Fan Letter to Darren Shan

Lord Loss: It’s In the Blood

Darren Shan

 

Dear Mr. Shan.

 

            Your book “Lord Loss: It’s In the Blood” was a fantastic read and kept me turning the pages and I couldn’t stop reading.  Your idea of using such a sophisticated game, chess, and incorporating that with another dimension and magic was a phenomenal idea.  The fact that these monsters with snakes coming out of their heart and maggot filling their heads playing chess against humans was a great idea.  When the final chess match with the 5 chess boards and Lord Loss playing Dervish and then Grubbs taking on the two demons was exhilarating to read. 

            At the start of the book when Grubbs family was obsessed with chess and their whole family played and they were very intense about it I started to wonder what was going on.  As the book continued and when Grubbs parents and Gret, his sister challenged Lord Loss and lost that really caught my attention and glued me to the book.  The detail that you went into for when Grubbs first saw his destroyed house and dead family members was incredible and it painted a very vivid picture in my head.  When he moved in with Dervish I thought the excitement of the book was over and it was just going to be a dull book from there on out.  Once chess was brought back into my view I was excited to see if Grubbs was going to avenge his fallen family members with Dervish.  Once the final fight got set up and underway I couldn’t stop reading until the book was over.  Even after I finished the book I was itching to see what was going to happen in the next book. 

            The amount of detail and originality that went into writing this book was amazing and I really enjoyed reading this book and I would definitely recommend it to all of my friends.

 

Sincerely Aaron Carr

The Tin Roof Blowdown- James Lee

Mr. Baylor is a wealthy man that lives in new Orleans before hurrican Katrina hit and destroyed most of New Orleans.  He lives in one of the houses that did not get wrecked by the storm and that night he sleeps happily in his bed.  That same night thugs are outside raiding other houses with crowbars and they are destroying what has not been already destroyed.  As Otis Baylor watches this and remembers when the same gang raped his daughter in past years.  He is upset and goes outside and opens fire at the men, showing that he is very strong minded and fearless. He is also a very smart man.  He is able to get away with the murder of that man because he said he was defending his property.  He uses his knowledge of law to get out of this tight situation that he got he got himself into. 

 

            Throughtout the novel there where various hints that were dropped for “Dave Robicheaux” the sheriff and detective of the novel.  Throughout the book he has to go through the destroyed, gang filled, and violent streets to find those who raided the houses, raped Mr. Baylor’s daughter, and who high jacked a rescue boat.  After the high jacking the got a hidden gangster fortune and left.  As he goes threw the streets he has to talk to many people who give him little clues about where they think that the men are staying and where they are.  He has to talk to many rough people like drug addicts, gangsters, and homeless people.  As the whole city is a dump it is very hard to find physical evidence so he has to use witnesses to track down the men that did the crime.

 

“What kind of people put flower vases in every room in a house before a hurricane.”  This is a passage earlier in the book when Mr. Otis is watching the gang members raid a house.  I found this interesting because he seems very calm and he is almost criticizing the owners of the house which is kind of comical.  “The bottles neck as is was airlocked under the cork, the splash it made as it was released again and pored over the ice.”  I thought this passage was intriguing because it is amazing how much detail he put into the book.  He went down to the smallest detail that is possible to describe the drink that he is having.  It is fantastic writing and it caught my attention.  “Sidney pushed him into the alley and kicked him so hard in the buttocks that Bertrand felt like glass had been shoved up his rectum.”  I found this quote slightly humorous because when someone gets kicked in the butt I can think of some funny thoughts.  Also the simile that is provided is also slightly comical.  It is also a metaphor for Bertrand has to pick it up.  The kick in the butt physically has an obvious meaning, but metaphorically it means that he has to smarten up. 

 

Aaron Carr

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey is a story of nonconformity as humankind struggles against the ruling powers that control society. Its narration, by a ten-year Oregon psychiatric patient Chief Bromden, chronicles the subordinate lives of fellow mental patients, focusing much of the attention on the newly instated Randle McMurphy. Bromden notes McMurphy’s radical behaviour and oppositional nature, particularly towards the strict and controlling Nurse Ratched, as well as his ability to stimulate rebellion among other patients in the ward. At first both McMurphy and Nurse Ratched willingly engage in conflict by trying to overthrow each other ‘s power. Eventually, however, McMurphy realizes that he is fighting a losing battle as Nurse Ratched and her staff determines the patients’ ultimate fate. McMurphy attempts to alter his behaviour by complying with Nurse Ratched’s requests only to discover that his unique makeup will not allow him to do so. As a result McMurphy falls prey to Ratched’s victimization as she has him lobotomized; thereby; confining him to a vegetative state. In this way, control is maintained and reinforced by authorities in positions of power.

McMurphy opposing nature lends support to his authenticity as a developing character. At first he appears as a rebellious figure who not only acts as he wishes, but causes others to do so as well. His typical, ongoing disobedient behaviour enables him to resist being controlled by others, particularly Nurse Ratched. Although through stong effort to blend into the status quo, McMurphy gives in by natural nature and attempts to kill Nurse Ratched. After this affair Nurse Ratched lays down the law by giving McMurphy a lobotomized. Destroying his rightful mind of thinking.

Throughout “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” there were various quotes that appealed to me and those that were meaning full. When McMurphy initially comes to the hospital he quickly lays down the law saying he is number one man. I thought this was meaning full because he took what he wanted without questions and that’s respectable. Also when he organized the fishing trip, it gave those men their manhood back by being free and realing in fish by themselves and no one to tell them what to do. I also like this scene because of the freedom they got and how they were show life outside the hospital.