The Good Dictator - Gonçalo J. Nunes Dias

Synopsis:

An unidentified object parked on the moon - and no one seems to know where it came from. Gustavo, a middle-aged computer programmer with a comfortable and grey life, decides to make a list of what he would need to survive a hypothetical attack. He becomes obsessed with the list, spends a fortune, robs a drugstore: his own family thinks he is going insane. However, after the attack, it’s the insane who are well prepared for a new era in society. First book of a trilogy

Review:

So Gonçalo contacted me and I automatically became intrigued with what the book was about that I just couldn't say no. I begun the book a while ago but had to put it on pause whilst I read other books but once I got back to this book I simply could not put it down.

Straight away we are swept up into the world and ways of our main character Gustavo, its done in such a way that we can identify with him. I connected with him instantly, in no specific way for a while but somehow I just felt like Gustavo was my neighbour a man who I knew a lot about and felt emotions towards. This so called average man in fact is nowhere near average after all, he hates his in laws and has fallen out of love with his wife and he treats his job like its more of a nuisance than something paying the bills. But as you read in the Synopsis, the world goes to hell and back, an object parks on the moon and no one knows where it came from, when Gustavo makes  list in preparation for the hypothetical attack he nearly blows the bank and becomes obsessed with the list. He's thought to be crazy but he's not so crazy in the end when the attack happens and everyone is left looking to Gustavo for leadership in a time only he and his 2 friends were prepared for.

I loved Gustavo as a character, he seemed to have all the thought processes I would have in any situation he was in, well or so I believe. I pretty much can only speak of him because that's where my focus is but in relation to his wife, she got on my nerves and I was quite happy with her storyline. Gustavo's friends were great, his closest 2 who were prepared with him were great just for the fact they stood with him on this, they never thought he was crazy or anything, they were on the same wavelength and that alone is hard to find. Gustavo was greatly portrayed, I knew enough about him to feel emotions towards him and support him,  I felt like we were too on the same wavelengths half of the time at least. I'm definitely one person to believe that one day some sort of extinction event will occur in whichever form it may be and that I want to be prepared for it just like Gustavo did but maybe not to so many certain extents ey?

To fully understand what I'm about to say, you might have to go and read this book, but it is so full of home truths and definitely leaves you with food for thought, 85% of the world population dies just in order for the world to heal and start over, the remaining 15% of the population then have to adapt to it, use things to their advantage. It leaves you with a lot to think about in the way we treat the planet, a thing that had given us life and aided us in growth  and how we pretty much throw it back in its face. All I can think of is ideologies and philosophies. What does get me a little is how the women in the book are just there to provide meals and sex and do the most basic of things but I suppose that in a plot like this where the world is simmered down and humans must build up the world once more that that is really all a woman can do for the most part until they make their stand and become equal to the men of the world and break the 'women are just for sex and basic things' thing.

There really isn't anything else I can say about this book, I have no bad thing to say about it except for the portrayal of women at points. its an easy and quick read if you can get into it right away, definitely a book I would recommend to anyone really, just to spread the food for thought. Definitely a 4.8 out of 5, a thoroughly enjoyable book and I can not wait to see what is in store in the next 2 instalments.

Top Ten Tuesday - Books I've Added To My To-Be-Read List Lately

What I'm basically going to do is list all the books I have that I want to read as soon as possible.

Esper Files - Egan Brass

Cardiac - Jeffrey Monaghan

The Unadjusteds - Marisa Blagden

The Rest Of Us Jist Live Here - Patrick Ness 

Atlantis Gene Trilogy - A.G.Riddle

Always With Love - Giovanna Fletcher

Maze Runner Series - James Dashner

Am I Normal Yet and How Hard Can Love Be? - Holly Bourne

On The Other Side - Carrie Hope Fletcher

Eden Summer - Liz Flanagan

The Girl on The Train - Paula Hawkins

Books 7-10 in the True Blood/Sookie Stackhouse series - Charlaine Harris

New Guard - Robert Muchamore

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke And The Bookish.

Allegiant - Veronica Roth

"The faction- based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered - fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she's knows, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties and painful memories.

But Tris's new reality is even more alarming that the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths chance the hearts of those she loves. And once again Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature - and of herself- whilst facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance sacrifice and love."


This is the final of the 3.
After all Tris and Four have been through, is there more?
Unable to stay in a place where so much has happened they leave with a few others. The get out of the geat but is what greets them far worse that what they just left behind?

After all Caleb had done I've been able to forgive him, he is still human, therefore at the bottom of my Allegiant favourite character list. Tris, Four and Christina are still high up my list. Then there is Peter. We knows him as the one who attacked Tris and stabbed Edward int he eyes with a butter knife, but he is a favourite of mind because he lives like if somebody does something good for him he will do something good for them. His actions may be irrational and defensive but his hay of repaying favours is a soft side.

After they left, out of the gates I was guessing all the way to the end, My Favourite part of the book has to be the Epilogue, its a new starts and a wonderful ending. Broke my heart. As always the action scenes were written particularly well.

I think it is clear to say that at 12pm I had gotten to chapter 17 on the same night i had finished Insurgent. I then read from 10am til 3pm and then from 5pm til 11pm. I spent the time it took to read from chapter twenty eight to thirty nine crying, then from forty five until the end crying and I didn't even feel like a goon doing it either.

I'm really upset that the trilogy has now come to an end and that i no longer can indulge in reading about Tris and Four, Caleb, Peter. Christina, Zeke or Shauna or Matthew or Cara and Amar or anyone else involved in the Trilogy.If you're a teenager into romance/love and action and occasionally crying, this book is for you, infact the whole trilogy is. I cannot wait for the books to finally have their movies.

For one final time, Allegiant's book cover is beautiful and within its rights to be.

Book Rating:                                       Trilogy Rating:
5/5                                                         9/10

Insurgent - Veronica Roth

"Tris has survived a brutal attack on her former home and family. But she has paid a terrible price. Wracked by grief and guilt, she becomes ever more reckless as she struggles to accept her new future.

Yet if Tris wants to uncover the truth about her world, she must be stronger than ever...because more shocking choices and sacrifices lie ahead."

Still haunted by her actions Tris can not stop reliving them. The group reaches the fence and enter the Amity compound looking for allies. After one battle is over another one begins.

I still favour Four Tris and Christina but after reading this book I don't think I  can favour Caleb. Tori becomes stronger and more influential and those are great traits. Uriah is a wonder because even in the worst of times he can always crack a joke and smile.

In this book I saw none of it coming, I was always guessing and trying to figure out what was to comes but the only way it would happen was if i were to carry on reading. I can remember welling up reading this book but never full on crying. I did laugh when I can, Probably just to stop me from crying.
 

I can remember opening this book whilst lying on my bed at 10am, I  lay there till 8pm reading it, Maybe my curiosity got the best of me but the book sure as hell kept me turning pages.

Just like Divergent I dislike it having a last page with a last word and a last full stop, but knowing I was now going to be on the final book made it even more heart breaking. This book has even less traits with The Hunger Games, It is more independent and original now. I can no longer compare any of Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant with The Hunger Games.

If you are a teenager who likes romance and action this book is for you.

The book has a cover that is truly glorious, Magnificent in its own right.

Book Rating:

5/5

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: September 14, 2008
Available Editions: Hardback, Paperback, EBook



Book Synopsis:
In a dark vision of the near future, twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear on live TV show called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: Kill or be Killed.
When sixteen- year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sisters place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

Review

Young Katniss Everdeen a 16 year old from district 12 gets to experience the entertainment of the arena, from within. The rules of the Hunger Games are simple, in punishment for the uprising, each of the 12 districts put forward one boy and one girl, called tributes to participate. The twenty four tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold any situation burning desert to frozen wastelands. Over a period of a few weeks the competitors must fight to the death, the last tribute standing, wins. Taking the children from the districts allows them all to be reminded how much they are all at the Capitols mercy.

I remember when my parents bought me the trilogy, the price had been reduced recently so they bought them home for me and I could barely get them out the cardboard pack without being rough, thankfully I didn't damage them in the process of taking them in and out of the packaging. I can remember the new book smell even though it was a while ago.

I love how the future portrayed in the book isn't the weird technology advanced future that most of us want it to be, for me this future seems and feels more realistic. Not only that but I love the way the characters portray their emotions through their actions, volunteering to go into the games to replace your sister for instant, beautiful.

Katniss is a tough girl, she has skills no one else can possess and it's not only that that makes me love her, it's her determination throughout. She takes the mother role in her family ever since her father died and her mother simply couldn't function, she would hunt in the forest that was off bounds just so her sister and mother could eat a decent meal. She is also a character perfectly portrayed, by Jennifer Lawrence. Peeta can impress anyone and everyone and in the capitol it takes a lot to get them on side, he's young and good looking, he's kind in heart and he's a wonderful character perfectly portrayed in the movies by Josh Hutcherson. Haymitch isn't just a district drunk once the games begin, he is a life line for the young district 12 tributes, he knows what it's like to be in the arena and he knows how bad it can become, between the harsh words and periods of being drunk, he's a man who does what's right not what is easy. Effie, coming from the capitol is judged and labelled for that, she may have a very large obsession with Mahogany and large hair and eccentric outfits, but she's a kind woman, she isn't like the capitol people are anymore, the games changed her. All of the characters in the book/s felt real to me and I cringe most of the time where I read about them being in any danger.

With this book being the first of a series your expectations are high and with the films now being something the books are up against you definitely need to read the books and see the films to take a side. When I first got the books, the first film had already been released but I hadn't seen it, only once I had finished the 3 books completely did I allow myself to buy the DVD. Lets say the movies are a great representation of the books. Once I had begun reading the book I was simply unable to stop, quite literally, until I had finished, I managed it within 5 hours. No headache either. The next day I was straight into the 2nd book of the series.

Even though I like the book as a whole there was only one thing I disliked heavily. It had to end. As we know all good things must come to an end, and like that saying, it did.

I have no trouble awarding the book a 5 out of 5 as a rating and I  recommend this book to anyone who likes heavy suspense and has enough free time to read it because I guarantee you wont be able to put it down, of course anyone from the age 13 upwards are a good audience for the book and if you have seen the 2 movies so far and haven't read the books then, I do recommend them to you too. I can see I've haven't read any books like this before and I hope I never will.