Tom Clancy's # 1 Power Plays - Wild Card

Week 5
Tom Clancy's #1 Power Plays - Wild Card
by Jerome Preisler

Rating: :) :) :)


I find this book, for the lack of a better word - proficient. Blinded by the big bold letters that spelled 'Tom Clancy' made me turn the pages in anticipation, even caring to take a few glimpses of the commentaries enlisted on the first few pages of the book. /sweat


But I was quite dismayed - though adequately satisfied -to have eventually figured out the flow or outline of the story. The connections were very loose and the introductions were a bit messy at every chapter that I had to reboot my mindset so that my poor nerves would not complain of a new and entirely different setting/group of characters that come into place. This is one downside that I could dare pinpoint. As for the rest, read the book thoroughly so you'd know what I mean. LOL :D




Mainly, the story's about a huge underground scheme of smuggling and thickets of greed sourced from oil and many other things - all these were covered with the grandest of all exquisiteness: a luxury resort that is home to the richest and most influential people of the world who often would like to just sit back, relax and enjoy what they commonly call as 'vacation' for the blue bloods.


An agent was sent to go undercover to find out whether their anonymous informant was telling the truth or not. And as our character, Nimec, stumbles upon a mind-boggling operation on his first night-out as a spy, things that would happen afterwards would be the result of his honest discovery.

The novelette still has a stir of action, suspense and a bit of humor that I was able to enjoy for that matter. However, I still find the whole thing a bit disappointing, in my honest opinion. Everyone has his/her own vantage point. But I'd still recommend this one, it's not really that upsetting. /nobigdeal

The Girl Who Played With Fire

Week 4
The Girl Who Played With Fire
by Stieg Larsson


Rating: :) :) :) :) :)

This sequel is the next best thing! And I'm not kidding! I'm even more excited should Hollywood wish to pursue the rest of the Millennium Trilogy on film. I'm not biased, I am just overwhelmed by Larsson's work. It is indeed something not to be missed in your lifetime! Okay, okay...on with the synopsis! :D


The story continues with Lisbeth Salander splurging away what she had somewhat "acquired," from the ending of the previous book. But problem arises again as her new guardian, Neil Bjurman, wanted revenge for the humiliation and trauma that she had done to him previously. As he tried to devise diabolical plans to get back at Salander - and maybe even considering the fact that killing her would instantly solve his problems - Bjurman eventually hired someone to do the dirty job. Turns out, he uncovered way too much information from Salander's past that eventually led to his fate.


Like Bjurman, Salander was also on her heels on finding the whereabouts of her past, especially her father. But having been tangled up in this new web of deception, deep dark secrets and government espionage, Salander found herself the victim of a deadly accusation claiming that she had murdered two of Blomkvist's colleagues in the news field. 


Meanwhile, our other protagonist (Blomkvist) does not believe the stories and accusations that's all over the news. He had been Salander's friend, and knew that although Salander is one ass-kicking girl, she is not that type to kill an innocent person, let alone a couple of journalists who were on the path of seeking the truth. Albeit, it may seem coincidental that these two journalists were on the verge of discovering a dark secret that has something to do with Salander's past, all the fuss about the hunt for her life still did not convince Blomkvist that she was the killer.


Get ready to uncover a new pandemonium that our protagonists have gotten themselves involved in, and have your mind ready to be blown away by Larsson's fantastic depiction of his second masterpiece: The Girl Who Played With Fire.

I Have Returned!!! ~

After a year (yeah, almost exactly a year), I have come back from the living world and returned with a fiercer pen...or netbook for that matter.


To explain my absence for the rest of 2011...well, I have really been away from the internet most of the time (except for facebook) because I decided to do some voluntary services as a nurse here in our province. I have spent a few good months at a clinic and then at a primary hospital that's two hours away from home. And oh yeeees, I haven't stopped reading while I was away on my short ventures and have come back with more books books boooooks at hand!


That's why I decided to continue this blog a year later, so as not to disrupt the chronological order of things. I have been quite busy at the tip of 2011 since I had to be one of the primary caregivers for my grandmother or lola in our own dialect.


Let's stop all the fussing now and on with my quest!


ciao! >:D

The Little Prince

Week 2

The Little Prince

by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Rating: :) :) :) :) :)

I've probably read this book a couple of times over the years, but I just keep on forgetting the gist of what Antoine was trying to tell his readers to remember.


As soon as I got this book back, almost tattered and bleak, I had that tiptoeing inclination to read it again for the nth time.

And for the record, this time, I made some notes and carefully read each line with care. Now I was on the verge of discovering something very interesting about the story.


The book begins with a narrator having discussed his frustrations of wanting to become a great artist when he grows up. After having been fascinated by the stories about the jungle, the narrator was greatly inspired to come up with his first drawing of a Boa Constrictor swallowing a big elephant. The moment he finished it, he showed it to the grown-ups and asked them whether they could recognize or appreciate what he drew. But all they said was, "It's just a big hat," (Well, for me, it looked like a big hat) and so to his dismay, he drew another one. This time, he drew from the inside out, so that the elephant would be visible inside the boa constrictor's body. But the grown-ups never liked his drawing and discouraged him from pursuing that artistic dream of his. They suggested to the boy instead to study geography and other irrelevant fields. From that moment on, he never drew another picture. Many years passed and the boy did became successful with his second choice - that is to become a pilot.

We would then find out that the narrator crashed somewhere on a deserted place of the earth where hardly any civilization was found nearby. He was clearly stuck in the middle of the desert. He was having problems as he tried fixing the engine of his plane when suddenly, a little boy of golden hair persistently asked him to draw a sheep.

And who would not be surprised to find a little boy at such place, time and situation? Perplexed, the narrator instantly asked the boy's whereabouts. But stubborn, insistent, and never letting go of any question that was left unanswered, the boy continued to ask the pilot to draw him a sheep. The narrator eventually gave up and drew a sheep for the boy. But the boy was a meticulous one. He even gave a few directions and grave comments about the poor drawings of the pilot. Tired and running out of patience, the pilot then drew a box with holes in it, and said that there was a sheep inside the box. There, the little boy was satisfied and happy of the outcome.

From then on, the pilot and the boy became companions...and from that moment on, we get to discover the life of the boy and how he arrived on planet Earth.

The Little Prince, as the pilot slowly discovered, is a young boy who lived on a very tiny planet consisting of three volcanoes (two of which were still alive while the other one's extinct.. "but one will never know...") and was very fond of watching the sunset for forty-four times. He also had a flower, a rose to be exact, and she was very much a vain one and at the same time, naïve. She always tries to order around the little boy and complain about her insecurities and such, but nevertheless, the boy kept on watering her and tending to her needs and cared for her.



If I continue on with the rest of the story, I might not be able to deliver it very well as much as Antoine did. He was exceptionally good and I must say that this book is indeed a treasure, not only for children, but also to adults - most especially that this is of much use to adults. I also have noticed that what Antoine was trying to depict in this story is that we, humans should not always be attached to the physical things, to what we see, to what is tangible.  The eyes must not be deceived by what it perceives on the physiological level, but should also witness the beauty that is invisible to the naked eye.


"The thing that is important is the thing that is not seen..."
"But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart."
"What makes a desert beautiful is that somewhere, it hides a well."
"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose important..."
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

The mentioned passages have been noted and saved as memos on my cel so that it shall remind of the great things in life. We must not always be affected by the matters of consequence. :)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Week 2

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
by Stieg Larrson

Rating: :) :) :) :) :)

The story begins with a prologue: a desolate scene where an old man receives another gift on his 82nd birthday. He dialed the old numbers he knew by heart and called his old friend, a retired detective, who also shared his birthday. Apart from the birth date, Detective Morrell and the old man named Henrik Vanger also shared another thing in common: a baffling case that was left unsolved for 40 years. It was the mysterious disappearance of Henrik's niece, Harriet Vanger, that tore him to pieces especially on his birthday. For 40 consecutive years after her disappearance, Henrik still continues to receive a gift of pressed flowers carefully put into a frame from an unknown sender, which was exactly just like Harriet's signature gift before she disappeared.

The main content mainly revolves around two protagonists: Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander. This unlikely tandem is truly one remarkable creation from Larsson's brilliant mind. However, these characters would have led two very different lives at the first half of the book.


We find Blomkvist to be the first character introduced as a financial journalist who just received the verdict from the court. He was this type of journalist devoted in exposing any kind of corruption undermining the Swiss financial world. Despite all his efforts and claims, a great downside to his career prevailed. He was caught in a libel case because of a recent exposé that ignited the opposition to strike back at full force. In the end, Blomkvist lost the battle and was charged with a hefty sum, including a sentence to go to jail for 6 months. It was a grueling moment for Blomkvist and so was his magazine called Millennium: co-founded and co-owned with Erika Berger and Christer Malm (of which he was also a publisher).


For the next chapter, our girl with the dragon tattoo named Lisbeth Salander enters the room of her boss. She has a very unique background - a struggling background in fact, but incredibly paved with her high intellectual skills and audacity that kept her from falling hard on the floor. She's also a very gifted investigator, now hired by Dragan Armansky who runs Milton Security. He has discovered that Lisbeth has a knack for finding and digging out the truth, no matter how deep, nonsensical and invasive it was. In the end, Lisbeth always ends up with juicy pages about the subject, making gossip magazines look like rotten tomatoes next her research.


Fast forward.
Blomkvist discovers that he must lay low for a while, if he really wants to save Millennium. Deep inside he knows that his opposer, Wennerstrom, will never give if he is still on board the Millennium. Fortunately, another character steps into Michael Blomkvist's life to turn his world around in more ways than one. Henrik Vanger hires Blomkvist to investigate the disappearance of his niece, Harriet Vanger.


As the story develops, Lisbeth Salander's exemplary investigating skills caught Vanger's attention. Soon, she would end up as Blomkvist's research assistant. Impressed by her immense skills of investigation and undeniable talent of poking through the hole, Blomkvist took her under his wing and knew in some way that she would help him solve the mystery.


Together, they have stumbled on a new breed of clues, a plethora of more puzzling facts and signs that could really keep the reader up all night to finish that certain chapter...or the rest of the book, for that matter. I have been a pawn to this method. /XD




Stieg Larsson is indeed one talented and gifted writer! (forgive me for being so biased! /wahaha ).
The way he presented the story is so cleverly put into order that I can't wait to read the next novel in line for the Millennium Trilogy called The Girl Who Played With Fire. I still have to make some necessary arrangements to get a copy of the book and read it asap! As for now, I still can't get over Lisbeth's crazy, bewildering but very very smart brain. I wish I could have her abilities! /please

The Warrior of the Light

Week 1

The Warrior of the Light

by Paolo Coelho  

Rating: :) :) :) :)

This book is indeed a blessing in disguise. I could say it's a really good book to read especially on the start of a new year: a spiritual and psychological guide for anyone who is in search of inner growth and wisdom.

The Warrior of the Light contains a lot of passages and inspiring ideas. It has these mini stories that last only a page, but each contains a different theme and a unique approach to a struggling dilemma, an inner conflict, or a weary battle between self and/or enemy.

However, not every page found in this book can come in handy to the reader in the present. But I can surely attest that the rest will come to surface in the future, sooner or later. Our lives are subject to a constant breeze of changes and trials, of victories and defeat, of values and virtues, of humanity and forgiveness. Therefore, re-reading some of the contents of this book from time to time can help a lot.

Paolo Coelho never fails to impress me. He has that touch of madness and spirit among his  many great works that seem to seep down to the bone and become contagious when spread around. He is that amazing and brilliant. Don't worry, Paolo Coelho's legend won't stop here...there are still more to come in the coming months. Patience is a virtue /XD