Maledicus, written by Charles French, tells the story of a small family, a young girl and her aunt, being haunted by an Ancient Roman figure who travels through a house-god statue. This story is incredibly interesting, as it shows the story of the satanic ghost, Maledicus, and all the people he has terrorized throughout his lifespan. A group of three men work together to catch and get rid of ghosts, and they take on the challenge of getting rid of Maledicus. Maledicus was a poor excuse for a human in the Roman Empire: violent, power hungry, betrayed his king, violent towards adults, women, children. Maledicus was a pleasure to read because I found the bouncing between time periods intriguing and constantly interesting. Not only do we visit the Ancient Roman Empire, but we also go through ascending time periods learning Maledicus’ stories and past owners. I always enjoy mini stories within a bigger story because thats how I personally tell stories, except my mini stories are usually because I get distracted and think of something else I need to tell. All these mini stories were relevant toward the bigger plot and, I thought, added a spark and kept me more interested in the book. Not only was the book interesting, but it was easy to read. The only thing I found complicated was the number of characters. By the end, I knew each character well. But in the beginning, I found myself flipping back through the book trying to find the characters name and something I could identify them by. Overall I really enjoyed the book because it was something I had never read before. I’m not into horror movies or anything scary, but I liked this horror/gothic book. It was vivid and had my heart racing a couple times, but it wasn’t unbearable and not being able to actually see what was happening probably helped.

One thing I really enjoyed in Frankenstein, is the interaction of the creature and De Lacey. I truly thought that it sent a powerful, sincere message to Shelley’s entire audience, past and present. The creature is intelligent: he knows that he can’t win over the family at first because of his “frightening” looks and size. He knows that he has to win over someone who wouldn’t, or in this case couldn’t, care about who he is and what he looks like. His answer came in the form of a blind older man, De Lacey. When Frankenstein admits that he is seen as a terror to everyone else, De Lacey comes back that even though he cannot comment on Frankenstein’s looks, De Lacey can compliment the creature’s character. This chapter was a very important chapter to me. This chapter is timeless, and sends a message that can never be over-taught. It’s about the content of someone’s heart and character that should determine if a person is “good” or “bad,” not their outward appearance or their physical differences. For De Lacey, it doesn’t matter what the creature looks like, but is the creature kind, giving, caring? Judgement based upon character instead of looks has been and is incredibly relevant in a society that has been struggling with, but strives to accomplish equal treatment for all people regardless of race, sexual orientation, and size.

Hi! Welcome to my blog. I’m excited to share my thoughts about the books I read throughout this semester. I am a freshman at Lehigh University and have created this blog for my English class. Originally, I’m from the San Francisco, California but have travelled across the country to go to school here and I’m on our women’s basketball team. I’m currently in the business school, but have absolutely no idea what I want to major in. I love watching movies, reading a good book, playing with my dog, and I love making/eating Filipino food.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton