Tag Archives: #Urbanfantasy

Children, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Eoin, Colfer: Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex (VII) (2011)

2014-10-02 humanitysdarkerside 1 Comment

http://sarapsys.deviantart.com/art/Artemis-and-the-squid-191451902

http://kenzij.deviantart.com/art/Just-as-Planned-167857945

And the last but not least thing... Artemis does not belong to me but Eoin Colfer yadda yadda

http://wampyyrlaps.deviantart.com/art/Atlantis-Complex-199448194

I was inspired to draw a FanArt of Artemis Fowl by Josh Fix´ "Complex: Atlantis"

http://puddingblume.deviantart.com/art/Get-it-together-Artemis-381903607

http://kairi-moon.deviantart.com/art/Artemis-Orion-177007851

http://megan-uosiu.deviantart.com/art/AF-Atlantis-Complex-01-166190680

La Hora de la Verdad

http://boblea.deviantart.com/art/Artemis-Fowl-Atlantis-Complex-204744003

http://iesnoth.deviantart.com/art/AF-Atlantis-Complex-00-166192315

http://megan-uosiu.deviantart.com/art/AF-AC-cast-164506594

http://arcblasterblitz.deviantart.com/art/FOUR-194061869

Artemis Fowl – Der Atlantis-Komplex

Part of the fun of preparing for a review of one of the Artemis Fowl stories is immersing myself in the fan art. Some of my favorites are in the above collage. The other part is reading other people’s reviews.

“Foaly,” he called after the centaur. “I really think we should search for my secret birthmark. Dragons love that sort of thing.”

Of all the quotes I could have chosen from The Atlantis Complex, this is the one that stuck with me.

Orion is Artemis Fowl’s alter-ego/alter-personality/dissociated identity. I loved him. Granted, Orion was annoying and caught up in some sort of medieval psychosis. Yet he showed us to what degree Artemis confrontations with his own past and dabbling in magic had affected him. Let’s face it. Some of the events Eoin Colfer has put his young charge through have been on the dark side of extreme. In spite of that, Artemis knows that in order for his environmental scheme to go through he has to fight the disorders that are popping up (Atlantis Complex).

My grandmother suffered from schizophrenic paranoia. Eoin Colfer stays true to what that must have been like for her (going by my dad’s descriptions of his childhood). Not trusting the most trusted person in his life is just part of the parcel. When he sent Butler off on what was supposed to be a fake mission, Artemis had no idea that Butler and Juliet (Butler’s much younger sister) would end up having to fight for their lives. And what a fight. The two of them make a great team.

Butler has long suspected that something is off with Artemis. Being sent away in this manner only makes him more determined to be there for Artemis. That is what I like about Butler. I would liken his loyalty to that of a faithful guard dog. What once began as a paid assignment has turned into a strange friendship between two unusual people. Being able to bring Juliet along with him only adds spice to his experience.

Mulch Diggums is Mulch Diggums. He is now on the “right” side of the law if you want to be an upstanding citizen. Mulch isn’t certain he wants that. During The Atlantis Complex that choice will be taken away from him. Poor Mulch. Being friends with Artemis can be quite a challenge.

Turnball Root is the kind of villain I would not like to meet. He has landed on the far side of sanity and psychopathic is a mild term for where he is at. His mission is to get to the “love of his life” and somehow save her.

Like any great author, Eoin Colfer gets me to like all of his characters. I love his humor, his action scenes and the strange people that inhabit the world of Artemis Fowl. Definitely recommended.

Reviews:

The Atlantis Complex available at Amazon US

Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction

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

2014-10-02 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Photo credit: SERGEY SUPINSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Cover art by Don Sipley

“Chimera” by Josh Buchanan

A series of antique tarot cards

Daughters of Delphi

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:

Astrology
Chimera (genetics)
Chimera (mythology)
Oracle (mythology)
Tarot

Fantasy

Jay, Stacey: Dead on the Delta (Annabelle Lee I) (2011)

2014-10-01 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Dead on the Delta - Stacey Jay — Cover art by Elena Dudina; Cover design by Lisa Litwack

Annabelle Lee is a mess. Her PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) started while she was recovering bodies after Hurricane Katrina. At that time her intake of alcohol increased. Then, while Annabelle was holding her, her sister died from an allergic reaction to fairy bites. At this time Annabelle discovered she was immune to fairy venom. Survivor’s guilt hit her hard (with a lot of help from her parents) and substance abuse became a reality. Like all addicts, Annabelle is having trouble admitting that addiction is a fact.

PTSD stinks. I have had to work my way through my share of it and have known plenty of people who fight its insidious web. While it gets better with time and the right kind of therapy (and often medication), PTSD never quite goes away. Every once in a while a memory clobbers my gut, and I find myself having to work my way through it again. Annabelle has a lot of memories and pictures stuck in her mind and new ones are added to it due to her immunity.

Being immune to fairy bites means that Annabelle functions as a CSI at body sites. Non-immune people have to put on an iron protective suit so they won’t get bitten by the fairies. That takes time and suits are limited in how well they protect a person. So immune people are used for difficult and time sensitive jobs. Bodies and the hot and humid swamps of Louisiana do not go well together. Children’s bodies are no exception. Self-medication becomes a must for survival for Annabelle. So does figuring out why on earth Grace’s body was dumped outside the protective iron fence around Donaldsonville.

Dead on the Delta by Stacey Jay was a fascinating read about serious issues. Immensely serious. Dead on the Delta was also a fun mystery with plenty of mayhem occurring on its pages. Annabelle Lee was a delight. Her compatriots were as eccentric as she, and her non-compatriots were just as fascinating. If the real Donaldsonville is filled with people like the ones in Dead on the Delta, it must be an interesting place to live.

Reviews:

Dead on the Delta available on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Indiebound

Cryptome (2005) Recovery crews after Hurricane Katrina (Warning: Graphic pictures)

Morgan, Clayton: The Inquest of Incest

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Abuse

Singer, Merill (2010) Environmental Health in Donaldsonville, Louisiana; John Harvey Lowery Foundation

Fantasy, Young Adult

Black, Jenna: Dark Descendant (Descendant I) (2011)

2014-09-23 humanitysdarkerside 1 Comment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%BDr#mediaviewer/File:Tyr-brakteaten_fr%C3%A5n_Naglum,_Trollh%C3%A4ttan_%28SHM_1164%29_tecknad.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eros#mediaviewer/File:Eros_Farnese_MAN_Napoli_6353.jpg

http://theguidingtree.com/images/8221-artemis-moon-goddess-diana-huntress-statue.jpg

Cover art by Nathália Suellen

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Processed_SAM_loki.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali#mediaviewer/File:Kali_by_Raja_Ravi_Varma.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeus#mediaviewer/File:The_Chariot_of_Zeus_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_14994.png

White privilege and male privilege are terms that we in the West are familiar with.

“whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, normative, and average, and also ideal” (Elizabeth Minnich)

The same goes for our patriarchal societies.

In the world of Nikki Glass this is true. Her old and regular life is is part of average US patriarchy where some people are more equal than others. In her new reality with Descendants of Gods turning up all over the place the most equal people are these Descendants. Nikki fell into that life by accident, although the others Descendants seem to have trouble accepting that fact.

In the US, the two largest groups of these Descendants are the Liberi Deorum and the Olympians. Both groups are immortal. They can be killed but that takes a lot of effort and the right kind of killer. Which is how Nikki accidentally became one. She happened to be a descendant who killed a Descendant. Intentional or not, the seed of immortality then passed to her.

I’ve often wondered at the appeal of immortality. Hell, I often wonder why people feel the need to stretch out their lives as long as medically possible. Neither seems very logical to me. Immortality would have to change you immensely as a person. Once all of your original bonds have died, who do you then become? Add to that the side-effects of your new identity and you might even have been the reason your old friends have died. Death-gods, gods of the hunt, trickster gods and war gods all seem to have death as a common problem. How would you contain the desire to cause destruction and mayhem? At what point do regular humans become insignificant to whatever long-term goals you might have?

No wonder the immortals think they deserve preferential treatment. Because Nikki is still a new entry into this life, her bonds to the regular world are strong. Her adoptive parents and adoptive sister are all alive and care a great deal about Nikki’s well-being. Because of her foster-home background Nikki has always been close-mouthed about her life. Talking about her new status is not something she cares to do, but circumstances ignore any such desires. Close-mouthed or not, the truth will out.

I liked Dark Descendant by Jenna Black. It was fun, funny and full of near-death experiences.

Reviews:

Dark Descendant available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million

Fantasy

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

2014-09-22 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

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:

The English Struwwelpeter / Pretty stories and funny pictures

Lost Colony of Roanoke

Ten worst dads in literature

Ten worst mothers in literature

Fantasy, Young Adult

Jackson, Ros: Diabolical Taste (Kenssie II) (2014)

2014-09-20 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Cover art: Laura Hollingsworth (really like this cover)

Diabolical Taste is funny, sad and exciting. Satire often seems to bring out those feelings in me. The relationship between Rak and Kenssie is definitely an abusive one. Kenssie is the only one who can walk the painful journey of accepting that her illusions are just that. The whole demonic thrall system reeks of abuse.

Rak and Kenssie perfectly illustrate the lies we tell ourselves about ourselves and the people we have chosen to love. Coming to realize that one’s relationship is a destructive one must be excruciatingly difficult. As with all addictions, the first and most difficult step has to be acknowledgement.

Kenssie’s power to “eat secrets” seems to be an incredibly powerful tool. She is only 16 years old and still trying to figure out the powers she began fully utilizing in The Secret Eater. This eating of emotions and thoughts to nourish themselves is a great way of getting across the importance of our inner lives.

We meet some cool and dangerous characters in Diabolical Taste. Otis the human is particularly interesting. Toward the end of the story we discover something funny about him. Seneb, the love demon, is another character I enjoyed. Feeding on love as a demonic power is fascinating yet perhaps strange. Grief, on the other hand, is a perfectly understandable demonic meal. We also have a fear eater in our story. Both made me take a closer look at myself.

I loved reading Diabolical Taste. It left me with a sense of sadness and pride for the demon Kenssie had become.

Ros Jackson provided me with a copy of Diabolical Taste in return for a review.

My review of The Secret Eater

Fantasy, Mystery

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

2014-09-17 humanitysdarkerside 2 Comments

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

Comments

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

Fantasy

Harkness, Deborah: Book of Life (All Souls III) (2014)

2014-09-17 humanitysdarkerside 1 Comment

http://deborahharkness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/CoverGermanTranslationofTBOL.jpg

http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/sites/default/files/styles/node_banner/public/signature_media/Screen%20Shot%202013-01-07%20at%209.28.46%20PM.png

http://deborahharkness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/all-souls-trilogy-notes-by-stephanie-pichot-gault-v2.jpg

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/238479742743968151/

http://deborahharkness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/10477141_10152583622121812_711028790236911551_n.jpg

http://map.yale.edu/map/photo/KBT.jpg

I cannot help but love a novel written as intelligently as The Book of Life. Not only does Deborah Harkness demand that I use what little wits are left to me, but she also keeps herself in the river of words through the entire story. In addition, my autism bug sends itself off on missions of discovery and I have had a blast looking into genetics, history and Yale University Campus and surrounding areas.

These are NOT stand-alone books. If you want to immerse yourself in the world of Deborah Harkness, you will have to start at the beginning: A Discovery of Witches. You can read an excerpt of that story here.

At some point in our lives most of us will make at least one astoundingly stupid choice. Matthew Clairmont’s choice involved revenge and abandonment. Sometimes our idiotic choices come back to haunt us well into the future. In Matthew’s case it would be safe to say that the devastating consequences of his choice could be felt for centuries. He is being bitten about as hard in his ass as a person could be. Time also has a way of sorting things out and vampires have plenty of time (if they manage to stay alive).

The Congregation is all about racial purity. Matthew, Miriam, Chris and his assistants’ research will help to shove the Congregation’s ideas of racial purity right where they belong. I hate the idea of racial purity (shudder). Every time I hear the words I become anxious, and I am one of the majority. I cannot imagine what those who supremacists consider “less than” must feel. Thankfully, both the Claremont DNA research and modern DNA research shows us how much such ideas are worth. It would now be appropriate for me to show my middle finger to those who entertain such ideas, but alas …

Friendship is such a strange phenomenon. I have people I love dearly and hardly ever meet or speak with. But they continue to hold a strong place in my feelings. When we meet, our friendship usually seems to have survived. People I meet often do not necessarily resonate with me. There seems no rhyme or reason to how these relationships come about. Several of the characters in The Book of Life experience the same thing. For some of them friendship comes in the most unlikely places. In other cases people who seemed like stinkers turn out to be strong friends. Then we have those who discover that their love has survived all the challenges thrown their way.

Political scheming, assassinations, power-struggles and betrayal are definitely a part of this last book in the All Souls trilogy. You will find plenty of near-death and death experiences in it, none of them of the peaceful kind.

I must not forget that a large chunk of the All Souls trilogy is about the love story between Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont. The two of them fight for their lives and their right to be together across the lines of their genetic variations. Some of their story is together and some of it is apart from each other.

Highly recommended.

Reviews:

The Book of Life on Amazon • B&N • Books-a-Million • iBooks
IndieBound • Kindle • Nook – Barnes & Noble online

My review of:

Sources:

Scientists Identify Neanderthal Genes in Modern Human DNA (2014), Sci-News.com
What Does It Mean to be Human?, Smithsonian Institute
Yale University Campus Map

Fantasy, Young Adult

Allison, P.G.: Missy the Werecat (2012)

2014-09-13 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Missy the Werecat - PG Allison

The cougar works a powerful magic on the human imagination. Perhaps it is envy. This majestic feline personifies strength, movement, grace, stealth, independence, and the wilderness spirit. It wanders enormous tracts of American wilderness at will. It is equally at home in forest, desert, jungle, or swamp. An adult cougar can bring down a full-grown mule deer in seconds. It yields to few creatures, save, bears and humans. (Mountain Lion Foundation)

Now take a look at one of the descriptions of Missy from Missy the Werecat. Missy has just come back from the wild, rescued a family and is thought to have been kept a prisoner for two years:

She moved with a smooth grace but also exuded strength and power, somehow giving an impression of greatness in spite of her only being a teenage girl. …

entering the room in full command of herself, alert and aware. Fearless. With depths that could not be penetrated. This Missy was not at all a victim, in any way …

Pretty similar, don’t you think?

After Missy comes back down from the mountains, having learned to control her changes, she befriends a girl called Alice. Alice was being sexually abused by her step-father and Missy stepped in to stop it. Stepping in while Alice was still so young, in addition to giving Alice the support she needed, helped Alice work her way through the sexual abuse as much as possible.

During a period of my life I went through some sexual abuse periods myself. To have had a Missy in my life at that point would have made a great difference. However, the norm in such cases is to have them explained away or denied. It’s simply too difficult for non-pedophiles to think that there are people out there who get turned on by such things.

Throughout her whole story of Missy the Werecat, P.G. Allison was carefully open about the darker sides of life. At the same time she made sure we understood the importance of people like Missy in the lives of those being affected by predators. Sometimes it takes a predator to hunt down other predators and, as most of us come to know, not all predators are out to hurt people.

Missy the Werecat is very US in its style. It is definitely written for a younger audience. Some violence was explicit and some sexual content was also explicit, yet it was explicit in an age-appropriate manner. I was surprised by the balance between sexual and violent content as I am not used to that from US authors. To make up for that there were the standard moralistic teachings found in US stories. In the end that did not matter to me and I for one was glad that such a person/mountain lion blessed the lives of so many people (and frightened the ☠@✴# out of others).

Missy the Werecat on Amazon US

Fantasy

Ryan, Lea: What the Dead Fear (2011)

2014-09-11 humanitysdarkerside 2 Comments

What the Dead Fear is a lovely novella about acceptance and compassion.

My reasons for choosing a story varies. In the case of What the Dead Fear it was the title that drew me. I found I had to know what the dead do fear. Well, they fear Gareth. But more than Gareth they fear

for the fates of the living, despite their witness to the hereafter. They fear retribution, but perhaps even more, they fear helplessness and insignificance.

Helplessness is an interesting sensation. Two of the characters (Juniper and Nikki) from the story suffer through acknowledging the need for different strategies. Acceptance is such a difficult choice but usually it is the only way to change. At least it is for me, and Ms. Ryan’s characters all either fight their way through it or remain stuck as they are.

I like the way the story plays out in Limbo and in the land of the living. What the Dead Fear is a ghost story riddled with strange creatures and plenty of action and humor. Definitely recommended.

Review:

What the Dead Fear on Barnes and Noble Nook, Smashwords, Kobo, It’s also available in audio HERE.

Fantasy

Winchester, C.S.: Past Life (Past III) (2012)

2014-09-06 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Past Life - CS Winchester - white background

Past Life - CS Winchester - black background

I like Dante. He is the kind of guy that would make me laugh. I wouldn’t want to mess with him, but I think I would like to hang with him (no, not the deadly kind of hanging!). He was appointed Frankie’s guardian during Josh’s negotiations with the Council in Half Past. I really hated that ending, because Josh was seriously cool. But that is the power of The Author: to mess with their readers’ emotions.

I wonder how much of a mess I am making of the lives of my sons. Parents seem to be good at handing work to therapists. Frankie’s mother is a good example of messy parenting. She has never accepted Frankie and all of her sides, while Frankie has worked harder and harder at getting that acceptance. In the end something had to break, and break it does. Sometimes fractured relationships end up being exactly what was needed to finally move forward and together towards the same goal. And sometimes not. Reading the story will let you know which is the case in Past Life.

Will is giving me a hard time. Do I like him or not? Hmmmm? Yes and no. Figuring out where Winchester is going with him is difficult. We’ll just have to see if another story is forthcoming.

Past Life is a mystery, and the crimes committed turn out to be against one of the people Frankie knows well. She is extra motivated to solve the bizarre killings and is learning to accept help to find her answers.

Answers is something Winchester has left us with in each of the stories in the Past series. Choices and their unintended consequences were an important issue of Past Life, and CS hands us her gift in a fun wrapping.

Past Life available on Amazon US

My review of:

Past Due
Half Past

Fantasy

Winchester, C.S.: Half Past (Past II) (2010)

2014-09-05 humanitysdarkerside 1 Comment

Thankfully, Half Past did not become mushy. Romance is fine. Once it becomes the focus of the story and reaches into bizarro-land I become confused and hope that no one actually has to go through that kind of stuff. There was romance in Half Past. Maybe romance is the wrong word. This is a confusing field for me. Frankie made decisions about her life that included Alex and Josh. Alex made a decision about himself and Frankie that stank to high heaven. Josh made a decision about his life that increased Frankie’s understanding of her feelings and value.

CS Winchester‘s vampires are far from glittery. These vampires are predatory creatures who do not hold back from what they deem necessary violence. Once a person has lived centuries their views on ethics and morals are bound to differ from whatever the fashionable view might be. Josh is the kind of person who can rip off a person’s head. He is also the kind of person who is willing to take in those in need of protection.

Frankie Wright’s powers are growing. She has a little more control over them now and is better able to use those powers to help the people around her. You see, Frankie suffers from an empathetic personality. Even though a person has been a complete dufus toward her, she has the ability to see that person’s suffering and need. Perhaps this has something to do with her psychic abilities. Or it could just be that Frankie is a pretty decent kind of person. Being decent doesn’t stop her from protecting society from the dangers the supernatural community might pose. I like Frankie. At times I find her annoying – like the people around her also do. It’s interesting being able to empathize with a fictional character’s compatriots.

I’m not sure what I think of Alex. He is seriously patronizing and seems to think that he owns Frankie. 700 years ago – when he began life – he would have. I wonder what it must be like to have to adjust to changing morals and ethics over and over again. I wonder if you would get to a point where you become stuck and lose the ability to fit in.

Half Past was a fun story with plenty of action, silliness and just a little bit of romance. I look forward to reading the next in line.

Reviews:

Half Past available on Amazon US

My review of: Past Due

Fantasy

McGuire, Seanan: The Winter Long (October Daye VIII) (2014)

2014-09-05 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Cover artist: Christian McGrath

A geis can be compared with a curse or, paradoxically, a gift. If someone under a geis violates the associated taboo, the infractor will suffer dishonor or even death. On the other hand, the observing of one’s geasa is believed to bring power. (Wikipedia)

Imagine a person strong enough to place a geas on the Luidaeg, one of the Firstborn. Daughter of Maeve and Oberon. Doesn’t seem possible does it? Except there is a person who is just as connected to Oberon as the Luidaeg is, although Titiana is this person’s mother. And we know who this person is. We have, in fact, been given clues as to this person’s identity several books ago. Not that I got it, of course. Ms. McGuire had to give it to me in tiny helpings. Shows how good a detective I am.

Family is a strange matter. All of us are born to one family, one we do not choose. Some of those families are extremely dysfunctional. Toby’s mother is a great example of that. Amandine is a nutter. Perhaps being immortal does that to you even if you are genetically engineered for it. After all, what is there to see and strive for once you have lived for hundreds, maybe thousands of years? How would you deal with the death of mortals and their envy? Humans would envy immortals. Just look at the research that is being done to extend our lives and find the key to eternal life.

Toby is just starting her way down the path of an extremely long life – if she isn’t killed during one of her heroic deeds. It’s a good thing her human part has receded as much as it has. Without being faery to the degree that she has become, Toby would surely have died during The Winter Long. She comes close enough as it is.

I’m wondering what Toby’s chosen family will end up being like. The beginnings of it are there. We have the changelings, May and Jade, Tybalt, Raf, Quentin and the Luidaeg. Beyond that, well? Perhaps in some instances Toby has misinterpreted her relationships or maybe refused to see the world as it really is rather than as she wishes it to be. We all do that. Lie to ourselves. Except the Luidaeg. She can’t lie. But the rest of us? Some truths about ourselves and our surroundings aren’t fun to acknowledge, so we change them to fit our desires. So too with Toby.

I have to say that Seanan McGuire is an excellent writer. She keeps her text tight and tense while interspersing it with bits of humour and goo. I love goo. Ever since I met her through her Mira Grant persona, I have loved her writing. Definitely recommended.

Reviews:

The Winter Long on Amazon US

My review of:

Chimes at Midnight

Fantasy, Young Adult

Stewart, Michael F.: 24 Bones (2009)

2014-08-21 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

24 Bones - Michael F Stewart — Cover art by Martin Stiff; Hieroglyphs by Manfred Klein

This cover is stunning. Those green eyes and the light together. Wow.

I laugh a little when I see someone has picked up both Assured Destruction and 24 Bones because they are so different. And perhaps my apprenticeship is over and it’s time to choose a genre.

Nah! Take your time. Why ruin a good thing?

I arrived early at the Great Pyramid, and for a special few minutes I was the only one inside. Within the King’s Chamber I noticed that every sound reverberated strongly…soo powerfully. I had researched the resonance of the chamber but being there was entirely different. So, checking over my shoulder, looking down into the grand gallery to ensure I was alone, I then clambered inside the rose granite sarcophagus, and began to hum.

I really enjoyed 24 Bones. Not at first. Not when I was wondering if this was going to be a conversion attempt by Michael F. Stewart. Thankfully, Stewart wasn’t that kind of annoying author. What I had thought preaching was instead an in depth comparison between the Christian (Coptic) godhead and the Egyptian Osiris/Isis/Horus legends. I knew some of this stuff but hadn’t realized how many beliefs the two systems had in common.

24 Bones is kind of about good and bad, except not really. The person who apparently serves evil doesn’t really. The character who seems to serve good does but also faces his demons. Then we have the third person. I’m not really certain how to describe him. Maybe as some one who looks for the easy way out? In other words, regular people.

David, Sam and Faris are tools of a prophecy that comes to fruition every 500 years. All of them access something called Void or Fullness (a kind of magic). Fullness (order) is waning and Void (chaos) is on the rise. The ideal is a balance between the two.

Balance is something the world lacks. There is always some species threatening eco-systems around the world. We humans just happen to do so all over the place. Power is possibly one of the greatest motivators for making the world chaotic. Pharaoh has power as his main goal in 24 Bones, and with it he is going to do what all power-hungry maniacs have tried to do throughout history: topple existing power-systems and take over the world. History and today show just how power-hungry countries/leaders/people can be and what they are willing to do to achieve ultimate power.

There was plenty of action, strange people and strange animals. Egypt is an interesting country. I have only been there on a two-week holiday and there was never a sarcophagus around that I could climb into. I am thankful that there are people like Michael F. Stewart who will do that kind of thing so my reading experience can be more authentic.

Reviews:

24 Bones on: Smashwords

… all author proceeds to go to charity, more particularly to the people of Zimbabwe (MobilReads)

Fantasy

Wolfe, Anna: Poisoned by Deceit (The One Rises IV) (2014)

2014-08-15 humanitysdarkerside 1 Comment

Cover Art by Jonathan Burkhardt and Kip Ayers; http://mmogrinder.net/author/mmogrinder/ http://www.kipayersillustration.com/ Editorial Work by Tara Schlagenhauf — Cover Art by Jonathan Burkhardt and Kip Ayers; http://mmogrinder.net/author/mmogrinder/
http://www.kipayersillustration.com/
Editorial Work by Tara Schlagenhauf

Anna Wolfe‘s stories aren’t particularly long. Poisoned by Deceit was 121 pages according to the PDF file I read. I was given a copy of Poisoned by Deceit by Anna Wolfe – no strings attached. But you know me. I love to read and I have come to love working on this blog.

Edith Carter, or Edie as she prefers, is one of Silas’ trainees. In reality she is probably at the stage where it is time for her to move on. She and Silas work so well together that Edie isn’t all that comfortable about letting him go. Silas was the one she ended up with as a trainer when she lost control of her powers and almost killed her husband.

To say that Edie is bothered by this near-killing is an understatement. While it wasn’t really her fault, she still blames herself for what nearly happened. This is an interesting trait I have noticed in people I know and people I read about. Every once in a while I also find myself dipping my toes into the “what-if” pool of regrets. Regretting her past actions and anguishing about her “what-ifs” definitely rules part of Edie’s life.

Regretting past actions is partly what The One Rises is about. Logically, it is silly to feel bad about what cannot be changed. At the same time we need to have an understanding of the effects of our previous actions. Balancing the two is awfully hard. I know I haven’t managed it yet and Edie has an even longer way to go before she is able to let go of her past.

She is getting better. Better at controlling her powers and better at seeing the past for what it was. Being bitten by a demon-ridden isn’t something most people long for. It just seems to happen once a demon has taken over a body turning it into a demonridden. That is the way it happened for Edie as well. Now she and the group will have to save her ex-husband’s nephew and a bunch of other teens who seem to have been kidnapped by the Chosen (demonbitten with a superiority complex).

I continue to love Anna Wolfe’s writing. Her book was devoured once I found the time to sit down with it. There is plenty of action, plenty of tension (sexual as well as violent) as well as a look into the gray of human psyche. Definitely recommended.

Interview with Anna Wolfe by Pembroke Sinclair

Poisoned by Deceit on Smashwords

My review of: