The Last Domino is told from the third person point of view, and includes the main characters of Travis Ellroy and Daniel Pulver. The story is basically about the emotional struggle that Travis has with losing his brother to suicide, and his need to be just like him. Adam Meyer does a great job of creating a depressing atmosphere for Travis to wallow in his self-pity, and uses the word “sucks” quite a bit in order to make Travis seem less intelligent. Meyer uses the literary element of similie very well to create comparison in his sentences, such as “there was a lump in my throat as big as a bowling ball and a kick in my chest like the back legs of a mule”. The use of “like” and “as” in quotes such as this creates a comparison which allows the reader to better relate to the story.

     The author also uses a great deal of characterization to create a better visual of the main characters of Travis and Daniel. He often describes Travis as very lonely and sad, which leads to his poor self-image. Daniel however, comes off as very assertive and is presented as a very smooth talker. When Meyer writes “You’ve got to keep your true face hidden…until the world is ready for it” (p228), he describes Travis in one sentence. Throughout this novel, Travis kept his true face hidden, and then when he decided to release it, it exploded in his face. Overall, I would not recommend this book to many people who have an optimistic view of life, because it is very pessimistic as a whole. However, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes depressing emotional struggles, or someone who finds interest in the events that take place before school shootings. All in all, The Last Domino by Adam Meyer is not a great book, and I have read much better novels.

     The novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is told in the third person point of view. This book is mainly about a very structured society that controls its population growth by producing children on an “assembly line”. Throughout the book, different characters express their opinions on whether or not the civilization works, and whether they should keep doing what they are doing, or if they should change the way the government works. I found Brave New World very interesting because it describes in great detail their techniques to condition children. Some of the many techniques used are electric shocks, and alcohol being placed in their bloodline when they are very young. One of the very well developed characters is Lenina, who is a woman that does not completely believe in the rigid caste system. Quite early, she expresses her beliefs that she does not want to sleep with many people, but she would rather get to know one person very well. This is evidenced by her saying “No, there hasn’t been any one else, and I jolly well don’t see why there should have been” (p40).

     The main conflict deals with different characters challenging the “system”, especially after Bernard and Lenina experience life on the New Mexico Reservation. I believe that one literary element used by Huxley is allusion. After reading this book for a while, I discovered that whenever most people would say “Oh God”, the characters in this book said “Oh Ford”. That is why I came to the realization that they view Henry Ford as their God, especially because of his invention of the assembly line to help with his Model T vehicles. The civilization uses assembly lines the same way, only in the production of children. Aldous also uses the element of setting to create contrast between the two worlds, the reservations and civilization. He places the reservation in a place where the savages are wearing practically no clothing, while he has civilization being very advanced technologically. This makes civilization seem like an excellent idea, and generally blinds the people inside. I would recommend this book to anyone really, because it is a great, different read, and will help to give you a different perspective on life. Brave New World is simply a great book.

The novel Blow the House Down by Robert Baer is told in the third person point of view, and focuses on the travels of the main character, Max Waller. The story begins with Max riding around in a humvee, trying to find people on the radio, only to be alerted by someone over the radio saying “Lone Wolf, get off the net immediately and return to Rio asap”. Waller finds out a short time later that his friend William Buckley was kidnapped. This sets the basis for the story, as Waller works to uncover different clues to try to solve the conspiracy behind his friend’s kidnapping and possible murder. Blow the House Down begins to have historical significance when the reader realizes that the plot of the story is an alternative beginning to the events that took place on 9/11. Robert Baer uses this powerful allusion to help bring the reader in, and use people’s emotional ties to this event to keep them turning the pages. The theme of this novel seems to be loyalty, because Waller will stop at nothing to uncover the truth about his friend’s kidnapping. Waller even states to one of his friends “Don’t you want to know the truth about Bill?”, because he feels very strongly about doing what is right for his friend. Baer combines the stress of international politics along with the determination of a seasoned special agent to create a unique mix of action and suspense. I would recommend this book to anyone who understands international affairs, and has any sort of connection to the events that took place on September 11.