My son and I read this book and very much enjoyed it.
Characters were many and sometimes hard to differentiate between, but they were still fun and enjoyable. Setting made me need a drink of water all the time. But what I most enjoyed was the plot and flashbacks that were present to help enlighten the reader as to what was actually going on. Miss Katherine and Sam were my favorite and I really felt for them. And you feel sorry for Stanley and Zero and all the other boys.
Complete strangers board a train, mingle for a few hours or days, and then go their separate ways. But then a murder happens and those who have nothing to do with each other are then all suspected to have murdered a horrendous man. So many clues. Too many clues. It was one of them, but which one?
Murder on the Orient Express has been made into many movies and so the story wasn't new to me. It was one that I wanted to read to say that I'd done it. I am a major fan of Kenneth Branagh as he is a fantastic actor and brings so much more to each character he portrays (whether it is Hercule, Professor Lockhart, or King Henry IV), so to hear him give this presentation for all the many nationalities here was a treat.
I enjoyed all the characters that were present here. There were many and at times could have been hard to keep track of, but Agatha Christie was able to keep them all fairly well clear. And while there were many clues and twists and turns throughout the story, she gave them to us in ways the kept it concise clear though we had to use our "little gray cells" to get the other ending like Poirot did--if people are that awesome to be able to actually do that anyway.
I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the games and movies that came out of this series. Well done Agatha. Well done.
Charmain Baker is a baker's daughter who is good at nothing but reading. Her mother doesn't let her do anything that is remotely unladylike, so mostly she reads. But then she is tasked with taking care of Great Uncle William's house while he is going away to see the Elves to heal him. Great Uncle William is a wizard and his house his magical. Outside it is a simple cottage with two rooms, but the large wooden door that leads to the kitchen can also lead to "many ways" other than the kitchen. Not only does she come to a house that is piled high with laundry and dishes which she doesn't know how to do, but the kobolds are also complaining and a boy barges in looking to be Great Uncle William's apprentice AND she gets a reply from the King to come and help him with his library. So much is going on for a girl who doesn't know how to do anything.
This was my sons favorite out of the three stories. Charmain was cute and it was just a super fun book. I liked the appearance of Howl and Sophie, though Howl's lisp was hard to voice over, jus saying. I also enjoyed the history of he old country and how some problems last generations before they become resolved.
It was a cute book, that I would defiantly read again, and probably will if my son has more say in what I pick for our breakfast book club.
Lea, Princess of Morrighan, finds herself in enemy territory. After being kidnapped by the Assassin and carted across country to Venda, she must find a way out of this inescapable city. The Prince has lies and says he's an emissary of the Prince wanting to make a treaty with Venda. With her precarious position, lies and secrets deep in the Sanctum, and her world view shifting from seeing everyone here as barbarians to survivors, Lea has quite a path ahead of her. Their plans for escaping seem ludicrous with four, not four thousand or even four hundred, soldiers to help. How do they get out? How is this woman that Lea keeps seeing that seems invisible to everyone else?
This was a very well written book. Had me sucked in the whole time and I can't wait to get into the third book. SUCH A CLIFFHANGER!!!
Lea, I think, grows quite a bit in this book as her understanding of the people she once saw as her enemy are now seen through new eyes. I wish Kaden and Rafe had more growth, though Kaden by the end of the story does take a big step forward we only hope he isn't dead because of it.
I also really like the world that this is in. Venda, where we spend most of the book, is a city built upon ruins. Ruins with libraries beneath it. Libraries of knowledge that only very few people can read. I liked how we got to see a bit of the ruins as she was toured around the city. It would make for a great graphic novel, that I would love to read.
I think it was also fun how we know there is a prophecy and she's "the chosen one" kinda thing, but that so many people don't know about it or don't believe it is real. But that there are many people who know the old stories and give shifty eyed glances to one another because "they know" more than what the bad guys do. It made the little things they did that much more precious and important.
The ending was very well done and I can't wait to get into book 3.
