Sign Of Seven Trilogy

Sign Of Seven Trilogy - Nora Roberts

This series has 3 books :

1. Blood Brothers
2. The Hollow and
3. The Pagan Stone

Synopsis of the Books:

Blood Brothers :

In the small village of Hawkins Hollow, three best friends who share the same birthday sneak off into the woods for a sleepover the evening before turning 10. But a night of pre-pubescent celebration turns into a night of horror as their blood brother oath unleashes a three-hundred year curse.

Twenty-one years later, Cal Hawkins and his friends have seen their town plagued by a week of unexplainable evil events two more times - every seven years. With the clock winding down on the third set of seven years, someone else has taken an interest in the town's folklore. Quinn is a well known scholar of local legends, and despite Cal's protests, insists on delving in the mystery. But when the first signs of evil appear months early, it's not only the town Cal tries to protect, but also his heart.

The Hollow :

In the small village of Hawkins Hollow, three best friends who share the same birthday sneak off into the woods for a sleepover the evening before turning 10. But a night of pre-pubescent celebration turns into a night of horror as their blood brother oath unleashes a three-hundred year curse. Twenty-one years later, Fox O'Dell and his friends have seen their town plagued by a week of unexplainable evil events two more times - every seven years. With the clock winding down on the third set of seven years, someone else has taken an interest in the town's folklore. A boutique manager from New York, Layla Darnell was drawn to Hawkins Hollow for reasons she can't explain - but the recent attacks on her life make it clear that it is personal. And though Fox tries to keep his professional distance, his interests in Layla have become personal too.

The Pagan Stone :

The Pagan Stone had stood for hundreds of years, long before three boys gathered around it to spill their blood in a bond of brotherhood, unwittingly releasing a force bent on destruction ...Gage Turner has been running from his past for a long time. The son of an abusive drunk, his childhood in the small town of Hawkins Hollow was tough - his only solace his friendship with Fox O'Dell and Caleb Hawkins. But, aged ten, the boys unleashed evil on their town: every seven years murder and mayhem reign, and each cycle is more extreme than the last. Now Gage has returned home to help his friends save Hawkins Hollow, but a lifetime as a loner has made him wary of emotional ties. And who can make plans for the future when their present is so uncertain? For unless they find a way to use the Pagan Stone against the demonic force, everything they know and love will be destroyed ...

My Views :

Iam a big fan of NR so the day the book is released i buy the book... and to top it i pester my hubby dear to take me out to buy the book :)..... he keeps saying that he is the one to spoil me by buying books for me to read :)

The First book Blood Brothers was released in Nov 2007... a month after i landed in US soil and it was the first book that my hubby got for me here. The Hollow released in May 2008 and finally The Pagan Stone , the last of the trilogy was released Nov 2008 , a complete circle ..... 3 books in a year :)

The moment i started reading Blood Brothers i had a strong feeling that it was very similar to her 3 Sisters Island Trilogy as it involved paranormal forces and magic being put into effect by the 3 Blood Brothers and the 3 women who come into town and form a relationship with each other , a bonding as close as the 3 men. As we read the first book it becomes clear that the 3 men and women are going to be paired of together as couples :). The 3 couples make interesting reading and make us guess as to what they would be doing next. Blood Brothers as the title indicates is the relationship between 3 boys who grow up together and who are not related to each other except for the reason that they are all born on the same day , same year and to most knowledge at the same time. Though i would not rate it as her other books i still was hooked enough to read the next 2 books as soon as they were released.

Book 1 brings out the relationship between Cal & Quinn , Book 2 Fox and Layla & finally Book 3 Gage and Cybil.  The 3 couples have their own powers and they develop their skills. The case of the dreams occuring at the same time for all of them , makes us understand that they are all connected to each other.They hone up their skills as it is required of them so that they can fight the Demon Lazarus...... and though the first 2 books have each of the couples fighting with the Demon it becomes clear as we finish reading Book 2 that Book 3 is going to be crucial and Gage plays a major part. true enough Book 3 was what i loved best. Gage's character is refined well and his relationship as it develops with Cybil is well described as both their characters do not like to settle , carry a lot of baggage and are in this war against the Demon mainly because of their friends. Cybil realises that her friends are pregnant as she sees visions of the future but does not realise that she is also pregnant.... which when Quinn asks her to check makes her realise that there is an importance in it as Ann(the original flashback story) was also pregnant with Triplets at the time of her Husbands war against the Demon. The genealogy that all 6 are related in turns to the magician and the Demon makes us realise that this is the reason they are elected to fight against the demon.........

On the whole i would not rate these books as the Best but i would say that they make a good read. For people who like good reads this is a good choice , but dont expect too much out of them :)... the developing romance and the relationships between the 6 as friends is well related to.... so guess that does count .....

So if you are upto reading this....enjoi reading it :)

Merry Xmas Everyone.... and i will be back with more reviews of the books that i have read :)

Cold Pursuit

           Hey , i guess its been more than a month since i updated my blog so here iam today with one more book :)

           Carla Neggers is an author i happened to pick up recently by accident :) And Oh my...i enjoi her books. The chararcters in her books are linked and the more i started reading her books the more i wanted to read all the books linking the characters. Especially the ones linking the characters from the US Marshals. And her latest involves agents from Secret Service.

Synopsis:

              A prominent ambassador is killed in a suspicious hit-and-run in Washington, D.C. Hours later, his stepdaughter vanishes in the mountains of northern New England. 

           Back in her hometown of Black Falls, Vermont, to do damage control on her career, Secret Service agent Jo Harper is drawn into the search. But her efforts face an unexpected challenge: Elijah Cameron.
           With his military training and mountain rescue experience, Elijah knows the unforgiving terrain better than anyone. But he and Jo have been at odds forever - and Elijah believes the missing teenager isn't just lost.she's on the run.
           Forced to work together, Jo and Elijah battle time and the elements in a race into the unforgiving mountains. The twists and turns awaiting them will take them closer to the explosive truth and into the sights of a killer.

Review:

              My first impression with this book was it was ok. I would not rate it as high as all the other books of hers that i have read. I would say that the ending was dull and not that interesting. All her other books have an ending that leaves us expecting more and wants us to lay our hands on the next book. This left me wishing there was more of a proper ending to the book.

              The best part of this book was the character of Charles Preston Neal , the 16 yr old son of the Vice President of the USA and the character who the Secret Service Agent Jo Harper was protecting. His pranks were the reason Jo is on vacation and comes in contact with Elijah , her childhood sweetheart. His nature indicates that he delves into the whole mystery with full vigour and keeps calling Elijah/Jo giving them more information. He is also the one who links all assasinations together. I love his character :) and the pranks he plays even after Jo is on leave as in exchanging places with his cousin to fool the Secret Service Agents is good. And to top it all he has a very high IQ.

             Jo and Elijah though tough characters are still vulnerable when it comes to the other and their feelings. Its a good cat and mouse tale but leaves us wanting.

            

            People reading it .... let me know your opinions , share your thoughts.

              

Autobiography Of A Yogi - Paramahansa Yogananda

Paramahansa Yogananda:
Paramahansa Yogananda born Mukunda Lal Ghosh,was an Indian yogi and guru who introduced many westerners to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his book, Autobiography of a Yogi.
Yogananda's seeking after various saints mostly ended when he met his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, in 1910, at the age of 17. He describes his first meeting with Yukteswar as a rekindling of a relationship that had lasted for many lifetimes:
“We entered a oneness of silence; words seemed the rankest superfluities. Eloquence flowed in soundless chant from heart of master to disciple. With an antenna of irrefragable insight I sensed that my guru knew God, and would lead me to Him. The obscuration of this life disappeared in a fragile dawn of prenatal memories. Dramatic time! Past, present, and future are its cycling scenes. This was not the first sun to find me at these holy feet!”
In 1920, he went to the United States and that same year he founded the Self-Realization Fellowship to disseminate worldwide his teachings on India's ancient practices and philosophy of Yoga and its tradition of meditation. For the next several years, he lectured and taught on the East coast and in 1924 embarked on a cross-continental speaking tour. Thousands came to his lectures. The following year, he established in Los Angeles, California, an international headquarters for Self-Realization Fellowship, which became the spiritual and administrative heart of his growing work. Yogananda was the first Hindu teacher of yoga to make his permanent home in America, living there from 1920-1952
In 1935, he returned to India to visit Yukteswar and to help establish his Yogoda Satsanga work in India and in 1936, while Yogananda was visiting Kolkata, Yukteswar died in the town of Puri.
On March 7, 1952, he attended a dinner for the visiting Indian Ambassador to the U.S., Binay Ranjan Sen and his wife at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. At the conclusion of the banquet Yogananda spoke of India and America, their contributions to world peace and human progress, and their future cooperation, expressing his hope for a "United World" that would combine the best qualities of "efficient America" and "spiritual India." According to two eyewitnesses — long-time disciples Swami Kriyananda and Daya Mata — as Yogananda ended his speech, he read from his poem My India, concluding with the words "Where Ganges, woods, Himalayan caves, and men dream God—I am hallowed; my body touched that sod". At the very last words, he slid to the floor,dead from a heart attack.Kriyananda wrote that Yogananda had once stated in a lecture, "A heart attack is the easiest way to die. That is how I choose to die."

The book – Autobiography Of A Yogi:
In 1946, Yogananda published his life story, Autobiography of a Yogi. It has since been translated into twenty-five languages. In 1999, it was designated one of the "100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20th Century" by a panel of spiritual authors convened by HarperCollins publishers.
Autobiography of a Yogi describes Yogananda's spiritual search for enlightenment, in addition to encounters with notable spiritual figures such as Therese Neumann, Anandamoyi Ma, Mohandas Gandhi, Nobel laureate in literature Rabindranath Tagore, noted plant scientist Luther Burbank (the book is 'Dedicated to the Memory of Luther Burbank, An American Saint'), famous Indian scientist Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose and Nobel Prize winning physicist Sir C. V. Raman.
Amelita Galli-Curci, one of the most famous opera singers of the early twentieth century, said about the book:
"Amazing, true stories of saints and masters of India, blended with priceless superphysical information–much needed to balance the Western material efficiency with Eastern spiritual efficiency–come from the vigorous pen of Paramhansa Yogananda, whose teachings my husband and myself have had the pleasure of studying for twenty years."

Kriya Yoga:
Kriya Yoga is described by its practitioners as the ancient Yoga system revived in modern times by Mahavatar Babaji through his disciple Lahiri Mahasaya, c 1861, and brought into widespread public awareness through Paramhansa Yogananda's book Autobiography of a Yogi. The system consists of a number of levels of Pranayama based techniques that are intended to rapidly accelerate spiritual development and engender a profound state of tranquility and God-communion.Kriya Yoga is traditionally learned via the Guru - disciple relationship.
Yogananda gave a general description of Kriya Yoga in his Autobiography:
“The Kriya Yogi mentally directs his life energy to revolve, upward and downward, around the six spinal centers (medullary, cervical, dorsal, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal plexuses) which correspond to the twelve astral signs of the zodiac, the symbolic Cosmic Man. One-half minute of revolution of energy around the sensitive spinal cord of man effects subtle progress in his evolution; that half-minute of Kriya equals one year of natural spiritual unfoldment.”
Kriya Yoga is referred to by Krishna, India’s greatest prophet, in a stanza of the Bhagavad Gita:
“Offering inhaling breath into the outgoing breath, and offering the outgoing breath into the inhaling breath, the yogi neutralizes both these breaths; he thus releases the life force from the heart and brings it under his control.” The interpretation is: “The yogi arrests decay in the body by an addition of life force, and arrests the mutations of growth in the body by apan (eliminating current). Thus neutralizing decay and growth, by quieting the heart, the yogi learns life control.”

My Introduction to the Book:
My introduction to the book came when I was going through a crucial period of my life in 2000. I had just lost my uncle who had been a guiding factor throughout the major part of my life and my mother gave me the book to read. She was infact given the book by someone else and she recommended it to me. The book gave me a relief and a sense of comfort at a time when I needed it. To this day whenever iam upset or worried , I just need to pick up the book and read a few pages of my favourite chapters and I have a feeling that come what may be ,I can solve anything. Thx Mom Dear.
The narration in the book is matter of fact , truthful , simple and beautiful – to describe it in a few words. I have a number of my Western colleagues who have told me this book is a good read, especially for people who would like to know more about India and its cultures. The search of a young man for God is beautifully told. The language that the author has used to write the book is something which none can outdo in the current days.
I would highly recommend it to any one interested in spirituality, India, history, Yoga and just life. The more you read about Kriya Yoga , the more one wants to start putting it into use. The effects of practicing is good for mind and body.
I recommend this book to all my friends , and for friends who are avid readers I gift this book. To date I have a copy of the book wherever I travel. In fact Post marriage I was leaving for US and i did not bring along my copy of the book.So i went rushing around in Chennai to get a copy of the book and finally got it in the third shop(it was in great demand).My husband was so surprised he said he had to read it. Now he is also an avid reader and we have good discussions at home.

For people who would like to read the book , Wiki has an online edition. The link is as below :
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Autobiography_of_a_Yogi

People who have already read the book / reading / planning to read please do leave your comments on the book.

Hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I do.

Tribute - Nora Roberts

About the Author :

Nora Roberts (b. Eleanor Marie Robertson, October 10, 1950 in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA), is a bestselling American author of more than 150 romance novels, and she writes as J.D. Robb the "In Death" series. She also has written under the pseudonym Jill March, and by error some of her works was published in the UK as Sarah Hardesty.
Nora Roberts was the first author to be inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. As of 2006, her novels had spent a combined 660 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List, including 100 weeks in the number-one spot. Over 280 million copies of her books are in print, including 12 million copies sold in 2005 alone. Her novels have been published in 35 countries.

My luv for her books:
My passion for her books when i was doing my Masters degree in India. I accidentally happened to pick up 2 books of hers - Without A Trace and Skin Deep. These 2 were light reading but i enjoyed her style of writing and there began my love affair with her books.
I have read nearly all her books and i have a copy of all the books that i have read. Even if i have read a book online i still make it a point to own a paperback. Pre-marriage my Dad used to keep telling me that i spend my salary only on books and post marriage i have a husband who does not mind me spending his money on my books :) .I still remember when he asked me what i would like as a wedding gift , i told him that one of my favourite authors books was releasing in November and would he get that for me. Guess he found out then for the first time that he had a wife who was crazy on books :)

With my love affair on her books , i have made a couple of my friends go crazy and i have introduced lots of my friends to her books. I remember that i used to be a walking library before my marriage at my office :)

The latest book that i read of hers was "Tribute" and iam waiting for the last book in her "Sign of Seven" trilogy.

Editorial Review of TRIBUTE :

Cilla McGowan, former child star and granddaughter of the legendary actress Janet Hardy, moves to her late grandmother's Virginia farm to make a new start and to bring the once famous house back to life. Little does she know that someone in her grandmother's past doesn't want her there to solve old mysteries, and that person will go to any length to drive her out. Jennifer Van Dyck brings all the Southern characters to life: Cilla's handsome love interest, Ford Sawyer, her petulant mother, her latest stepfather, and her hippie ex-husband. The dialogue is witty, the characters interesting, and the story a thriller filled with the unexpected. Most worthwhile.

I hope you enjoi reading the book as much as i did.

Will come back to you with more of her books as and when as i can.