The Anansi Boys

I found that this book is harder to get into than the previous books I've read.  The one thing I've noticed about fantasy is that it can be very descriptive and long winded at times.  The same thing goes for this novel, it drags on and on and takes and while to get going.  The main character Charlie is in plain words,  a punk.  He simple but is overall happy with his fiance.  He has a brother named spider, who is a little off to say the least.
Being brothers, Charlie and Spider develop a sibling rivalry.  Spider tends to mess with Charlie throughout the book.  This relationship relates to most siblings and creates a connection between the reader and the book.  Charlie talks to a spider (insect) and asked him to find his brother and later wishes his brother away.  Spider comes up with a plan to take over Charlies life.  He goes to his job and even goes out with his fiance'.  Its kinda like Fight Club where Tyler isnt a real person but just an extension of the main character.
There are alot things in this story, just one thing after another.  It's hard to make sense of it all.  It seems like the book is telling the same story from a different perspective and branch out from one another.  It is mental overload of story.  Its hard to emerce yourself in the story when so many things are happening. 

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Scott Pilgrim is considered is be the perfect movie for our generation and I agree with that statement.  The overall feeling of the movie envokes what today's youth dream about.  All of the labels and icons that pop up throughout the movie keeps the feeling of a video game.  This generation is consumed by video games and the gaming industry.  Even the art community has been influenced by video games so the idea of including video games in a movie is genius.  The sound track of 8 bit music keeps the overall experience enjoyable.  The action packed fight scenes are also apart of the youth society.  The arcade like, street fighter type action project memories of old school arcade fighting games.  The comic book written BAM and WHOOP is reminessiant of the classic batman show with Adam West.  Ramona Flowers, Scott Pilgrim's crush has seven evil ex's and are all beta males, the opposite of Scott.  The way the evil ex's fight with Scott is to turn him into a beta male. 

Ah The Magicians is quite a book.  I have to say its almost exactly how I pictured magicians.  I remember people saying its a mature version of Harry Potter but it exceeded my expectations.  This world is filled with sex, drugs, depression and conflict.  The Magicians paint a realistic picture of college life and life as a magician. 
Quentin is the main character of the book and is quite complex.  He has power but instead of this happy go lucky feeling, he is plagued with depression and drugs.  The one glimmer of hope he has is his childhood books about Fillory.  When he goes to Brakebill Academy, he sinks deeper into depression.  It seems like he is uncertain of life and what the future holds.  He has magic powers but doesnt know what to do with them.  He wonders aimlessly without a purpose to fulfill.  The majority of the characters are fleshed out just like Quentin.  It makes you connect and care about them.  Whether they make good or bad decisions, you have an opinion about it. 
I think the best part of the book is when they find out that Fillory is actually a real place.  When they get there, it turns out to be almost as bad as the real world.  Its a magical land of drugs, sex and violence.  A bear with a drinking problem and giant animals weilding medieval weapons.  Its a crazy place but it fits well with my imagination.  The entire book was a breath of fresh air to me.  All of these sugar coated fantasy stories like Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia are nice but are missing the "real shit" factor.  I love the fact that magic in The Magicians isnt something easy, it takes years to even control it.  Rigerous training and concentration is what is needed to use magic and its something I like to read.

The Hobbit

This book is a great way to get introduced to fantasy.  The thrill of adventure, danger and treasure lure you into a world completely different from our own.  The Hobbit is a very enjoyable book, easy to read and understand, likable characters and an overall good plot and story.  I'm not familiar with the lord of the ring books but from what was discussed in class, it seems like The Hobbit is way easier to read than The Lord of the Rings series.  The Hobbit has enough detail to paint a mental picture but no enough to take you out of the experience.  I dont like books that drag on and on about the same scene or environment.
I dont know if this is true or not but The Hobbit is a prelude to The Lord of the Rings, as least in terms of the movie.  All characters are the same, have the same morals, motives and personality.  Bilbo for example is the same at the end of The Hobbit then he is at the beginning of The Lord of the Ring.  Bilbo grows as a character throughout the book.  In the beginning, Bilbo was the same as all the other hobbits, loved food, drink and peace.  When he goes on this adventure, he is tested and learns about wit and survival.  One of the things I like about this book is the progession from a normal hobbit to a spider killing badass, so to speak.
I believe people gravitate toward fantasies so much is because we place ourselves in the shoes of the main character killing monsters, falling in love and ruling a kingdom.  As kids we all wanted to slay a monster or win an epic battle.  Even now as an adult I find myself dreaming about being a warrior or king fighting against impossible odds and somehow winning the fight.  Such dreams can translate into an illustration.  Fantasy is something to fantasized forever.

the wild sheep chase

This has to be one of the strangest books I have ever read.  Im not really familiar with Japanese horror so it may be that I dont understand the culture but it didnt seem like a horror story.  This book didnt have any of the main themes for a traditional horror novel but as I said before, its probably because I'm not familiar with the culture.  From what we discussed in class, Japanese horror tends to be less about plot and more about the story line.  There tends to be a moral attached than anything or to teach a lesson to those watching, listening or reading.
The main character is a detective but is never named.  I dont know what the intent behind this was, whether it allowed us to imagine ourselves as the detective or if it had no purpose at all.  Although it is a detective story, it seems more like a parody of a detective story.  Weird almost surreal things happen in this book that go beyond the realm of detective and horror.  No character in this book has either no name or a "code name" as I like to call it.  The main character, his ex girlfriend and new girlfriend  have no name at all.  The only characters with names are side characters but their names are The Rat and The Boss, just to name a few.
Im not gonna lie this book can get pretty long winded at times, so much so that I would have to force myself to continue reading.  Fortunately the story was interesting enough for me to finish the book.  The ending didnt happen the way I thought it would but happy with it none the least.
Overall it was different and I like different, but its not something I would read for fun.  Besides the no name characters and surreal like details, I enjoyed The Wild Sheep Chase.

Interview with a vampire

Interview with a vampire is set in New Orleans, a perfect place for vampires.  New Orleans is known for its corrupt politicians, social structure and Gothic themes.
Ann refers to thirst throughout the book.  Even though it is a vampire book, blood is not the only thing they thirst for, love, knowledge, acceptance and lust.  Each character searches for something their missing.
It is clear that the characters have a hierarchy, Claudia is top dog, the purest of both humans and vampires.  Turned into a vampire at the age of five, she never had the chance to learn how humans love, live and experience. She has no human ties to shape her views of life, making her the perfect vampire, ruthless.  On the other hand, the vast amount of knowledge she has can never reach its full potential.  Since her body is that of a five year old her deepest desires can not be met, which makes her sexually frustrated.
Louis seems to be the most human out of the vampires, for a large part of the book he refuses to feed on humans and takes the blood of rodents.  He is easily manipulated by others, particularly by lestat.  Lastat is the "bad boy" the only plays by his rules.  Very charismatic and sly.  He continuously seeks knowledge and never lets people learn all that he knows.  I think he believes he is something he is not.  For example he claims to be a lone wolf but always has a companion around, he continuously seduces people to believe whatever he wants to but cant trust.
I personally am not a fan of vampires in general , the book isn't my kind of story.  Ann can get really long winded with unnecessary details.  A story full of lust, love and feeding isn't what I like to see.  I prefer action oriented vampires like Blade and Underworld.  Ann is an excellent literary writer but the details bore me and take away from the overall story.

Monster Island

I'll be the first to admit that I don't like zombies unless there is an interesting twist or if the zombies die in a humorous fashion.  Fortunately there is a little of both in Monster Island in my opinion.  The solider who left his daughter and dumped his wife in an room wasn't very interesting to me.  He reminded me of the normal solider that is up against impossible odds, just like in every zombie movie.  Despite that, he is a relateble character, its completely understandable why he did what he did.  The teens traveling with him provide me with comedy of some sort.  I think it's humorous that the ones that survive are teenagers with assault rifles and shotguns.  Early in the book, it says that all the major countries, particularly ones with allot of industry.  This includes North America, Europe, Australia, and the majority of Asia.  Only the third world countries survive.  Its an interesting idea, all the advancements in technology and it is all brushed aside by the walking dead.  Since the underdeveloped countries are mostly at war, surviving the zombie horde would be more likely.
Gary's decision to turn himself into a zombie was bold and in my opinion was the smartest thing to do.  The only other option was to hide and eventually get eaten.  The idea of becoming a zombie but with the your original intelligence is interesting.  Gary is both but neither at the same time, he is in between the world of the living and the dead.  Although his still has his conscience, the craving of flesh calls to him;the only difference is the he has a higher level of control than the other zombies.  It's hard fight to resist animal instinct, especially since he has his own mind. 
The zombie itself has always been frightening to allot of people.  A person you may know or a relative coming after you, trying to kill you and has no idea what they are doing.  The zombie is also the closest monster that we can really identify.  They are the slow, decaying version of people and in my opinion makes them the scariest monster.