Book of the Day

The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness (3rd Edition Revised and Updated)


All I can really say about this is WOW! My wife and I got this as a wedding gift back in November, and I finally started reading it. I am going to implement the ideas in this book into my life. The ideas are mostly just common sense, but the book challenges you to do them, and gives you and outline on how. This makes it very easy to follow.

I definitely recommend this read.

Pick it up for your Kindle here!

Book of the Day

The Night's Dawn Trilogy


I just recently finished this series of books. In the US the paperback editions have been split into 6 books. It's a very good read if your into the Sci-fi genre. I love the fact, that the Kindle format contains the whole series in one download.

The characters here are very in depth, and the story spans a large portion of the galaxy. Elements of this series seem a little more towards the supernatural , with a scientific element.

A quick overview:

In the 27th century humans have colonised nearly 900 worlds, have living, sentient starships as well as the conventional kind, and are also living in Asteroid communities and in large, living Space stations. Due to policies of 'Ethnic Streaming' by the colonisation authorities, worlds are generally united under a single government, with these governments collectively forming a Confederation. The Confederation includes both Adamists and Edenists, two alien races (the Tyrathca and the Kiint), has an armed Navy (which acts primarily against smugglers, pirates and anti-matter production facilities, which are highly illegal) and a central 'house' based on the world of Avon. Earth is still an important world, with a massive population, exporting a massive number of colonists (both voluntarily and involuntarily), but virtually environmentally destroyed after years of technological abuse

The Dragonbone Chair: Book One of Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn

I would list this series as one of my favorite of all time. It's actually been quite a few years since I read it, but every once in a while I find myself wanting to read it again. I definitely recommend this.

A quick Synopsis:

The story takes place on the fictional fantasy world of Osten Ard. The history of the world and the races present in Osten Ard have a great impact on the current events in the books. Thousands of years ago the long-lived Gardenborn arrived in the land, fleeing a cataclysm. They were three tribes, the Zida'ya (commonly called Sithi), the Hikeda'ya (also called Norns) and the Tinukeda'ya (known as Dwarrows and Niskies). In Osten Ard the Gardenborn prospered and they built nine great cities of tremendous beauty. The first two tribes had ruled the third in their ancestral home called the Garden, but in Osten Ard the Tinukeda'ya went their own way, developing into two separate tribes, the sea-faring Niskies and the earth-dwelling Dwarrows. The other two tribes also split ways, making a pact at Sesuad'ra, the Stone of Farewell. Their main subject of argument was the appearance of Men or mortals in Osten Ard. The Zida'ya were content to leave Men alone to go their own way, as long as they didn't trespass in Sithi lands. The Hikeda'ya were of the opinion that the mortals had to be wiped out or driven from Osten Ard. The Norns and their fell queen Utuk'u, eldest and most powerful of the Gardenborn, removed to the north of the world, taking the two northern-most cities for their own. Three cities were also given to the Tinukeda'ya, one was sea-bound Jhina't'senei which went to the Niskies and the other two were deep under the earth which went to the Dwarrows, the smaller tribe of the Tinukeda'ya. In the greatest of them all, Asu'a, the High King ruled.
But Men began to prosper and advance and the sea empire of Nabban rose and fell without it disturbing the Gardenborn. The Sithi also had great friendship with the Hernystiri of the west. Then the Rimmersmen came with iron and to them the Gardenborn were devils and demons, to be killed on sight. Unfortunately the Gardenborn suffer from a severe allergy to iron and even with their magics and their own iron-hard witchwood weapons, they were beaten back, one after the other. The Hernystiri were the only ones who stood by the Sithi in the final battle where both armies were destroyed. The remaining Sithi withdrew to Asu'a and there awaited the end. Ineluki, the King's younger son, wove terrible magic at the end with five of his servants and there they and Asu'a were destroyed. However, the spell gave the remaining Sithi time to flee to Aldheorte forest, where they continued to live in secrecy.
During the five hundred years that follows the fall of Asu'a, six different kings ruled in the castle built on the Sithi ruins, called Hayholt. The latest of these is king John Presbyter, who is dying as the story opens.
Simon is an ordinary scullery boy who is taken under the tutelage of Morgenes. When King John Presbyter dies and his son Elias ascends the throne, the way opens for a long-dormant evil to enter the realm. Elias, driven by his evil advisor, moves to eliminate his brother Josua. Caught in the struggle, Simon is forced to flee as best he can, and the young man soon finds himself taking part in adventures he had only dreamed of.

Grab the book here!

Sword of Truth

Wizard's First Rule  By Terry Goodkind

Where to start with this series? It's ver good from the start. The story line immediatly grabs your attention, and starts you asking questions, questions that can only be answered from continued reading. This is a long series, it currently runs out to 11 books, and has even been broken into seperate mini trilogies. The character development moves along at a good pace. The books do seem to repeat themselves a bit. And the plot can become stagnant, but in the end they are a very good read.

A quick synopsis:

The series is set in a world divided into two major regions: the New World and the Old World. The New World consists of three lands with Westland in the west, D'Hara in the east and the Midlands in the centre of the two. D'Hara is ruled by a magically gifted member of the Rahl family, while the welfare of the Midlands is decided by a council of representatives led by the Mother Confessor, who is also the leader of the Confessors. The Confessors are a group of women who each have a magical power to force a person to become entirely devoted to them, allowing them to fulfill their purpose - to find the truth. Westland, a land of no magic, is also ruled by a council of representatives. The Old World is not introduced until the second book in the series and its geographical features are described in less detail.
The main character is a young man named Richard Cypher, a Westland woods guide whose simple life is forever changed after he becomes the Seeker of Truth - a position similar to that of a Confessor, requiring him to uphold justice in the world. Over the course of the series, Richard learns about his heritage while seeking to stop the evil that others would unleash upon the world of the living. Because Richard refuses to sacrifice his values and lives his life as a free man, others begin to understand the nobility of man and what it means to be free. Each book is loosely themed around a Wizard's Rule, tenets by which all wizards should abide. The eleventh full-length novel, Confessor, concludes the series' central story arc regarding the invasion of the Imperial Order, an empire in the Old World led by Jagang.

Follow this link, Wizard's First Rule (The Sword of Truth) to get started with the series!

Book of the Day

The Inner Circle by Brad Metzler

Beecher White is an archivist at the National Archives in Washington D.C. The Archives is like the attic of America, housing all the papers and artifacts that haven't landed anywhere else, like the Smithsonian or a presidential library. After a devastating breakup with his fiancé, Beecher hooks up with his first crush, Clementine, on Facebook. When she comes to visit, he can't help but want to show off where he works, and with the help of his friend Orlando, the security guard, he manages to get her into one of the private vaults where the President visits and reads every week. While there, they accidentally uncover a hidden book that once belonged to George Washington. That seemingly innocuous, accidental find causes a chain of events that could not be foreseen, starting with Orlando's murder. Clementine has her own secrets, and so do just about everyone else in this story, but separating the good guys from the bad guys is no easy feat in this twisty, fascinating thriller. Lots of American history - the kind they never teach you in school - raises the bar even higher.

This is a great read!

Pick it up for your Kindle here! The Inner Circle

Book of the Day

The Sword of Shannara Trilogy

This high fantasy series follows a family destined for greatness. Terry Brooks does an amazing job of creating a post apocalyptic world, making humanity into the new trolls, dwarves, and gnomes. Among other fantasy beings. Follows is a brief history of the setting:

The Sword of Shannara's events take place 2000 years after an apocalypse has occurred: nuclear holocaust has wiped out most of the planet. During this time, Mankind mutated into several distinct races: Men, Dwarves, Gnomes, and Trolls, all named after creatures from "age-old" myths. Also, the Elves begin to emerge after having been in seclusion and hiding for centuries. The warring that caused the holocaust is referred to as the "Great Wars" throughout the novel. These wars rearranged the planet's geographical attributes and wiped out most life forms on Earth. As a result of the Great Wars, most advanced technology has been lost, thus most of the events in the Shannara series take place in a medieval setting. However, magic is also back into the world, rediscovered after the loss of technology.
1000 years before The Sword of Shannara, an Elf named Galaphile gathered all of the people who still had some knowledge of the old world to Paranor in an attempt to bring peace and order to all of the races. They named themselves the First Druid Council. However, a rogue Druid named Brona and a few followers left, taking the Ildatch with them; this magical tome had subverted their minds and had brought them under its control. 250 years later, Brona began the First War of the Races when he convinced all Men to attack the other races. He almost succeeded in seizing rule of the Four Lands, but the tide turned, and the war ended with his defeat and subsequent disappearance. The Druids divided the Four Lands among the races to reduce interracial tension, and then became reclusive, withdrawing to Paranor because of their shame at the betrayal by one of their own members.
Two and a half centuries after the First War of the Races, Brona returned as the Warlock Lord, now with Skull Bearers as his servants. Chronicled in the prequel novel First King of Shannara, the Second War of the Races began with the destruction of the Druid Order. A lone Druid, Bremen, then forged a magical talisman for the express purpose of destroying the Warlock Lord; it was given to the Elven King, Jerle Shannara. As it takes the form of a blade, the talisman was named the Sword of Shannara. It succeeded in banishing the Warlock Lord, though he was not killed, while his entire army was subsequently defeated by the combined armies of the Elves and Dwarves. Yet peace came at a high price, as interracial tension was renewed and the Druids had seemingly vanished from the land.

Book Review for the day

  

David Eddings The Belgariad series was one of the first set of novels I read. I was fairly young at the time and it grabbed my attention and held it. The character growth was amazing. Taking a young farm boy, to a heroic figure is a hard task in writing and David Eddings accomplished it very well in this series. The length and breadth of the world created is staggering.

I definitely recommend these books to those interested in high fantasy.

Bestselling Kindle eBooks

I'm looking at my site here, wondering what it needed, when I realized that it has nothing containing bestselling ebooks. I am going to link Amazon's bestselling books. For those readers that need something to read or just want to check it out.

Bestselling Kindle eBooks

George R.R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire

I started reading this series a few years ago. The series has kept me enthralled throughout the telling. It's a very good read. This epic fantasy story is going to be remembered for a long time. Martin's character development is amazing. The pace of the story will keep you on the edge of your seat, and wondering whats next. The only complaint I have about this series, is the time it is taking to complete. Other then that, it truly is amazing.

Here is a synopsis of the story:

A Song of Ice and Fire follows three principal storylines, divided by geography and participants.
The first storyline, set in the Seven Kingdoms themselves, chronicles a many-sided struggle for the Iron Throne that develops after King Robert's death. The throne is claimed by his son Joffrey, supported by his mother's powerful family, House Lannister. However, Lord Eddard Stark, King Robert's Hand, finds out Robert's children are illegitimate, and that the throne should therefore fall to Robert's unpopular eldest brother, Stannis. Robert's charismatic and popular youngest brother, Renly, also places a claim, openly disregarding the order of precedence, with the support of the powerful House Tyrell. While the claimants battle for the Iron Throne, Robb Stark, Lord Eddard Stark's heir, is proclaimed King in the North as the northmen and their allies in the Riverlands seek to return to self-rule. Likewise, Balon Greyjoy also (re-)claims the ancient throne of his own region, the Iron Islands, with an eye toward independence. This so-called War of the Five Kings is the principal storyline of the first four novels; indeed, the fourth novel primarily concerns Westeros's recovery from it in the face of the coming winter and the political machinations of those seeking to gain in its aftermath.
The second storyline is set on the extreme northern border of Westeros. Here, many thousands of years ago, a huge wall of ice and gravel was constructed by both magic and labor to defend Westeros from the threat of The Others, a race of now-mythical creatures living in the uttermost north. This Wall, 300 miles (480 km) long and 700 feet (210 m) tall, is defended and maintained by the Sworn Brotherhood of the Night's Watch, whose duty is to guard the kingdom against the Others. By the time of the novels, the Others have not been seen in over 8,000 years, and the Night's Watch has devolved into essentially a penal colony: it is badly under-strength, manned primarily by criminals and refugees with only a few knights or men of honor to stiffen them, and spends most of its time dealing with the human "wildlings" or "free folk" who live beyond the Wall. This storyline is told primarily through the eyes of Jon Snow, bastard son of Eddard Stark, as he rises through the ranks of the Watch, learns the true nature of the threat from the north, and prepares to defend the realm even though the people of Westeros are too busy warring to send support. By the end of the third volume, this storyline is somewhat entangled with the civil war to the south.
The third storyline is set on the huge eastern continent of Essos, across the narrow sea, and follows the adventures of Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen and another claimant to the Iron Throne. Daenerys's adventures showcase her growing ability as she rises from a pauper sold into a dynastic marriage to a barbarian warlord to a powerful and canny ruler in her own right. Her rise is aided by the birth of three dragons, creatures thought long extinct, from fossilized eggs given to her as wedding gifts. Because her family standard is the dragon, these creatures are of symbolic value before they have grown big enough to be of tactical use. Though her story is separated from the others by many thousands of miles, her stated goal is to reclaim the Iron Throne.

Search Amazon.com Kindle Store for A Song of Ice and Fire

The Wheel of Time

This book series is one of the most in depth and enthralling stories I have ever read! It spans a world that is so imaginative it will blow your mind. It's been called the new LoTR. Although I wouldn't go that far. It does come in a good second place to that, in my fantasy novels. Characters are easily understood, and you tend to like them. The pace of the first few books was very well kept. Unfortunatly it fell for the middle to late four books. With the passing of Robert Jordan (RIP), Brandon Sanderson has picked up the telling of this tale, and the pace has picked up. The final book is expected to be published around March 2012.




Series Premise:


At the dawn of time, a deity known as the Creator forged the universe and the Wheel of Time, which, as it turns, spins all lives. The Wheel has seven spokes, each representing an age, and it rotates under the One Power, which flows from the True Source. Essentially composed of male and female halves (saidin and saidar) in opposition and in unison, this power turns the Wheel. Those humans who can use this power are known as channelers; the principal organization of such channelers in the books is called the Aes Sedai or 'Servants of All' in the Old Tongue.
The Creator imprisoned its antithesis, Shai'tan (or Dark One), at the moment of creation, sealing him away from the Wheel. However, in a time called the Age of Legends, an Aes Sedai experiment inadvertently breached the Dark One's prison, allowing his influence into the world. He rallied the powerful, the corrupt and the ambitious to his cause and these servants began an effort to free the Dark One fully from his prison. In return, the Dark One promised them worldly power and immortality. Few even among the servants of the Dark One realized that one of the consequences of freeing him might be the breaking of the Wheel of Time and the end of existence itself.
In response to this threat, the Wheel spun out the Dragon as the champion of the Light. The Dragon was a male Aes Sedai named Lews Therin Telamon, who eventually rose to command all the Aes Sedai and their allies in the struggle against the Dark One's forces. A century after the initial breach of the Dark One's prison, a time during which the Dark One's influence spread throughout the world, causing society to become corrupt and decayed, open warfare broke out between the forces of the Dark One and those of the Light. After ten years of a grueling, world-wide war filled with atrocities on a scale never before imagined, the Light found itself facing the real possibility of defeat.
In desperation, Lews Therin led a hand-picked force of channelers and soldiers in a high-risk, daring assault on the site of the earthly link to the Dark One's prison, and was able to seal it off. However, at this moment of victory the Dark One tainted saidin, driving male channelers of the One Power insane. The male channelers devastated the world with the One Power, unleashing earthquakes and tidal waves that reshaped the planet, referred to in subsequent ages as "The Breaking of the World."
Lews Therin himself killed his friends, his family and everyone in any way related to him in his insanity, and was known afterwards as Lews Therin Kinslayer. Given a moment of sanity by Ishamael, chief among the Dark One's servants, Lews Therin realized what he had done. In his grief, he committed suicide by drawing on far more of the One Power than even he could handle unaided.
Over time, the remaining male Aes Sedai were killed or cut off from the One Power. In their wake, they had left a devastated world: the land and the oceans reshaped, people scattered from their native lands, civilization itself all but destroyed. Only women were now able to wield the One Power safely. The female Aes Sedai reconstituted and guided humanity out of this dark time. Men who could channel eventually became objects of fear and horror, as they would inevitably go insane unless stopped. Among the Aes Sedai there were women whose sole function was to hunt such men down and cut them off from accessing the One Power.
What followed was three and a half thousand years of history that was marked by a decline in civilization, a time of troubles and chaos that stood in marked contrast to the now mythical Age of Legends. Nations and civilization itself fell, rose, and fell again. Occasional periods of uneasy peace were punctuated by warfare. There were two major conflicts that were of particular importance, in terms of their effect on civilization as a whole. The first was the Trolloc Wars, when the surviving servants of the Dark One tried to destroy civilization once more, in an unending series of wars that lasted for several hundred years. This period finally came to an end thanks to an alliance of nations led by the Aes Sedai. The second was the War of the Hundred Years, a devastating civil war that followed the fall of a continent-spanning empire ruled by the High King, Artur Hawkwing.
These wars have prevented the human race from regaining the power and high technology of the Age of Legends, and left humanity divided. Even the prestige of the Aes Sedai has fallen, with their shrinking numbers and the emergence of organizations such as the Children of the Light, a militant order who hold that all who dabble with the One Power are servants of the Shadow. The human race has clawed its way back to a level of technology and culture roughly comparable to that of the 18th century (although without military use of gunpowder and without formalized science, the development of both playing a part in the story), with the difference that women enjoy full equality with men in most societies, and are superior in some. This is put down to the power and influence of the female-only Aes Sedai spilling over into everyday life.
During the last war of note, called the Aiel war and taking place 20 years before the start of the series, the nations of the modern era allied themselves against the nomadic warrior-clans of the Aiel, who crossed into the western kingdoms on a mission of vengeance after suffering a grievous insult at the hands of one of the western Kings. The Aiel have since returned to the Aiel Waste, with some saying that they were defeated and fled, while others saying that they got their vengeance and left on their own terms. Despite this confrontation, little is known of these fierce warriors in the kingdoms of the west.
Mankind now lives under the shadow of a prophecy that the Dark One will break free from his prison and the Dragon will be reborn to face him once more, bringing destruction upon the world in the process of saving it from the Dark One.

Search Amazon.com for the wheel of time

Seeking Information about Kindle Book?

So, I was sitting around one day, when I heard about these amazing, new, and fun products called ebook readers. Now me, being the avid fantasy and sci-fi novel reader that I am, decided to find what information I could about these products. Much to my dismay, there wasn't very much information available. In my searches, I stumbled across the Kindle and I thought "How amazing is that?!?". So I decided that more information needed to be put out there.

Welcome to my Kindle Books and Products Review blog!

So here's the deal about the Kindle. Currently there are three products with this name. The Kindle, Kindle DX, and the Kindle 3G. (My bet is that the Kindle 4G is coming soon.) I will review each of these products in this blog.