said book. TC hasn't read the books yet, so he wouldn't have found it funny, but I promise you, it was a zinger!

I am about 65% done with the book and am looking forward to reviewing it. I am also being reminded of all the things I had forgotten about book 4 (not my favorite). So, if you're wondering why I haven't written any reviews in the last few days, it's because I haven't finished any books!

Whilst reading P&P&Z, I also read several short stories/novelettes/novellas. I’ll just bundle the three reviews into one post.

1. “Cycle of the Werewolf” by Stephen King

I really like Stephen King. I’m pretty sure I say that each time I review another of his books. I definitely can’t say that this book wasn’t interesting. Someone dies in each chapter for the first half of the story almost. One thing that always intrigues me is how Stephen King plays with the idea of God and religion.  I read this story before I realized that it was related to a movie I haven’t seen. I just know I wasn’t allowed to watch it as a child, “The Silver Bullet”. Having never seen the movie, I can’t really say if it’s close to the novella or not. Worth a read? Definitely.

2. “Sandkings” by George R.R. Martin

I knew I had to read this when I realized it was written by George R.R. Martin. I also seem to remember seeing a movie that went along with it. I’ll get into that in a second. I would just like to say that this was a short, easy read. By easy, I mean that it was engaging and made me want to keep reading. There were a lot of unanswered questions, but that kinda goes with it being a novelette. So, I remember seeing this movie once upon a time… turns out it wasn’t a movie. It was the first episode of the revamped Outer Limits series that came out in 1995. It was an hour and a half long, so I can understand why I remembered it as a movie. Worth a read? Definitely

3. “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury

Once upon a time, I watched a movie by the same name. It was actually a pretty engaging movie and I ended up buying it. I love me some time travel stories, and this one did not disappoint. This my first venture into the world of Ray Bradbury… which should appease at least one of my readers. I approve. I really liked the story and kinda want to read it again. It’s short enough where it wouldn’t take up too much time. Worth a read? Definitely. 

These three stories were a total win. I know I’m going to find a flop somewhere in the future, but the books I’ve been choosing lately have been worth it!

I really don't mean to jump to conclusions here, but I just have to say that I started reading "The Talisman" by Stephen King and Peter Straub.  I'm only a couple hundred pages in, and I am well on my way to making it my favorite Stephen King book yet! I can't really tell you what it's about because you would probably think I was crazy.  The kind of crazy that often claims that Watership Down is a great book about talking bunnies.  Yes, it is a fantastic book, but there is so much more to it than talking bunnies, it's just hard to describe. This King book is hard to describe for now, but suffice it to say, Stephen King is an excellent fantasy writer.  I never would have pegged it as a fantasy novel, but I am so glad I started reading it!  It's only about 800 pages long, and I have a lot to get through before I finish it, but I was just so excited about it that I needed to write about it. 

On another note, my sister just finished reading "A Game of Thrones" which is the first book in quite possibly my favorite series.  George R. R. Martin rocks my socks off.  He is like the happy medium between Robert Jordan and... hmmm I don't have another extreme. Let's just say he is less descriptive and verbose than Jordan was.  I like Jordan, don't get me wrong, but he spent way too much time talking about divided skirts... everyone was wearing divided skirts, so why make it a point to mention it? Anyway, I am not a big fan of political intrigue and there is a lot of it.  The thing is, you never notice it! He's a very engaging author I love it!  I love most of the characters... but you're not supposed to love them all. One thing he does that I really appreciate is that he takes characters and switches their alignment.  You spend so much time thinking this particular character is evil and then you see their reasons for doing what they do and suddenly this person is neutral (because you just can't switch from good to evil and vice versa).  Maybe it's not that he switches the alignment, but rather, he makes the characters more sympathetic. Hmmm...

For the record, every time I find myself a new favorite author, they die.  It's like the dad in Freaks and Geeks, "You want to have a favorite author? I went to school with a guy who had a favorite author, and do you know where he is now? He's DEAD!" Well, that happens to my favorite authors. First it was Robert Jordan, he died.  Then it was Michael Crichton, he died last year. King and Martin are still alive, so I won't say if I picked one as a favorite or not... just in case.