I have begun to read Fahrenheit 45, the famous novel centering around a dystopian society, in which books of all kinds are burned, and those who partake in reading them are labeled as insane. Anyone who possesses a book risks having their property burnt to the ground by "firemen," who, instead of stopping fires, create them. One such fireman, Guy Montag, seems to enjoy this task, saying that the work burnt a fiery smile on his face. Once he meets the somewhat odd 17 year old Clarisse McClellan does he realize that he is not truly happy. That something is missing in his life, and the lives of everyone else in society.

To avoid spoiling major plot details, I'll stop there, but I would like to give some insight into how I feel about the book so far.

Now, don't get me wrong here, the idea that Bradbury created is ingenious, and I do enjoy reading this book. But, I believe that there are quite a few holes in the writing, and that the story is not exactly clear. Bradbury, instead of focusing on explaining what is happening in the story, hones in on one small detail and attempts to create a metaphor out of that one thing. This would not be a problem if he did it every so often, and if it was better integrated into the actual story. Such an occurrence can be found on nearly every other page, and at points it seems as if Bradbury just threw in some sort of metaphor for the aesthetic. It is just too distracting when Guy is on a public subway thinking about being a child and trying to get sand into a sieve, when he suddenly comes up with the idea of reading the Bible to memorize every single verse (I wonder what happened to books being illegal?) and "Denham's Dentifrice," without any explanation as to where that phrase is coming from, suddenly and continuously repeats over and over and over every few lines. Then, Guy thinks about sand and goes into an psychotic spiel about lilies as he gets up and screams at the apparently disembodied Denham's dental detergent voice. I suppose he was expecting us to assume that it was a very annoying toothpaste commercial, and not Guy going insane. Moments worse than this are all over this book, where Bradbury throws some cryptic metaphor at the reader, dragging them away from what is actually happening in the scene, then going right back to the story, expecting the reader to follow every vague little detail.

Another thing that bothers me is Guy's character. He seems mentally unstable, and makes so many irresponsible decisions. He never seems to think about how his actions will impact him in the future, and this often seems to be the cause of his problems. But, this could also be to emphasize how screwed up their society is. If the characters aren't maniacs, they're naïve fools that are oblivious to all of their surroundings.

All in all, I find the concept of this book to be quite interesting, but I believe it could've been better executed.

First off, I absolutely adore this series. Rick Riordan somehow manages to successfully combine Ancient Grecian mythology, modern-day ideals and technology, along with plenty of wit and sarcasm to create these masterpieces. Recently, I have picked up The House of Hades (if you couldn't tell by the picture), this book being the fourth installment in Riordan's latest series, The Heroes of Olympus. The story is a direct continuation of The Mark of Athena, and occurs right after the events at the end of said book. 

Some spoilers may be contained below, so I would suggest you stop reading here if you'd rather to dive into this series with a clean slate:

The House of Hades follows two separate stories, following Percy and Annabeth as they traverse the perilous Tartarus, and Jason, Leo, Hazel, Nico and Frank while they travel across Europe in the Argo II. Both parties are attempting to get to the Doors of Death, so they can free it from it's shackles and get both Percy and Annabeth out of Tartarus alive. The group aboard the Argo II encounter various mythical beings and monsters, ranging from giant turtles and thieves, to the Goddess of snow, Khione. Percy and Annabeth, on the other hand, have to travel through the birthplace of monsters, where the taint of the acidic air weakens them with every step. Without supplies, and only the fiery water of the Phlegethon to keep them barely going. To avoid revealing any major events in the plot, I'll stop here.

But, all in all, I greatly enjoyed this book. Although I feel it's ending was a bit anti-climactic, and it didn't leave as much of a dramatic cliff-hangar as in The Mark of Athena, I loved learning about all of these intriguing Greek (and, I suppose, Roman) Myths, all while being caught in the troubles and tribulations of each and every character. I found it hard to put down the book once I was snagged.

Luckily for me, I picked this book up late, and the next book in the series has already been released. I must say, I can't wait to pick up the fifth book in the series, and plunge into the depth of the finale, The Blood of Olympus.

So, I finally got my hands on Goliath, the third book to the Leviathan trilogy. I did enjoy it, but I did not exactly find it quite as good as the first two books. It felt just a bit rushed, and I personally feel that the characters did not really act, well, in character. Some of the things that they did or said just felt off, and they just acted differently at some points. Now, don't get me wrong, Deryn still kicked butt, and Aleksander was still cool. But sometimes they did or said things that you just wouldn't expect out of them, or they reacted to things in a different way. One thing that also sort of bothered me was the romantic side of the story. It just wasn't something I enjoyed quite as much, and it also felt rushed. Not quite as rushed as Romeo and Juliet, mind you,  but still, it felt rushed. Deryn continuously said things to herself, like "I can't fall in love with him, he's a prince." Yet, when the moment came, she rushed into a kiss with him. It was just something I wouldn't see her doing so readily, instead I would've seen her as slowly easing into her affections.

All though there were a few things about the book that I didn't like quite as much as in the other books, I still greatly enjoyed Goliath. And, for that matter, the entire series, with it's captivating visuals and animated action.

I finished Behmoth, and I can say for sure that it was action packed and full to the brim with excitement. Although I felt the ending was a bit too rushed, I still enjoyed the book and the overall story. Deryn's still a girl, Alexsander is still a prince. That hasn't changed. But, the path that the war has taken has changed, and with that change came new allies, and new equipment and knowledge that just may change the outcome for all.

It was a really great book, and I can't wait to continue the story in the third and final book in the main series, Goliath.

I have started reading "Behemoth", which is apparently the second book to the Leviathan trilogy, the third book being "Goliath". This book is a continuation on the events that occurred in the first book, and it still appears to follow the story of Deryn Sharp and Prince Aleksander. They are traveling in a giant whale airship on it's way to Constantinople on a secret diplomatic mission. Deryn still has to hide the fact that she is a girl; and although Dr. Barlow, Deryn, and those who fled with Aleksander know his secret, it is still one that he has to keep unknown. A grudging alliance had been formed between the crew on the Leviathan and the small band of fleeing Clankers. As a result, Deryn and Alek are found on the Leviathan at the beginning of the book; but the technology on the airship has been combined with the Clanker technology that Aleksander and his party used. As a result, the airship moves much more quickly than it did when powered by the Darwinist engines. I do not want to give away any more, as it may spoil the plot and events that occur later on in the book, but so far I find this book, and the series as a whole, a very enjoyable read.

I found a trailer for Leviathan, in case there are those who want a glimpse of the wonderful art tucked within the pages of the book, as well as a nice little animated preview of the contents.

https://www.goodreads.com/videos/6125-leviathan-trailer

I finished reading Leviathan, and I must admit, I am not disappointed. It was a great and engaging book, and once I picked it up I couldn't stop reading. First of all, the way it switched between Aleksander and Deryn was wonderful. It would pull you into the story of one of the characters, but once the story got extremely interesting for that character, they switched the focus to the other character. Essentially, it would leave you wanting more with a cliff hanger. I do know that some people might not enjoy something that follows that kind of style, but to me, it was quite enjoyable. In my opinion, the story focused more on the struggle of Deryn. Although I do enjoy her story quite a bit more than Aleksander's, I feel that he was underrepresented in the story and needs more character development. If the time and effort was put towards his development, I believe that I would come to like Aleksander's character just as much as Deryn's. But, his character may earn the development it has been lacking in the next book in the series, Behemoth.