Tag Archives: #Paranormal

Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction

Williams, Alayna: Rogue Oracle (Delphic Oracle II) (2011)

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Cover art by Don Sipley
Photo credit: SERGEY SUPINSKI/AFP/Getty Images
Daughters of Delphi
A series of antique tarot cards
“Chimera” by Josh Buchanan

If humanity was at stake, what price would I be willing to pay? Is the human race worth saving? Is the life of “the many” worth the life of “the one”? What if I could see into the future and had to ask myself these questions? What then?

My personal belief is that politicians are, like the rest of us, inherently selfish. They do what is best for themselves and their tribe (party/family). If they wish for reelection, they pay the necessary price (no matter the cost to others). Lining their pockets as a bonus is part of the political game they play. Disasters, like Chernobyl, and their aftermath become some of the long-term effects of the choices of politicians and the people who wish to avoid their wrath.

Rogue Oracle plays with the idea of what a long-term consequence of the Chernobyl disaster might have been once fantasy/science fiction is applied to the subject. While unlikely to the extreme, this look at a highly unusual form of cannibalism was intensely satisfying to me as a reader. Alayna Williams made me care for the supposed villain of the story. As more and more of his past was revealed, I understood his reasons and found myself sympathizing with his cause and perhaps even his methods.

I like the idea of there being people out there who are nuts enough to sacrifice themselves for a cause. Tara and Harry fit that bill. I’m not sure the world really needs people like that. Perhaps it would even be better off without them. But they do make for fun characters in a story.

Driven by their need to save humanity from itself, both they and the Daughters of Delphi take whatever steps they deem necessary. The really funny part is that Tara is exactly the same kind of person she despises the Pythia for being. The Pythia makes choices on behalf of others without consulting them about it. So did Tara. The Pythia takes whatever actions she deems necessary to get her job done. So did Tara. This is the part of real life that I find hilarious or maybe sad. We so often hate in others parts of ourselves (myself included). Perhaps that is because our potential frightens us. Both our potential for wonderful deeds and our potential for horrifying actions.

The Steves were a great addition.

Rogue Oracle was an action-filled and fun mystery. It was a little gory but mainly gooey in its deadly parts. Definitely recommended.

Reviews:

Rogue Oracle available on Amazon US and Scribd

Adams, Rod (1996), The Accident at Chernobyl: What Caused the Explosion?; Atomic Insights

Chernobyl Children International: Facts and Figures

The Daughters of Delphi

Wikipedia:

Fantasy

Bennett, Jenn: Kindling the Moon (Arcadia Bell I) (2011)

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Cover design by Tony Mauro
Cover design by Tony Mauro

I’ve been trying to think of an entirely selfless reason to have children. You know, I cannot think of a single one. Not a single one. Listening to the expectations that parents have of their children (myself included) makes me wonder how sane parents are. For some strange and bizarre reason we combine a sperm and an egg and expect that cocktail to fulfill some kind of need in us.

Arcadia Bell‘s (Selene Duval/Mother of Ahriman) parents expected Arcadia to turn into The Moon-Child. At the time of her conception they had followed some sort of magical ritual overseen by a Frater Blue. Conceiving in this manner was supposed to have given them a child with a special kind of magick (we only get a glimpse at what this magick might be). But Arcadia does not seem to inhabit these powers.

When we meet her, Arcadia is about to turn 25. I’m impressed that she runs her own bar at such a young age along with her friend Kar Yee. The sign at the entrance of Tambuku states “Enter at your own risk” for a good reason. Humans (savages) are a minority customer at the bar. Most of the clientele are earthbound (mix of demon and human) and strange things happen every night. Arcadia is part-owner, enforcer and nonsavage human. All three play a part in our story although it is her abilities as enforcer and nonsavage that holds the most prevalent place.

Having been on the run since she was 17 years old has made Arcadia lonely. Not lonely because she is without company, but lonely because she has to hide who she really is from others. But salvation comes in the form of 13 year old Jupe. Jupe is the kind of teen-ager that is practically impossible to dislike. He grows on Arcadia “like mold” and so does his father.

Lon Butler is the third main character. He helps Arcadia search for the answer to who got her parents blamed. Because of his abilities with empathy, Lon is able to puzzle out what kind of person Arcadia is and she intrigues him. He intrigues her, so I guess they are even. The two of them are also the romantic element of this story.

We get plenty of action and hints that ought to lead you in the right direction as to the answer to Arcadia’s hunt for an answer. Kindling the Moon is a fun read, and I recommend it.

Reviews:

Kindling the Moon available on  AMAZON | AMAZON UK | BOOK DEPOSITORY | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOKS-A-MILLION | CHAPTERS | INDIEBOUND | iTUNES

The English Struwwelpeter / Pretty stories and funny pictures

Lost Colony of Roanoke

Ten worst dads in literature

Ten worst mothers in literature

 

Fantasy, Mystery

Phoenix, Adrian: A Rush of Wings (The Maker’s Song I) (2008)

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A Rush of Wings - Adrian Phoenix
Strange cover for this story

Adrian writes in her bio:

I also believe in being prepared for zombie attacks and can’t stress enough the importance of having regular family drills so every member of the household is zombie-ready. One never knows. Make sure the sofa is ready to push in front of the door. Be clear that if a member of the family is on the wrong side of the door when the zombie action goes down. They remain on the wrong side of the door. The greater good, etc.

One thing is certain. In A Rush of Wings no one was left on the wrong side of the door when Heather Wallace was around. However, not every character in this story was concerned with the well-being of others.

Serial killers are fascinating creatures. The explanations for the why’s and how’s of their becoming involved in their extreme hobby are varied. Twin studies seem to indicate that psychopathy (blunted ability to empathise) is, to a large degree, inherited (Brogaard). Psychopathy seems to be one of the major traits of serial killers. But most psychopaths aren’t criminal. Another common trait seems to be a degree of psychosis (strange world view) (Brogaard). Again, most pscyhotics aren’t criminal. So, while inherited traits are important, they do need to be triggered into a killer zone somehow. Triggering the killer is certainly no problem for the true criminals of A Rush of Wings.

Heather Wallace is one of the FBI experts on serial murders and she is chasing the CCK-killer. The CCK-killer is a violent killer and the murders have a sexual element to them. After discovering the first victim of A Rush of Wings, Wallace slowly begins to suspect that Dante, lead singer of Inferno, seems to be the intended final victim. Figuring out who the killer is, has been impossible up to now. One of the problems with serial killers is that their murders do not necessarily reflect the person their not-victims see.

Why her supervisor Stearns has sent her to New Orleans in response to Detective Collins’ request becomes apparent in the latter half of the story. According to the rules this is highly irregular, but as things turn out the whole thing is highly irregular. Corruption, a Child Care system that does not work and pressures from above are part of a background story that we as readers get to see long before Wallace does. If history has taught me anything, it is that the above is rather common.

I haven’t made up my mind as to whether I think Heather trusted Dante and his people too soon. It sure wouldn’t be professional, but the paranormal element could be a factor in this.

With a background in mormonism I loved the Angel Moroni dialogue. Hilarious.

Definitely recommended.

A Rush of Wings available on

 Ecampus.com (mass market paperback), Simon & Schuster (mass market paperback & e-book)

Reviews:

Brogaard, Berit (2012), The Making of a Serial Killer, Psychology Today

NCAVC & al (2005) Serial Murder, Federal Bureau of Investigations

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance

Page, Jessica: The Agency (Agency Hunger I) (2014)

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The Agency - Jessica Page

The Agency by Jessica Page is a paranormal romance with a mystery twist. The Agency is Ms. Page’s first published novel and is part of a series called Agency Hunger. Ms. Page provided me with a copy of her novel in return for a review.

We all know that I am a terrible romance reviewer but I will comment of the stuff that I understand about the concept.

Our male main character’s name is Reid. He falls into the cognitive trap of telling himself to “not think about thinking about a subject”. You know what happens then. The more you fight it, the more you think about it. Sure enough. The more Reid thought about not thinking about liking Harper the more she stuck out in his mind. Silly old vampire. Should know better by now. Especially since he discovers early one that Harper is able to read minds. I thought this was hilarious which is what romance is to me.

The other romance bit that I am able to understand is the sex part. For those of you who do not know yet, I am Norwegian. When Ms. Page told me that her novel had adult content I admit that made me curious as to whether this Viking would think so as well. Personally I think older young adults could read Ms. Page’s novel so they could learn about consensual sex. Because that was what it was. Nice, consensual sex that made me a bit horny. Well done Ms. Page – both on making me horny with your writing and for writing about kind sex. Nor was the violence especially violent.

Both Reid and Harper are extremely sexy and good-looking and that seems to be some sort of rule with romances.

We first meet Harper as she is on her way to and arrives on the subway platform. She has her first encounter with the supernatural world when a person sneaks up behind her wanting to “taste her”. Harper knows this because of what she thinks is a one-of-a-kind ability. To say that she is freaked out is putting it mildly. She turns around, sees sharp incisors and red eyes and thinks what any regular person would

“a fucking vampire standing right in front of me ready to kill me? That is not possible.”

Immediately she has her second encounter when the first vampire is pulled off her by another one – Reid.

Harper is dragged into the supernatural world disbelieving herself and who/what she meets yet finally feeling as though she fits in. Her mind-reading ability caused her adoptive parents to turn her over to a private research facility for testing and Harper had lived 8 years of her life in a laboratory being examined in all sorts of ways. Growing up is difficult enough to do under normal circumstances. Adding non-optional electric shocks and other invasive procedures has made her wary of other people’s reactions to her abilities. Discovering that she is a normal supernatural with an irregular ability must have been relaxing. Finally there is a place in this world where she belongs.

The supernatural members of Harper’s new world are werewolves, vampires and mages (Harper is a mage). You are either born or made a vampire or werewolf. Mages have to be born but do not begin manifesting their abilities until they are ten years old. Werewolves have controlled, painless transitions and they remain in charge of themselves after the change. Vampires are alive but depend on blood to feed the virus that gives them extra abilities. Both werewolves and vampires need to be coached while they are newbies so they do not allow their predatory sides to take over.

Reid is old enough that he has seen the consequences of letting his predatory side rule. His choice was to join up with the group of supernaturals that wanted to keep the community and themselves under control. He belongs to the Agency as one of their best trainers and agents. His responsibility will be to train Harper. Their job will be to help figure out why all the illegal turnings and the deaths that follow the unsuccessful ones are happening.

I liked Jessica Page’s first attempt at a novel. Sure, there is something that needs work. That is a tightening of the story. Sometimes her story falls out of the flow and she has to find her way back into the stream again. But she manages to make her text flow and that is a feat in and of itself. Her English is Canadian English.

The Agency on Smashwords

Fantasy, Humour

Moore, Christopher: Bloodsucking Fiends (Love Story I) (1995)

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Christopher Moore has writer’s magic. Reading Bloodsucking Fiends was a joy. Words flowed in and around my brain engaging me in his version of San Fransisco.

There are very few things I know about San Fransisco. I have seen its Golden Gate Bridge in movies, Alcatraz is somewhere nearby and it was one of the first places where you could openly hold hands with one of your own gender without getting beaten or killed within the first few minutes. Oh, and the gold rush. Must not forget the gold rush and a couple of tinee tiny fires.

Actually, now that I think about it San Fransisco has been part of several books that I have read, but not until Bloodsucking Fiends did San Fransisco settle in my mind. There were two contributing factors to San Fransisco becoming part of my repertoire. One was The Emperor. The Emperor was the most loveable character of the whole story and I don’t really know why that is. The other factor was Tommy moving from Incontinence, Indiana to San Fransisco. That combination was one of the funniest moments in the story for me. The US being the US I actually wondered if there was a place called Incontinence in Indiana, but looking it up left me empty-handed.

Then we have Jody’s mother. Jody had forgotten to phone her mother the month she became a vampire because Jody had not gotten her period. She would combine the two most unpleasant things in her life to get the unpleasantness over with. Not getting my period ever again is certainly one advantage to becoming a vampire that would appeal to me.

Details like this are some of the many things that made Bloodsucking Fiends as fun as it was. That moment when Tommy walked into the store the first time and owned the Animals. Or the time when Jody decides she has had enough questions and asks Tommy one of her own.

“Men are pigs: Fact or fiction?”

“Fact!” Tommy shouted.

“Correct! You win.” She leaped into his arms and kissed him.

Finally I got to read a story with the kind of romance that I understand. Christopher Moore’s irreverent take on homelessness, gender, stratification, relationships and stalking will probably end up being a repeat read for me.

Reviews:

Bloodsucking Fiends on Little Brown

Emperor Norton

If Asian People Said the Stuff White People Say (Video)

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance

Winchester, C.S.: Past Due (Past I) (2009)

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Past Due CS Winchester
Cover photo: Ivaylo Sarayski The one I prefer

CS Winchester‘s Past Due is a romantic, urban-fantasy mystery placed in London. In it we find a major component of the paranormal and magical. Our main character is Frankie (Francis Wright), the psychic, who is supported by Alex (Alexander McNabb), the vampire.

Two killings bring them together, and the two of them end up working to solve the mystery of what seems to be serial killings with magical components. Frankie is part of MI5 (they control the paranormal population). Alex is not. He happens to own a nightclub. However unlikely it might seem that these two should work together to solve a crime, they do. In fact, the two of them end up becoming more involved in each other’s lives than they had originally thought.

The world of Past Due seems to be a man’s world. Except for a phone conversation with her mother, Frankie is the only woman we get to meet (other than the corpses). Her mother provides the comic relief of the story with what I presume is a common mother/daughter phone call:

… “Well you know, even large age gaps can be overcome. Felicity, from my bridge group, married a man thirty years her senior. Of course he was loaded, hardly a match made in heaven, but at least her husband died happy.”

“Well, I’ll just pop down to the bingo hall, shall I? See if they have any octogenerians?” …

Some resemblance is purportedly found between Frankie and CS Winchester (VLA). What do I know about Frankie? She is adopted, psychic (reacts to touch), in her 30’s, works for the paranormal police, wonders if a relationship with a vampire is doable, is independent, has a mother who does not believe that Frankie is psychic, has been thought insane and cares for the victims of her cases. When the vampires try to bully her into doing their will, she stays true to her cause. She and her ex have issues (nothing new there).

I find her believable.

Frankie and we discover fairly early on who the serial killer is. We get some information on him, enough for him to fit with profiles of serial killers. Even the magic element is something some killers would believe they use. I wonder what made our murderer actually step over the killing line?

I find him believable as well.

Past Due was an easy-on-the-brain type of read. I liked it.

Reviews:

Past Due on Amazon US

Adventure, Science Fiction

dePierres, Marianne: Chaos Space (The Sentients of Orion II) (2008)

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The Sentients of Orion - Marianne dePierres
Cover art by Wayne Haag

The end of Dark Space has left Mira pregnant, raped by Trin so he could ensure his progeny with a pure-blood noble from Araldis. Rast states it so well

“Women get raped,” said Rast harshly, her pale skin flushed with emotion. “Sometimes in war, sometimes just for the hell of it. That’s what happens.” She gripped Mira’s wrist and pulled her close. Then she hugged her tightly for a long moment.

“We’ll get your world back for you, Baronessa. But tell me something: are you sure you really want it?”

Not only did Trin rape Mira and send her off-planet to get help. While staying behind he makes certain to besmirch Mira’s reputation by claiming that she has run off. For Trin does not want Mira to become more popular than he. After all, that might endanger his own shot at becoming Principe after the war.

War, ambition, greed, death.

Trin is more concerned with saving his men than with saving the population of Araldis. Cass Mulravey sees that he has no clue that if he wishes to rebuild his world, he will need women to bear children. The two of them are at odds through all of Chaos Space. Only Djeserit’s attempts to broker a peace between them keeps them from open dispute. Until Trin has managed to finagle the loyalty of the women who have followed Cass, he has to at least give the appearance of working for the greater good. Perhaps all of this pretending will turn to true behavior eventually???

We find out who Djeserit’s mother is. Oh, dear! Poor girl. None of us choose our own parents, but some of us are left with worse parents than others. Bethany Farr is no ideal mother. She seems to have repented of sending Djeserit off and now wants to save Djeserit and thereby Aldaris. But will Bethany carry through or perhaps only work towards the redemption of her daughter until her next “love” comes along??

Insignia, the biozoon carrying Mira, turns out to have an agenda of its own. The vessel has repeatedly tried to get Mira to understand that it does not care about humanesques in general, only the ones with which it can communicate. When its contract with the Fedor clan runs out in the middle of an escape, Mira fully comes to understand how true and real that is.

Mira is one severely traumatized person who is thrown from one chaotic episode to the next. Needing to make decisions pronto goes against her socialization, and tearing herself loose from that socialization is incredibly painful for her. In Dark Space Mira learned to handle a gun, something that was forbidden to the upper-class women. In Chaos Space she has to learn to see through the fallacies of her traditions. Having worked my way out of fundamentalism, makes it easy for me to relate to what Mira must have gone through. Being brought up in a society where women are taught from a young age that they are less and also taught how to internalize this tradition and accept it as right and proper makes the reach through the fog of indoctrination severely painful and self-actualizing. Mira is forced to grow once she makes the choice to make her way through her fog and grow she does.

Asking for help is more complicated than Mira had thought. Naively, Mira had expected that explaining her planet’s situation to OLOSS would bring OLOSS to the rescue. But OLOSS is concerned with what is in it for them and want to get hold of Insignia so they can study it. Having read something about the history of our own world this concern with profit in the face of aid is nothing new. In fact, I wonder if the need to profit from another person’s tragedy is embedded in the human psyche?

DePierres’ writing is as riveting in Chaos Space as it was in Dark Space. Again I found myself struggling to stop reading.

Reviews:

Chaos Space on Amazon US

My review of Dark Space

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller

Summers, Jordan: Red (Dead World I) (2008)

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Cover design by Christian McGrath
Cover design by Christian McGrath

I generally do some research before writing about a book. When the blurb began:

“What if Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf turned out to be the same person?”

I went off on one of my curiosity sprees. Roald Dahl has a wonderful version of Little Red Riding Hood (below) that resembles the version of Little Red Riding Hood that Jordan Summers writes about.

Red has three Riding Hoods that are eaten by the big bad wolf while their grandmothers are left alone. Our Were-theme is discovered in the first chapter when the murderer describes being wracked with the pain of being ripped apart and put back together again. Then he mauls and eats his murder victim. Summers’ description of the mauling and eating is just as descriptive as her description later on in the novel of sex and its prelude – pretty explicit.

The mystery part of Red is pretty straight-forward. As a reader I know everything long before Red and Morgan do. When Renee Forrester, Lisa Salomon and Moira Collins turn up dead, I  draw conclusions faster than the couple-to-be. Embroiled as they are in the action and full of fear of being discovered, fear of the other not liking them, fear of the other person liking them, and being horny to the degree that the two of them are probably slows them down.

Red is full of the non-existent, exterminated Others. These people were supposed to have been wiped out. Instead they are turning up all over the place. Some of them do not even know that they are an Other. Discovering what they are might just mean the difference between life and death for themselves and others.

We are all Others of some sort. It isn’t my Asperger side that defines me as an Other but rather the Beast in me that might rear its head at some point in my life. We sure see a lot of the Beast types in the world without needing to genetically tinker one into us.

I liked Red.

Reviews:

Red on Amazon.com

Red Riding Hood, 2014; by LessThanHuman
Red Riding Hood, 2014;
by LessThanHuman

Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf

As soon as Wolf began to feel
That he would like a decent meal,
He went and knocked on Grandma’s door.

When Grandma opened it, she saw

The sharp white teeth, the horrid grin,
And Wolfie said, “May I come in?”
Poor Grandmamma was terrified,
“He’s going to eat me up!” she cried.

And she was absolutely right.
He ate her up in one big bite.
But Grandmamma was small and tough,
And Wolfie wailed, “That’s not enough!
I haven’t yet begun to feel
That I have had a decent meal!”
He ran around the kitchen yelping,
“I’ve got to have a second helping!”
Then added with a frightful leer,
“I’m therefore going to wait right here
Till Little Miss Red Riding Hood
Comes home from walking in the wood.”
He quickly put on Grandma’s clothes,
(Of course he hadn’t eaten those).
He dressed himself in coat and hat.
He put on shoes, and after that
He even brushed and curled his hair,
Then sat himself in Grandma’s chair.
In came the little girl in red.
She stopped. She stared. And then she said,

“What great big ears you have, Grandma.”
“All the better to hear you with,” the Wolf replied.
“What great big eyes you have, Grandma.”
said Little Red Riding Hood.
“All the better to see you with,” the Wolf replied.

He sat there watching her and smiled.
He thought, I’m going to eat this child.
Compared with her old Grandmamma
She’s going to taste like caviar.

Then Little Red Riding Hood said, “But Grandma,
what a lovely great big furry coat you have on.”

“That’s wrong!” cried Wolf. “Have you forgot
To tell me what BIG TEETH I’ve got?
Ah well, no matter what you say,
I’m going to eat you anyway.”
The small girl smiles. One eyelid flickers.
She wimps a pistol from her knickers.
She aims it at the creature’s head
And bang bang bang, she shoots him dead.
A few weeks later, in the wood,
I came across Miss Riding Hood.
But what a change! No cloak of red,
No silly hood upon her head.
She said, “Hello, and do please note
My lovely furry wolfskin coat.”

Roald Dahl, Revolting Rhimes (audioversion)

Fantasy, Romance, Thriller

Cane, Laken: Obsidian Wings (Rune Alexander IV)

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Obsidian Wings

The birds annoyed me. Not because they are were-birds/shapeshifters but because Cree carried a person as large as Shad. My asperger soul was triggered to the point of obsession and that set me off in research mode. That is when it became fun. I adore digging into stuff. While increasing my knowledge on the requirements for flight vs. weight vs. mass vs. pain tolerance vs. … I discovered a couple of things (at least that was the way all of this information was put together inside my head). There is a theoretical possibility of humans being able to fly. For flight to happen the human’s form would have to change drastically making us more like the flying creatures we know and less like humans. Were-birds or genetic tinkering are the only alternatives. Whether this would make Cree able to carry Shad is another matter altogether, and not knowing is now something I feel comfortable with.

I feel I need to thank Laken Cane for handing me this chance to look at the possibility of humans and flight.

Much later, she lay wrapped in his arms and realized she’d never felt more at peace than when she was with the berserker.

It was not a wholly comforting thought.

Sometimes knowing that another person’s presence brings a sense of completion can frighten us. I happen to be married to a man who brings me that sense. Allowing the peace he brought to set roots in my life was incredibly complicated and perhaps even worrying. What would happen to me if my heart gave up that piece of me? Personally, I do not have words for what his entry into my heart brought.

For a person like Rune, with the frightening and lonely background she has had filled with self-harm, self-disgust and self-fear, letting go of part of herself would be an even greater challenge. Yet a choice needs to made sooner or later. And it will be made eventually and during Obsidian Wings.

In the meantime Shad is driving Rune crazy with his over-protectiveness and willingness to fight Owen for her. I have no idea what Owen’s obsession is with Rune. Nor do I understand why Cruikshanks thinks he is unable to stay away from Rune. Three men driving Rune insane with their need for her while all (hah, hah) she wants is for her world to become whole again, Z to live and the twins to be back in the group, giving Ellis his Levi back and Lex her anchors.

I liked the second demon that turns up on the scene. Well, really it is the first demon but in a way it ends up being the second one for a lot of people. That is about as confusing as I can make this statement in my attempt to avoid giving anything away.

So, yes! Once I had resolved my issues with the birds I was a happy one myself and finished Obsidian Wings in no time.

My review of:

  1. Shiv Crew
  2. Blood and Bite
  3. Strange Trouble
Shaman shapeshifting into a bird
Shaman shapeshifting into a bird; By Susan Seddon Boulet

Birds of Paradise project (Cornell University)

If a human were to have wings? (SciFi Forums)

On Shapeshifting (Sarah Ann Lawless)

Shapeshifting (Wikipedia)

Shapeshifting (World of Warcraft)

Tengu: Guildwars (Wikipedia)

Voluntary shapeshifting (TV Tropes)

Why can’t humans fly like birds? (Rhett Allain)

Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Short story/novella, Young Adult

Brand, RyFT: Crash Down (Jazz, MC: Earth’s Lament I) (2010)

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Cover art: TA Cuce
Cover art: TA Cuce’

Earth’s Lament is a serial that is both fantasy and science fiction. I love it when an author defies convention and writes the way they want not the way tradition demands.

Old Earth and the one with all of the fantasy creatures are somehow conjoined through an inter-dimensional bridge. This joining of the two earths has created a unit called Mirth.

The people from old Earth seem to have willingly had their memories replaced – except for a few rebellious humans like Jazz.

Jazz is a Monster Collector. It would be unfair to say that she does her job on her own. Her helper is a demon she calls Ship because a demon possesses her ship. Without Ship, Jazz would be toast – burned at that in this short story called Crash Down.

When Jazz utters these words:

“Besides, what could be more boring, self-effacing, and eventless than tracking a lost dog for one of the Welmont elite?”

you know something is bound to happen. Guaranteed!

Off Jazz and Ship go on a tail chasing, ship shooting, dragon, and pirate filled adventure.

Published: May 28, 2011
Words: 6,160
Language: English
ISBN: 9781452486970
Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction

Barant, D.D.: Dying Bites (The Bloodhound Files) (2009)

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Dying_Bites
Cover artist: ??? (help!)

“Don DeBrandt is a Canadian author who also writes under the pen-names Donn Cortez and DD Barant.”

The Bloodhound Files was created by Mr. Barant as a social satire. I had no idea of that when I bought the novel. In fact it was not until creating this review that I discovered that fact. However, the feeling of social criticism was there throughout Dying Bites.

No doubt about it, Dying Bites is an action-filled mystery with a whole lot of dark fantasy/science fiction to it. We are talking about a parallel world with an alternate history and lots of paranormal creatures and magic.

Jace Valchek fits into the gung-ho main protagonist mold without all of the gooey romance that some fantasy/science fiction novels glory in – the kind that I never seem to understand. The closest we get to romance would be a couple of thoughts about Cassius and Dr. Pete and some action with Tanaka.

DD Barant uses vampires, werewolves, golems and humans to create a world where racism is based on races rather than silly things like color. In my head it becomes easier to understand the concept of racism. Several of the scenes where Mr. Barant shows us the less pleasant sides of our world become incredibly clear. Two of those scenes are the post-sex scene with Tanaka and the nazi-camp. I found that dialogue well-done.

Other dialogue that I enjoyed greatly was between Jace and Charlie, her partner, and any conversation including Eisfanger. Eisfanger is a wonderfully nerdy person whose greatest assistant is a rat skull called Wittgenstein. I found myself wanting to sit down with Eisfanger and have a chat. Being a nerd myself along with being married to one and having two sons who are nerds makes me predisposed toward nerdy characters – if they are well-written.

Dying Bites was great entertainment with a serious undertone and lots of humour.

Reviews:

Fantasy, Short story/novella, Thriller, Young Adult

Sherman, David: Hungering Shadows (Bounty Hunter Case Files) (2013)

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Hungering Shadows
Cover image by Jason Baxter

26 pages of fast-paced urban fantasy is what we get in Hungering Shadows. Short stories can be really fun.

Hungering Shadows is a great action story about a guy who just will not give in to the demonic influences in his life. Instead he hunts them down and brings them in for their reward (with the sometimes help of Father Ralph Lawrence). In this story Alex is on the hunt for two skin walkers (demons who kill a host’s spirit and take over their body).

Bounty hunter central is on/in Haven, a place accessed through a warehouse portal. All bounties are delivered there and rewards picked up. Catching your bounty, though, can be quite challenging. Other bounty hunters can and do get in your way and Alex is no exception to that rule. But Alex lets nothing stop him and his quest for what he feels is right.

Hope you enjoy Hungering Shadows as much as I did.

Fantasy, Thriller

Hoyt, Sarah A.: Draw One in the Dark (Shifter) (2006)

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Draw One in the Dark
Cover art by Veronica Casas

Draw One in the Dark made me think about what it must be like to be a foster-kid and a homeless kid in the US. I haven’t been a foster-kid anywhere. Nor have I worked with foster-children and am therefore unqualified to speak about its reality. But I have wondered what it must be like. That and being homeless. I’ve read books and articles about both but that doesn’t show me the way the minds of people who have been in the foster-system and living on the street work. How would this affect a person’s ability to deal with situations? Let’s say you throw in being a shape-shifter on top of that. And on top of that you aren’t really sure if you are a shape-shifter or if you are just having psychotic episodes that leave you covered in blood every once in a while.

This is the point that Kyrie Smith and Tom Ormson are both at when Draw One in the Dark begins. Some months after meeting each other they both receive revelations about their nature and are thrown together into one dangerous situation after the other. This means that life becomes even more chaotic for the two of them but they soldier on as best they can.

That tells me something about resilience. For regular people soldiering on can be difficult enough but for kids with an atypical background soldiering on must be even more of a struggle.

To my way of thinking Draw One in the Dark is partly about resilience and partly about bravery. It is also about messed up people making messed up decisions and living with the consequences of those. Trying to make amends as best we can is one of life’s major lessons. What has been done can never be fixed, but maybe/hopefully some of the pain we inflict can be lessened.

Draw One in the Dark is an easy to read young adult urban fantasy novel that is of pretty average quality. But it spoke to me and helped me clear up a couple of things in my head. Oh, and I really liked the cover art (roar, my name is dragon).

Reviews:

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Baen; First Edition edition (November 1, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1416520929
  • ISBN-13: 978-1416520924
  • Shop: Amazon (US)
Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery, Young Adult

James, Hadena: Dark Cotillion (Dark Legacies) (2012)

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Dark Cotillion
Cover art by

Dark Cotillion was one of those books that surprised me. I’d gotten it from Kindle for free on the off-chance that I might like it. The blurb sounded so, so and I figured “why not”. Some surprises are really nice.

The Dark Legacies series introduces a world I have not met yet in my meanderings through the world of fantasy. Just when I think I have read every conceivable type of world-building something new comes along. As any type of addict my consumption of fantasy and science fiction literature is high and varied. I will try just about anything to get my fix. Imagine how fun it was to get a taste of something new and different.

What is not new about the Dark Legacies and specifically Dark Cotillion is the lengths to which some people will go in order to force the world to fit with their own visions. Assassination has been a favored tool of leaders for ages (probably for as long as humans have existed). There is nothing unusual in that. Telling lies to their followers is also a favored tool. All we have to do is look around at the fear-mongering and dehumanising projects that go on in the world. So nothing unusual there either.

After a slow start of world-building James really picks up the pace and brings us into one action-filled situation after the other. There are some gory descriptions and some sexual content but no more than most young adults encounter on a regular basis in the gaming world.

James has not quite gotten the flow right but she does present a world that I would like to get to know more about. There were moments when things fell perfectly into place and that is a quality worth building on. I found Dark Cotillion well worth the read and have purchased the next in line.

  • File Size: 595 KB
  • Print Length: 368 pages
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services,  Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B0093UKS82
Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, Young Adult

Caine, Rachel: The Morganville Vampires (2006-2013) / Weather Warden (2003-2010) / The Revivalist (2011- )

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Rachel Caine, or Roxanne Longstreet Conrad as she is known to her friends, is a prolific writer. From what I have read of her writing (Morganville series, one Weather Warden and one The Revivalist) her novels seem to target young adults (not the youngest).

Her books are fun to read and full of murder, mayhem and entertainment. We get all sorts of magic and supernatural creatures. Some of these supernaturals are the baddest baddies while some fight on the side of light and justice for all. There is something a bit soap operaish about the books at times, but for the most part they manage to stay out of that trap. The ones that I have read are from: Weather Warden, The Morganville Vampires and The Revivalist.

THE MORGANVILLE VAMPIRES (2006 – 2013)

morganville

The Morganville Vampires books are supposed to be appropriate for age 13 and up. My library has fourteen of them while fifteen have been published thus far. According to the Morganville website no. 15 (Daylighters) is supposed to be the last one of the series (for now). I believe I have read through no. 10 (Bite Club).

The Morganville series begins with Glass Houses.While it is an advantage to begin reading with book no. 1 of the series, I would have had no trouble starting at any point as all of the novels have some sort of resolution to their plot. There are threads that leave you somewhat hanging but they are more of the kind that you will find in most series out there. So NOT a serial.

Claire Danvers is our main character through the series. There are others that get to shine along with her, but she is the one we always meet.

What can I say about Claire Danvers? Claire is a brilliant girl. Her IQ gets her into Texas Prarie University at the age of 16. Choosing TPU was a result of having to be closer to her parents. I can understand her parents wanting her to be a close as possible. Being the parent of two boys who have been that age, I probably would have let them go to the offered spot at MIT. Whether my choice would have been different had they been girls is impossible to predict.

So off Claire goes to Morganville. TPU is apparently a typical university town. In it she meets both ends of the spectrum of niceness. Claire gets bullied by the town diva, Monica Morell, and makes friends with the much nicer Eva Rosser. Her friendship with Eva Rosser and the bullying by Morell and her crowd is what brings about Claire’s move into what is known as Glass House.

Glass House belongs to Michael Glass. Michael lives in the house himself and he is hesitant about letting Claire live there. The other tenant, Shane Collins, also worries about having an under-age student living with them. The constellation two boys and two girls might have something to do with that. I found that rather charming and wise of the two guys. I also approved of the choice of letting Claire live with them, especially considering Monica’s influence at TPU. Monica does not have many endearing qualities.

Moving into Glass House brings the reality of Morganville crashing in on Claire. Living in Morganville can be detrimental to one’s health.

WEATHER WARDEN (2003-2010)

Weather warden

The Weather Warden series begins with Ill Wind and ends with Total Eclipse. According to various reviews and Ms. Caine’s own website the Weather warden is meant for an adult audience. I have only read no. 1 (Ill Wind). It is difficult for me to know exactly what differentiates a novel meant for adults or older young adults, so I am going to trust the author on this one. On the link above you can read samples from each of the novels.

Ill Wind introduces Joanne Baldwin a Weather Warden. A Weather Warden is a person who has the power to control one of the elements. In Joanne’s case that is the wind. She is not considered an especially gifted Warden. When we meet her she is on the run from the other Weather Wardens and the Weather Council. The Weather Council wields a lot of influence in society due to its nature. Together with the UN they decide when to and when not to intervene in natural disasters (having to do with wind, fire, water and earth). So, not an organization to have chasing you.

Joanne is, of course, innocent of all charges and that is what Ill Wind is about – proving her innocence and finding the real culprit.

As a mystery, Ill Wind worked for me.

THE REVIVALIST (2011 – …)

The Revivalist

Once again you get to read sample chapters of the novels. The Revivalist is a different kind of zombie novel. As with Weather Warden, I have only read the first of the series, Working Stiff. Like the other two series in this post, The Revivalist is an urban fantasy series. Our main character is Bryn Davies. She is about to change careers – from being in a military supply unit in war to being a funeral director. An unusual choice but work is work.

At first Fairview Mortuary seems like an average funeral home. But there is one huge problem. Her bosses are experimenting on the corpses. Not all of them, but enough for Bryn to discover that there is a problem. It turns out that they are using a drug to resurrect the dead. Bryn enlists the help of the FBI and joins the take-down. During the charge, poor old Bryn ends up being one of the dead. Having no say in the matter herself (being dead and all that) Bryn ends up being one of the resurrected. At this point her options in “life” pretty much become nil. She has to do what she is told or she will not get the daily injection needed for a healthy look.

Basically, Working Stiff is an urban fantasy mystery with a zombie twist.