Pillage

Wow. I just finished reading Pillage, Obert Skye's new book. It was a really great story, (especially the dog piling salad) until I got to the end! That was one of the worst endings that I have ever read. I mean, the boy finds out that one of his best friends is a bad guy, and it's like he's not even surprised!!! The guy turns into an ogre thing, and all he says is "You?!?" How unemotional can you get? Then the rest was the whole Star Wars thing, where the crazy uncle is actually the dad. Then they win and they all go in for cookies. Yay (Brian says in a bored voice.

Luckily, the rest of the story was great, so it wasn't a waste of time. Also, the cover looks really cool!!!

City of Ember

Wow. The City of Ember was surprisingly better than the book. Then again, the book wasn't that great. The movie was much more exciting. It's a good thing that my little brother, Jordan, hadn't read the book, else he wouldn't have wanted to see it. The book was way more boring. I think they did really well with it. My favorite character was Doon. He was pretty cool. I liked how he liked to invent stuff and take care of his giant moth. Well, it wasn't that great, so I don't have much more to talk about.

Christopher Paolini Book Signing

Awesome.

I got to meet one of my favorite authors, Christopher Paolini, at Seattle Town Hall. He is the author of Eragon, so I got Eragon, 2 copies of Eldest, and Brisingr signed. I would have gotten just one copy of Eldest signed, but one of my copies was mangled, so we got a nice, neat paperback for $5. Not only was it a book signing, but it was a big party!

When my mom and I first got there, some guys from the Seattle Knights, a group of people who were taught to do theatrical sword fights, greeted us. Then, my mom and I went over to some of the stands, a picture thing, and a "fortuneteller." Luckily, it didn't cost anything. I hope it was right (which they rarely are) and I will do well in school. Then, we went and got some cookies.

For the next part of the party, we went upstairs to watch the Seattle Knights put on a show. It was silly, but the sword-fighting was pretty cool. Afterward, Christopher Paolini came up and talked about the books. Something that he said that his favorite line that he wrote was an Urgal saying, "Die, puny human!" Afterall, what's the point of writing a fantasy novel if you can't say things like that!

After his speech, he started signing books. It took hours for us to get a turn. On each ticket, there was a letter. First, they called A's to line up, then B's, and so on. We were D's. A's took an hour. B's took 45 minutes. C's also took 45 minutes. We had to wait in line for about half an hour. Throughout the wait, we got to talk with some of the Seattle Knights. One of them had 60 pound armor on. Another we talked with talked about the Seattle Knights, training, her armor, and what kind of things like that she did. When we finally got the books signed, my mom was really peed by the wait.

It was a really cool experience, and I hope he comes back someday.

Brisingr

Wow. Brisingr, Book 3 in the Inheritance Cycle, by Christopher Paolini, was terrific, awesome, amazing. Overall, it was one of the best books that I've ever read. Two of my favorite scenes in the book were surprisingly, not ones that are spoilers, so I can describe them here!

In the first one, Roran and some of the solidiers of the Varden are attacking an army of the Empire's men who are attacking Surda. During the battle, which takes place in a raided and small Surdan village, Roran is able to find a good place to fight. There is a wall of wagons blocking off most of the allyway, so that only a few solidiers a a time can get through. There are a couple of archers on the rooves of the surrounding buildings that are helping Roran. Roran is getting beat up anyway, but the mound of Empire bodies that he is fighting on is steadily getting higher. By the end of the battle, Roran is beat up, but Carn, the spellcaster with the group heals him and tells him that overall, Roran himself killed 193 solidiers. It was such an awesome scene.

In the second scene, Rorans leadership is challenged by an Urgal that is in the group Roran is leading. The only way for them to settle the disagreement without him offending the Urgals on behalf of the Varden, is for them to wrestle for leadership. Surprisingly, Roran was able to tire him out and he won. It was a great scene.

I loved it. By the way, tonight, I get to go to the Christopher Paolini book signing. I am beyond excited.