Contest is the first book that Mathew Reilly ever wrote, and it was a failure. He self-published it after every major publisher in Sydney rejected it. Hence, only 1000 copies of 'Contest' was sold worldwide. The one that i read was the rewritten version, after he got successful with his other books.
Contest is about a surgeon, Dr. Stephen Swain, who was chosen to represent Earth in an interplanetary contest, held in earth, the New York Public Library to be precise. He had no warning about this contest. The rules are simple: kill or be killed. 6 other contestants also participate, each from a different planet, each seeking to win. The last one standing in the library wins ultimate glory for himself and his race. So Dr. Swain is forced to navigate the library with his daughter, avoiding the other contestants who are all better than him physically. His only weapon is his superior intellect. But even if he survives, he might not make it out alive......
My favorite character in the book is Dr. Stephen Swain. He is smart, and very calm. He does not panic in difficult situations, and works his way out of sticky situations, enabling him to survive many of the dangers in the book. He also does not crack under pressure, and has good reactions.
Of all of Mathew Reilly's books, Contest is easily the fastest. Mathew Reilly writes this 400+ page book about a time span of about 2-3 hours, not even 5. Every page of the book is filled with danger and action, as Dr. Swain tried to survive the deadly contest. As Mathew Reilly says, "it is like a sports car stripped down to its raw components : engine, wheels, frame. No fancy paintwork. No fancy upholstery. Just raw, non-stop energy".
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Book review--scarecrow by Mathew Reilly
I read the book, Scarecrow, by Mathew Reilly. It is about a super-soldier, Captain Shane Schofield, call sign the scarecrow, who is on an international bounty hunt. The list comprises of fifteen targets, from all over the world, who have to be dead by noon the next day. The price on their heads: $18.6 million each. So all of a sudden, the scarecrow is thrust into a fight for his life, with no idea why he is targetted, and who is targetting him. With help from his friends, he continues to survive while trying to find out everything that is happening at the same time.
My favorite character in this book is David Fairfax. He is the one that checks out everything for the scarecrow. He looks up people, records and everything for captain Schofield. He is the one that makes everything possible, but he works behind the scenes, unnoticed by anyone until the scarecrow sends him as a field agnet. He is very intelligent, and was able to crack a code the pentagon could not using an ordinary laptop. He is very good at breaking codes and hacking into classified records, unfortunately something he cannot boast about.
I like this author, Mathew Reilly, because he write super-fast-paced books that keep one reading on. The whole book 'scarecrow', is of 12 hours of non-stop fighting. The main characters are actually finding things out while fighting for their lives at the same time. He has this writing style that has a lot of description, and they are over a very short time span. At the end of the book, he makes you look back and think "hey, all this actually happened so fast, in so short a time span??"
My favorite character in this book is David Fairfax. He is the one that checks out everything for the scarecrow. He looks up people, records and everything for captain Schofield. He is the one that makes everything possible, but he works behind the scenes, unnoticed by anyone until the scarecrow sends him as a field agnet. He is very intelligent, and was able to crack a code the pentagon could not using an ordinary laptop. He is very good at breaking codes and hacking into classified records, unfortunately something he cannot boast about.
I like this author, Mathew Reilly, because he write super-fast-paced books that keep one reading on. The whole book 'scarecrow', is of 12 hours of non-stop fighting. The main characters are actually finding things out while fighting for their lives at the same time. He has this writing style that has a lot of description, and they are over a very short time span. At the end of the book, he makes you look back and think "hey, all this actually happened so fast, in so short a time span??"
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
My Chinese New Year
Hi everyone! It is Chinese New Year again and it is one of the happiest events in the year!I get to collect red packets, and play all my favourite games like PS2, blackjack, and poker. There is also the miracle of homemade Chinese New Year snacks like pineapple tarts, almond cookies, Chi Ku ( some kind of awesome chips ), Bah Gua (BBQ pork) from Lin Chi Guan, and so many others that i do not have the space or the time to describe!! If you have not tried Bah Kua from Lin Chi Guan, TRY IT NOW or something is seriously missing in your life!!!!!!
Every year we play blackjack, and every year is different. This year, my cousin from America joined us in blackjack for the first time. We play by a rule saying that if you get two aces, you win TRIPLE the money of your bet! But my cousin did not know that, used to playing the 'real' version, so when he got two aces, he did not recognize his winning hand and asked if he could 'split', which brought about a great storm of laughing and teasing. So, he submitted to the fact that he could not 'split' and drew another card, then another card. In the end of the round, he showed his cards, and he got two aces, and two kings. We laughed at him for his ignorance but we gave him his money in the end.
After a few rounds, he decided to be the banker. He shuffled, then cut the deck many times, and gave out the cards. I got a double ace, my other cousin got an ace and a jack, which entitles the person to DOUBLE his bet, and my brother got an ace. My American cousin was an instant hit on his debut as banker. ALL four aces appeared in one shuffle!!!! This was probably the most entertaining Chinese New Year ever!!
Every year we play blackjack, and every year is different. This year, my cousin from America joined us in blackjack for the first time. We play by a rule saying that if you get two aces, you win TRIPLE the money of your bet! But my cousin did not know that, used to playing the 'real' version, so when he got two aces, he did not recognize his winning hand and asked if he could 'split', which brought about a great storm of laughing and teasing. So, he submitted to the fact that he could not 'split' and drew another card, then another card. In the end of the round, he showed his cards, and he got two aces, and two kings. We laughed at him for his ignorance but we gave him his money in the end.
After a few rounds, he decided to be the banker. He shuffled, then cut the deck many times, and gave out the cards. I got a double ace, my other cousin got an ace and a jack, which entitles the person to DOUBLE his bet, and my brother got an ace. My American cousin was an instant hit on his debut as banker. ALL four aces appeared in one shuffle!!!! This was probably the most entertaining Chinese New Year ever!!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Lamb to the Slaughter and The Way up to Heaven
Both the stories Lamb to the Slaughter and The way up to Heaven are by Road Dahl and have a few differences, though the main content is the same.
Firstly, Mrs Maloney killed her husband using a frozen leg of lamb in Lamb to the Slaughter, but Mrs Foster did not kill her husband directly;she only left him to die in the lift.
Secondly, Mrs Maloney killed her husband because of the negetive news he gave her but Mrs Foster let her husband die because she found out he was deceiving her.
Firstly, Mrs Maloney killed her husband using a frozen leg of lamb in Lamb to the Slaughter, but Mrs Foster did not kill her husband directly;she only left him to die in the lift.
Secondly, Mrs Maloney killed her husband because of the negetive news he gave her but Mrs Foster let her husband die because she found out he was deceiving her.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Short stories: the art of deception
In Lamb to the slaughter, Mary Maloney is described as a loving wife that is completely devoted to her husband. But when her husband tells her that he is leaving her to pursue another love interest, the shock transforms her into a whole new person. She kills her husband in cold blood, tricks the grocer into giving her an alibi that she was not at the scene of crime at the time of the murder, and tricks the police into destroying the evidence, hence getting away scot free with a blend of shrewd thinking and acting.
In Male Child, Chuan Poon is initially portrayed as a loving and caring husband. It is later revealed that after having six daughters and no male children, Chuan Poon suspects that he is wrought with a curse that he can never have a son. He thinks that it is because of something he did wrong when he was younger, and does not blame his wife, emphasizing thatr he is a loving husband. Later, his wife becomes pregnant. Chuan Poon prays to have a male child this time round. Unfortunately, he meets a prostitute at a brothel which he wants to take as his wife. He then cannot decide whether to stay with his faithful wife or marry the prostitute whom he desires. He especially detests it when other clients visits the prostitute to engage in her services.Finally, Chuan Poon decides to take the prostitute. Now, ironically, he hopes his wife will give birth to a daughter once again as this will allow him take the prostitute as h is bride because he can say that his wife is not giving him a heir. The reader is deceived as Chuan Poon is said to be a good man but his actions prove otherwise.
In Male Child, Chuan Poon is initially portrayed as a loving and caring husband. It is later revealed that after having six daughters and no male children, Chuan Poon suspects that he is wrought with a curse that he can never have a son. He thinks that it is because of something he did wrong when he was younger, and does not blame his wife, emphasizing thatr he is a loving husband. Later, his wife becomes pregnant. Chuan Poon prays to have a male child this time round. Unfortunately, he meets a prostitute at a brothel which he wants to take as his wife. He then cannot decide whether to stay with his faithful wife or marry the prostitute whom he desires. He especially detests it when other clients visits the prostitute to engage in her services.Finally, Chuan Poon decides to take the prostitute. Now, ironically, he hopes his wife will give birth to a daughter once again as this will allow him take the prostitute as h is bride because he can say that his wife is not giving him a heir. The reader is deceived as Chuan Poon is said to be a good man but his actions prove otherwise.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Indian discoveries
Amazingly, Indians created ALOT of things that we take for granted today. I will now shed the light on several things that Indians invented and discovered, things which we don't know were invented by Indians.
Firstly, the autocannon, othrewise called the SHOTGUN.
Indians SINGLE-HANDEDLY changed the method of warfare by inventing the shotgun.
Next, the BUTTON!!! That's right, Indians invented the button. they changed the way we dress, all by themselves.
Indians also discovered iron, steel, and mercury!!!!! What would we do without those essential metals??!!!
How many of you play chess? Because, Indians invented CHESS!!!!!!
They invented DENTAL SURGERY!!!!!!
They found diamonds!!!
They invented DICE!!!!!!!
Hospitals were created by Indians!!!!!
They also invented ZERO!!!PI!!!!THE DECIMAL SYSTEM!!!!!!
Finally, they invented...............PAJAMAS!!!!!!
Indians also invented many more things, but i have no space to write them ALL down.......
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