Castaways by Brian Keene

Castaways by Brian Keene is a horror book, or at least that's how it was meant to be. The book follows the lines of the TV show Survivor, where a group of people are put on a deserted island and they form a tribe and then try to win different challenges in order to get immunity so the don't get voted off the island. Technically "Castaways" might as well have been called "Survivor", but I guess the author didn't want to face any copyright law suits.

The book is predictable and since it is so predictable this review will contain spoilers. You were warned. The book begins with a group of people participating in a contest like Survivor, and they say that is reality TV. The whole action starts when Cyclone Ivan hits the island and all hell breaks loose. The contestants find out that the island is not deserted but inhabited by a pack of inbred pack of neanderthals (a missing link actually). So the hominids want to eat the men and rape the females so they can increase their gene pool and that's exactly what happens. 

The book was fun, but like I said before, very predictable. After the first 3 chapters you'll know how most of the action is going to take place. You'll keep reading it so that you find out who lives eventually, if any and who dies and how. The action is entertaining and simple enough to keep track and remember where you left it. What this book lacks is character development, some characters get more developed than others. I think that a horror book where people die, part of the horror is knowing the character and having a bit of connection with it. 

For my next book I shall try to find something with more substance. I feel that I need to get more from a book, than just entertainment. Hopefully something interesting shall drop in my hands.  I am tired of horror and sex books. We'll see what pops up next...

Dies the fire by S.M. Stirling

It seems like the end of summer caught me really busy with work and school so I had less and less time to read. But I come with a review of a new book, actually half of a book. Yes kids, I had found another book I cannot finish. Why? Well... Read on.

Dies the fire has a good premise: electricity is gone due to a weird storm. Also gone are all batteries, generators and explosive devices ( read guns) from a chemical change. I am not going to go into the technical details of the entire implications of chemical changes but let's just say it is possible that only that thing happened. So I liked the idea and I had great expectations from the story because, after all, it's a trilogy and a highly rated one by modern survivalists. 

Ok, so the idea was good. It started fine, there was plenty of action in the first 100 or so pages. You has planes crashing, city fires, thugs fighting police, people escaping the cities, friends trying to reach each other, black people saved from slavery to white supremacists etc.  ...And then it jumped to boring descriptions on how they made weapons from car parts or how they milked cows, weeks after the incident. These details are probably appealing to survivalists but if you are into adventure books, this might be a bit of a let down. I think the writer had a time with lack of inspiration and started chapters without connecting much to the past. I stopped reading it when the action kinda faded. I assume that there will be plenty of actions further in the book but it kinda gotten on my nerves and I didn't feel any kind of connection with the characters. Apart from Havel - the pilot/ex military/leader of the pack, I couldn't remember any of their names and honestly I didn't really manage to care for any of them either.

Maybe it was the style of writing, maybe it was the story,  maybe I was not into the right mind frame or maybe the book simply sucked. It started good but then I realized I was wasting my time with a book I didn't care for. Give it a try, maybe it'll touch you, more than it did me.

The hunger games by Suzanne Collins

It's cliche, I know, but everybody kept this book in high regard. It had been a battle inside me whether to read the book or watch the movie. Given the fact that the book was free, I had given it a try instead. I am definitely glad that I did. It is one of those books that you cannot let go and my family can confirm this, since I had spent an entire weekend reading The hunger games. 

Very short summary of the book: in a country called Panem, positioned in the place of North America, there are 13 districts: the Capitol and 12 others with distinct functions. After a rebellion the Capitol had won and as punishment it had implemented the Hunger Games, some kind of TV show that takes a boy and a girl from each district and makes them kill each other in a very elaborate arena. The only surviving kid is treated like a hero and given a chance to live better than the rest but with a mandatory job  to train the next contestants in the games.

The book is great, it felt like a breath of fresh air after my previous reads. It managed to get me out of my own reality and place me in the world of Panem. Ms Collins, i thank you for the wonderful time you had given me! I cannot wait to start the next book from the trilogy, so I can continue the adventures of Katniss Everdeen, Peeta and the rest. I know it is a bit mainstream nowadays and very trendy to read, but it doesn't disappoint.

After looking on imdb.com at the actors playing the characters from the book, I think that Peeta was probably not a good choice, since the book gave me a different image of him. I was thinking he'd be more massive and with a softer face. I will watch the movie and come with an update on differences. 

98.6 degrees: the art of keeping your ass alive by Cody Lundin

You hear "Cody Lundin" and you immediately think: "crazy survivalist with no shoes". You'd be right in a way, but he's making some valid points here. 98.6 degrees: the art of keeping your ass alive has a title that is a bit of an overstatement. This isn't art, it is just common sense. 

The author is hoping to write a book about survival that is different from the others. In my opinion, he falls short. I am not saying that his advice is bad or that he is making common mistakes, because this book is pretty valid, but the fact remains that it is neither funny and nor that different than its counterparts. 98.6 degrees is full of interesting facts about human anatomy, biological and psychological processes and I think it is good for knowing your own body. This information helps you assess a situation better and gives you the signal to react.

In this book you will find data on how to keep your ass alive until help comes. In a way it is more suited for the city slicker who wants to go out on a day trip in the woods, than for the hardcore survivalist that has an Every Day Carry survival kit in his bag and knows at least 3 different uses for each object. The book has a chapter about survival kits but I think it aims at the newbies who think Bear Grylls is the best survivalist since Jesus Christ. 

The graphics are kinda cute, funny and informative and they stick to your brain. Mission accomplished! As I had mentioned before, for start-ups the book is good and informative. If you had already read 2-3 survival books and seen the survival shows on the Discovery Channel, this book will simply remind you the stuff you already know and bore you with some of its chapters.