Twisted Kingdom

Forests of the Heart by Charles de Lint

2009-08-16T23:55:00.000-05:00

In the Old Country, they called them the Gentry: ancient spirits of the land, magical, amoral, and dangerous. When the Irish emigrated to North America, some of the Gentry followed only to find that the New World already had spirits of its own, the manitou. Now generations have passed, but the Gentry still wander homeless on the city streets. Gathering in the shadows, they bide their time and dream of power. As their dreams grow harder, darker, fiercer, so do the Gentry themselvesappearing, to those with the sight to see them, as hard and dangerous men, invariably dressed in black. Bettina can see them. Part Indian, part Mexican, she was raised to understand the spirit world. Now she lives in wintry Kellygnow, an artists colony a world away from the Southwestern desert of her youth. Outside her nighttime window, she often spies the dark men, squatting in the snow, smoking, brooding, waiting. She calls them los lobos, the wolves, and stays clear of themuntil the night one follows her to the woods, and takes her hand Once again, Charles de Lint weaves the mythic traditions of many cultures into a seamless cloth, bringing folklore, music, and unforgettable characters to life on modern city streets.

I am embarrassed to admit that I forget about Charles de Lint. I have books by him on my TBR pile and keep my ears open for new releases, but then I forget to tell people that I love him and everyone should read him. How can I forget to do that? I mean, really, everyone should love him and read him. It is as easy as that. Now, I would not suggest reading him in quite the manner that I read him. I apparently have no idea on the order of things and have read this series very out of order. This book is part of the Newford series. It's not a series in a conventional sense, though, because each book technically can stand alone, but there are things at play in the background that you will miss if you haven't read the books in their correct order. Having not read any of the series in the correct order yet, I leave you to figure that out on your own!

I will read high fantasy, as I am sure you have noticed if you read my blog, but once in a while it is really nice to read a plausible fantasy novel. Now, that is not to say that fantasy novels are necessarily farfetched, but if they are high fantasy they are normally set in alternate realities or something along those lines. There is urban fantasy and paranormal fantasy if you want something slightly believable in fantasy, but I am not about to get overly excited about the idea that I could be involved in a zombie invasion. I prefer to leave that in the books. With de Lint's writing, though, bad things do happen... It's just not the same as a crazy werewolf. The stories are based in a lot of folklore and mythology. This one in particular had a lot of native and Irish beliefs mixed into it. That might sound like a strange combination, but de Lint pulled it off. I think I got off-topic somewhere along the lines. I was going to say that I liked Newford because I can picture myself there. Who is to say that what the characters in his books live is not happening around us right now? Those that know are not saying, and those that disbelief are generally the ones that it is not happening to, right? Think about it. I like to, anyways!

The only other adult novel that I have read in this series is The Onion Girl. It is technically later in the series, so I went backwards with this one. Characters are similar between the two, though, so you get a taste of what they were like before they became the characters in the later novel. If you read the books in the right order, though, you will get to The Onion Girl and will add on to what you learned earlier in the series. This is how you read a series. I still need some practice. The way that de Lint chose to write this book, there is not necessarily a main character. Some might argue that it is Bettina, but I think that there are several main characters in the book. The chapters are told from different points of view; which is something I really like about de Lint's novels. He always pulls it off seamlessly!

I have talked a lot in general, but I should probably get around to talking about the book itself. There is a great blend of everything in this book. There is adventure, action, danger, romance, villains, heroines, heroes, disbelievers, believers, double-crossers, musicians, artists, revenge, and so much more. Bettina has been drawn to Newford for a reason that she cannot figure out. Gifted with the ability to heal, it is this skill that will be drawn on eventually. Her grandmother raised her to believe in a world 'outside' our own, but when her grandmother walked out into the desert during a thunderstorm and never returned she stopped practicing what she was taught. She has essentially lost herself and is slowly on the path to reclaiming herself. A little romance thrown into the mix probably doesn't hurt anything, either. During the course of her self-discovery she meets a whole new group of people that will become part of her story.

My favourite character was probably Ellie. She is a sculptor whose friends believe in a fairy tale land, but she is a disbeliever. It turns out, though, that she is not all that she appears. There is a great deal of magic in her that will become very essential to the events of the novel. One of her closest friends will make some difficult decisions that have serious reprucussions and she will find herself caught up in the middle of them. My other favourite character was Miki. She works in a music store, but she is also a gifted musician. She is a bit of free-spirit. You cannot help by love her by the time the book is over. There is also her boss, Hunter, who gets caught up in all of this quite accidentally. It turns out that being a nice guy does not always work out so well for you! (Well, it seems that way, anyways.) Add in the Creek sisters and Tommy and you have a fantastic cast of characters. I didn't hate any of them. There is also Bettina's wolf, but we are not really sure what to make of him for most of the novel. He gets some blood pumping, though.

Then, there are the forces of evil. In this case they are the Gentry. We meet them very early in the book, but we don't really get to know what they are until a lot of pages have gone by. They are interesting characters, but I couldn't help thinking of Lord of the Rings. It really makes no sense, but that's okay. It makes sense in my mind! They bring with them even more characters, though, but I don't really want to spoil too much of the novel. Really, there is just so many people and things going on that it is really hard to talk about everything. It's actually a very complex book when you think about it. By the end of it, you have really got to know the characters. I liked that. It doesn't take away from the story, either, which is nice. It was a really good story!

So, overall this was another great de Lint novel. I liked The Onion Girl better, but not by a lot. I look forward to more de Lint in the future. (I am going back and starting from the beginning!) On another note, don't the covers to de Lint's books look fantastic? He has a great cover artist!

Review: Mine to Possess by Nalini Singh

2009-08-02T08:36:00.001-05:00

Clay Bennett is a powerful DarkRiver sentinel, but he grew up in the slums with his human mother, never knowing his changeling father. As a young boy without the bonds of Pack, he tried to stifle his animal nature. He failed...and committed the most extreme act of violence, killing a man and losing his best friend, Talin, in the bloody aftermath. Everything good in him died the day he was told that she, too, was dead.

Talin McKade barely survived a childhood drenched in bloodshed and terror. Now a new nightmare is stalking her life--the street children she works to protect are disappearing and turning up dead. Determined to keep them safe, she unlocks the darkest secret in her heart and returns to ask the help of the strongest man she knows...

Clay lost Talin once. He will not let her go again, his hunger to possess her, a clawing need born of the leopard within. As they race to save the innocent, Clay and Talin must face the violent truths of their past...or lose everything that ever mattered.

Reason for Reading: I've been bitten by the Nalini Singh bug. Really, I woke up last weekend and had the strangest burning in my stomach. I quickly realized I needed to read some Singh.

The blurb above did a good job of describing what goes on without being spoilerish. And I don't really want to dole out spoilers for the series, I mean, there's a lot of complicated stuff going on with the Psy Council and some mysterious figure called the Ghost. oooohhhhh

My Thoughts: Ok, I need to be brutally honest here. The first half of this book almost had me ripping out my hair. I found Talin and her fear of Clay to be very very frustrating. I just couldn't get past how afraid she was! I just wanted to smack her. Also, I found Clay too...too much - his beast was always ready to pop out and wanted to scream and roar for his mate and blah. It was like we were being told Clay was on the edge to create some drama but I just wasn't feeling it because Talin's fear was so annoying all on its own. Clay's drama was just another annoyance.

Also, Talin comes to Clay to find one of her missing children (she works for an organization called Shine that helps disadvantaged children). Only they actually don't go about finding anyone until well after page 100. Because the first 100 pages is all about Talin's drama.

Can you see now why I was annoyed?

Fortunately, things pick up in the last half of the book. Talin eventually realizes that Clay would never hurt her (duh). Once that happens, my frustration melted away and I got into the story and could not put it down.

But - and there is a but - in all the other past books, there's been a lot of action. Like going after the Psy, actively going after them. In Mine to Possess, the resolution was handed to our characters almost on a silver platter and I wanted some action! That's my only beef with the last half of MtP.

I'm giving Mine to Possess a C+. Even after all the frustration, I still had a big smile on my face when I finished the last page.

Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh

2009-07-27T06:24:00.001-05:00

As an Arrow, an elite soldier in the Psy Council ranks, Judd Lauren was forced to do terrible things in the name of his people. Now a defector, his dark abilities have made him the most deadly of assassins—cold, pitiless, unfeeling. Until he meets Brenna...

Brenna Shane Kincaid was an innocent before she was abducted—and had her mind violated—by a serial killer. Her sense of evil runs so deep, she fears she could become a killer herself. Then the first dead body is found, victim of a familiar madness. Judd is her only hope, yet her sensual changeling side rebels against the inhuman chill of his personality, even as desire explodes between them. Shocking and raw, their passion is a danger that threatens not only their hearts, but their very lives...

Sometimes I can really kick myself for letting a book languish and collect dust in my TBR Monster for so long. But you know, there's always a right time for something and the stars were in alignment so there you go - I finally got around to reading the 3rd in Nalini Singh's Psy/Changeling Series.

And I do deserve a kick in the butt.

Why? Because I enjoyed it so much!

In Visions of Heat (book 2) there was a Psy serial killer that was targeting young female changelings. Brenna was the only victim to survive, but not without some severe psychological scars. The most damaging I believe was her inability to shift to her wolf form - an intrinsic part of who she is, stolen. Among all her rescuers that day was Judd, a Psy assassin who dropped out of the Net to protect his family.

In the aftermath of the events from Visions of Heat, Brenna has been looking for answers to what happened inside her mind from Judd. Brenna believes that there may be something wrong with her that maybe Sascha didn't pick up during the healing, namely the fact that there's a dead Changeling in the compound and Brenna swore she saw it happen. Which leaves everyone nervous, namely the killer.

So now there's another murderer on the scene and the Psy Council is creating a new version of the PsyNet that resembles a hive-mind (think the Borg) and they're trying to manipulate the wolves and leopards into taking each other out, which puts tension on the truce between the two clans. And right in the middle of all this is one strong-willed Changeling and one cold Psy assassin.

With all the scheming and plotting, I thought I'd get confused. But I didn't. A fact which attests to Ms. Singh's strength in world building. Because even behind the PsyNet, there's the Ghost, a mysterious figure who is keeping the Psy Council from progressing too far with their hive-mind. It all blends together and builds up and the reader is caught right up in it. I can see a big improvement in the writing from Slave to Sensations. Things were much smoother here.

As much as I found the greater complicated picture interesting, the real story for me was Judd and Brenna's relationship. This was the heart of the book and I loved these two characters.

Brenna only survived what she did because she has a will so strong she made herself heal faster than everyone thought possible. And despite her strength and steely determination, everyone is treating her with kid gloves with drives her crazy. Her experience changed her but it also left her vulnerable, and she finds herself seeking comfort from the emotionless Psy, Judd. And Judd, with the abilities he has put together with the training he endured is a block of ice - no emotions, no closeness. But slowly Brenna starts to get through all his shields.

Eventually, he looks forward to seeing her, he becomes protective of her and he doesn't shun her casual touches. Even if it causes him pain to open himself up to Brenna, he does it, he can't help himself. And he knows that with his abilities he can kill her with a thought, so he welcomes that pain - anything to keep Brenna safe from himself.

Caressed by Ice is an excellent read and a great installment to the series - I enjoyed it more than I did VoH. I thoroughly enjoyed it and if you haven't already picked up this series, what are you waiting for?

A solid B+ from me!

Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon

2009-07-25T05:28:00.000-05:00

Lil is an old woman who spends her days shelving rare books in a tiny Manhattan bookstore and lonely nights at home in her apartment. But Lil has an intriguing secret. Tucked and bound behind her back are white feathery wings–the only key to who she once was: the fairy godmother responsible for getting Cinderella to the ball to unite with her Prince Charming.

But on that fateful night, something went terribly and beautifully wrong. Lil allowed herself the unthinkable: to feel the emotions of human beings and fall in love with the prince herself, going to the ball in place of Cinderella in her exquisitely gorgeous human guise. For her unforgivable mistake, she was banished to live among humans, far from her fairy sisters and their magical underwater world. But then one day she meets Veronica–a young, fair-skinned, flame-haired East Village beauty with a love of all things vintage and a penchant for falling in love with the wrong men–and suddenly it becomes clear to Lil that she’s been given a chance at redemption. If she can find a soul mate for Veronica, she may right her wrong and return to the fairy world she so deeply longs for. . . .

Talk about taking forever to review a book! I started this book, paused in reading, and then finished it a bit later, so it feels like it was a long time ago that I read it. Instead, it was only a matter of months ago... (Oh, is that all? I am sure you are thinking that!)

Title and author of book: Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? Fantasy. Fairy-tale retelling.

What led you to pick up this book? The title. I think I might have seen a couple reviews, too, but it was the title that first drew me to reading it.

Summarize the plot, but don’t give away the ending! See above...

What did you like most about the book? Let me show you. This is the first paragraph in the book:

I loved arriving at the bookstore first thing in the morning, when the streets were still quiet, the sun half risen, and the whole place felt like a secret meeting room. I liked walking through the still-dark city, as if I were wading through air--the buildings like shadows looming on either side of me, the streets rushing forward in black rivers. There was something about the empty store, too, the books piled all around, that made you want to whisper and walk as slowly as you could. The city was always on top of you, pressing in, but the moment you stepped inside Daedalus Books, it felt like you'd closed your eyes and gone to sleep.

The minute I read those words, I was in love! That is how I feel, but I don't work at a bookstore. As a book lover, I am going to be drawn to another book lover. It is just how it works, and I think Turgeon caught my attention very successfully! I also enjoyed the story. It was a different take on the on fairies, even if it was a retelling of the very famous 'Cinderella' story. Haven't you ever wanted to hear the Godmother side of the story? It is about time, really. The characters in this book were great, too.

What did you like least? You know, this book really should be on my top reads of the year. I loved the original story! I think she sold me on the book theme, really. It wasn't hard to keep my attention after that.

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? This is my first. I plan to read more, though.

What did you think of the main character? When you are young, even now really, you must've had moments where you wished for your very own fairy godmother to come and help you with all of your problems, right? Well, now we are learning that life was not so simple for this fairy godmother. We are learning what it was like to be a fairy and be assigned the job to make the prince fall in love with a girl that has lead a very rough life. I felt for the main character. Life had not been kind to her because the 'popular' version of the story is not the real story (according to her). This was the secret revealed and I really fell in love with the main character.

What about the ending? By now you are probably wondering why if I had so many good things to say about this book, I didn't include it in my top reads of the year. Very simply... I can't make up my mind about the ending! To be very truthful, I hated the way the book ended. The problem is, I am not sure it is because it was a bad ending, or if it was more that I was very invested in the story and the character and felt like her at the end. It could have been a horrible ending, but at the same time, it could have been a very brilliant ending. Even months later I can't make up my mind. Sometimes I wish I had stopped before the ending and still was reveling in the magic of the story, but at the same time, reading the ending was necessary. I think the ending was a let-down for me. It's the only reason I didn't love this book. Everything else, for me, was perfect!

I still think you should read the book. It is such a magical tale and I can think of so many regular readers of my blog that would probably quite enjoy the story. If you do read it, though, be sure and email me about the ending. I would love to hear what other people thought!

My thanks to Random House for this book! Cross-posted at The Written World.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

2009-07-20T11:41:00.000-05:00

In Mary's world there are simple truths.

The Sisterhood always knows best.

The Guardians will protect and serve.

The Unconsecrated will never relent.

And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

Reason for Reading: Kailana from the Written World told me it was excellent and I love zombies.

Summary: In Carrie Ryan’s the Forest of Hands and Teeth, zombies (or the Unconsecrated) have taken over and the human survivors have fenced themselves in. This is the world that Mary, our narrator, has grown up in. Her village is smack in the middle of the Forest and surrounded by fencing. The forest stretches as far as the eye can see and everyone assumes that they’re the last people to survive the Return (what they call the zombie infestation).

Mary’s mother grew up listening to stories of how the world was before the Return and she passes on to Mary the stories of the ocean. Mary even used to have a picture of one of her many greats-grandmother in the ocean, so she knows it’s real. Her friends don’t really believe her and think her stories are just that, stories, fiction, NOT REAL.

So our tale begins with Mary washing some sheets. One of her best friends has joined her and he’s basically just asked her to marry him. Mary is looking up at him, thinking of his brother, and she’s just about to respond when the siren goes off – which means the fence has been breached. Mary knows in her gut that something has happened to her mother. You see, Mary’s father has gone missing months ago (into the forest) and everyday her mother watches the forest, waiting for her husband to come back to her. But today, Mary knows she dallied too long at the stream and her mother didn’t wait for her to return before she began her lookout…and got too close to the fence.

Now when someone gets bitten by the Unconsecrated, they become infected. They will die and rise again as a zombie. When this occurs in Mary’s village, the bitten always has a choice – they can be killed or they can be turned loose into the Forest of Hands and Teeth to join the other Unconsecrated. Mary’s mother chooses to join those in the Forest (which leads Mary to believe that her father is also Unconsecrated).

Throughout this, Mary’s brother, a Guardian (those that mind the fences) has been away checking on some fencing further out. He gets back just in time to see his mother rise as a zombie. So Mary’s guilt over not being with her mother and her brother’s anger at her letting her mother make the decision to turn in the first place all result in Mary joining the Sisterhood.

The Sisterhood runs the village. They have the final say in major decisions and they have all the knowledge of the Return and life before it. Mary does not want to join the Sisterhood, but she doesn’t have a choice. (There’s a good scene here where one of the sisters shows her which choices she does have.) And Mary quickly realizes that there is more to the Sisterhood than she knew. There are secrets hidden within the Sisterhood and when an outsider comes through the fence, Mary’s world as she knows it changes forever.

My Thoughts: Ok, not sure I did justice to the book, but just know that I loved it loved it loved it!

I picked this book up and did not put it down until I was done reading it. The story sucks you in and doesn’t let go! There is terror, action, romance and zombies! What more do you need?

First the world-building. Carrie Ryan has done an excellent job in creating a post-apocalyptic society. There’s no info dumping and we learn through Mary’s thoughts and experiences.

Second – our narrator. She’s a girl that’s always dreamed about what’s beyond the forest. While everyone around her is content with their existence, she’s heard about the ocean and she wants to see it. She lets her guilt get in the way when she’s forced into the Sisterhood but she’s independent and can think for herself. She makes hard decisions and she’s brave. She’s also good to have around in a jam (like zombies trying to eat you). I like my heroines to be strong and kick ass and that’s what Mary is.

The characters and the way they relate to each other are interesting too. Sister Tabitha is a scary lady, her brother is a redemptive jerk, the two brothers as love interests, her best friend. There’s even a dog. LOL

And the story doesn’t stay in Mary’s village. There’s plenty of action beyond the fence’s borders...

So for those of you who enjoy an excellent story with a smart and strong heroine and you don’t mind a little blood and guts? The Forest of Hands and Teeth is for you.

You can buy the Forest of Hands and Teeth here or here.

p.s. There is a sequel!

p.p.s There is a movie!

Howl's Moving Castle and House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne-Jones

2009-07-15T17:09:00.000-05:00

In the land of Ingary, such things as spells, invisible cloaks, and seven-league boots were everyday things. The Witch of the Waste was another matter.
After fifty years of quiet, it was rumored that the Witch was about to terrorize the country again. So when a moving black castle, blowing dark smoke from its four thin turrets, appeared on the horizon, everyone thought it was the Witch. The castle, however, belonged to Wizard Howl, who, it was said, liked to suck the souls of young girls.
The Hatter sisters—Sophie, Lettie, and Martha—and all the other girls were warned not to venture into the streets alone. But that was only the beginning.
In this giant jigsaw puzzle of a fantasy, people and things are never quite what they seem. Destinies are intertwined, identities exchanged, lovers confused. The Witch has placed a spell on Howl. Does the clue to breaking it lie in a famous poem? And what will happen to Sophie Hatter when she enters Howl's castle?
Diana Wynne Jones's entrancing fantasy is filled with surprises at every turn, but when the final stormy duel between the Witch and the Wizard is finished, all the pieces fall magically into place.

Title and author of book: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne-Jones

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? Young Adult Fiction. Fantasy.

What led you to pick up this book? I really need to read more from Wynne-Jones, so this seemed to be the time to do so!

Summarize the plot, but don’t give away the ending! See above...

What did you like most about the book? The world. Diana Wynne-Jones is a fantastic world-builder. She doesn't write anything that you cannot easily picture. When she tries to be a bit unusual, she can very successful explain how things are accomplished, so then it just makes sense. I love the characters. They all interact together in humourous and entertaining ways. The good and the bad, they all worked together to make a very readable story. There wasn't a character in the book that I didn't think was written really well. There is a lot of good things about this book.

What did you like least? There is nothing that jumps right out at me. I really enjoy Wynne-Jones and her writing. She can really do no wrong in my book.

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? Yes. I read Fire & Hemlock. I consider it one of my favourite young adult novels of all time, and yet, it took me a few years to read anything else by her! That makes no sense, right?

What did you think of the main character? I really liked Sophie. She was a bit annoying in the beginning, but as she progressed as a character and developed more into who she was supposed to be she became a character that I will remember for a while to come. The oldest of three sisters, she had resigned herself to a rather dull life. Events conspire to end her up in The Moving Castle, though, and then she really starts to shine. You quickly learn that not everything in this book is how it seems and Sophie might just have some surprises of her own in store for you.

What about the ending? I liked the ending. Obviously there are sequels now, but there don't have to be. The ending ties things up nicely.

The sequel to Howl's Moving Castle

When Charmain Baker agreed to look after her great-uncle's house, she thought she was getting blissful, parent-free time to read. She didn't realize that the house bent space and time, and she did not expect to become responsible for an extremely magical stray dog and a muddled young apprentice wizard. Now, somehow, she's been targeted by a terrifying creature called a lubbock, too, and become central to the king's urgent search for the fabled Elfgift that will save the country. The king is so desperate to find the Elfgift, he's called in an intimidating sorceress named Sophie to help. And where Sophie is, the great Wizard Howl and fire demon Calcifer won't be far behind. How did respectable Charmain end up in such a mess, and how will she get herself out of it?

Title and author of book: House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne-Jones

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? Young Adult Fiction. Fantasy.

What led you to pick up this book? Sequel to Howl's Moving Castle.

Summarize the plot, but don’t give away the ending! See above...

What did you like most about the book? Twinkle. I'm sorry, but I thought the scenes with him in it were laugh out loud funny. He is just a great secondary character. The interaction between him and the main character and him and Sophie were immensely enjoyable! This book takes place in the same world as the previous book, so I enjoyed more world building. I also love the humour. The fact that the author can make you laugh really adds to the book.

What did you like least? While I didn't enjoy this book as much as Howl's Moving Castle, it was still a really good book. I can't find any major flaws with it to mention.

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? Fire & Hemlock and Howl's Moving Castle. I enjoyed both of them.

What did you think of the main character? The first moment that we meet Charmain she is reading. Apparently, she always has her nose in a book. When I heard that, I thought I was going to love her! Sadly, she is not exactly what you expect in the beginning, but she will grow on you. She has lived a 'respectable' life, by her parents standards, and now has to figure out how to do many things on her own. It adds to her character in many ways which will leave readers a fan of her.

What about the ending? I enjoyed the ending. It was one of the more humourous scenes in the book!

Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton

2009-07-13T14:33:00.001-05:00

This review is one big spoiler.

When a vampire serial killer sends Anita Blake a grisly souvenir from Las Vegas, she has to warn Sin City's local authorities what they're dealing with. Only it's worse than she thought. Ten officers and one executioner have been slain - paranormal style. Anita heads to Vegas, where's she's joined by three other federal marshals, including the ruthless Edward. It's a good thing he always has her back, because when she gets close to the bodies, Anita senses 'tiger' too strongly to ignore it. The weretigers are very powerful in Las Vegas, which means the odds of her rubbing someone important the wrong way just got a lot higher.

Series: Book #17 in the Anita Blake Series

Reason for reading: We all know now that I don’t have a reason – I’m addicted to this shizz like it’s crack.

Summary: Skin Trade picks up not too long after the events of Blood Noir. In a bid to appear more servant-like to the Master of the City, Jean-Claude, Anita has moved into the Circus of the Damned. I think that’s the only concession Anita makes though, because it quickly becomes apparent that this woman is going to do what needs to be done, with or without approval from her “Master.” So what has Anita done this time? Well, after receiving a severed head at her work, some quick calls reveal that the head belongs to a body in Las Vegas and that an old vampire friend has left a message written in blood for Anita for everyone to see. So Anita rushes down to Vegas to save the day. And I really do think she’s there for all of a day – two at the most. So 486 pages for two days. Fun times.

But back to what happens. The friend I’m referring to is a vampire Anita has come across before, Vittorio. He’s a serial killer and he got away a couple of books ago. In Vegas, Anita is reunited with US Marshalls Edward (playing good time guy Ted), Olaf (another serial killer who has a crush on Anita, LOL) and Bernardo. Good times are had by all. Olaf gets his jollies by feeling up dead people with Anita, Anita gets mind-raped by Vittorio and sleeps with a bunch of strangers (one of whom is 16, thank goddess we don’t get that in detail) and oh yeah, Marmee Noir dies! And Anita all this time is pondering her life and if she’s truly happy and does she even want to be a vampire executioner even more?

My Thoughts: First of all – the 16 year old weretiger. WRONG WRONG WRONG. I’m sorry, using the excuse that he’s legal in Vegas does not work for me. And the fact that Anita wasn’t even aware of what she was doing doesn’t work for me either. That shit just pissed me off.

Second – and this is a biggie – the lazy writing! I noticed this in the last two books. Someone likes to use the phrase “what does that mean?” way too much. I had picked up on it enough that I went back and counted how many times that phrase or a variation of it was used in Skin Trade. Want to know how many times it was used? 37!! That’s a bit excessive in my opinion. I find it a lazy way to get the characters talking. And also the fact that Anita says that phrase 85% of the time? HOW THE FRICK IS ANITA SO KICKASS IF SHE DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING?????????????

I’m frustrated.

Also, there was a lot of repetition. The description of Anita’s tigers running up the forested path inside her head, that was repeated quite a bit. Every time it happened actually.

The basic plot of Skin Trade was ok (despite the fact that it’s the second book in a row featuring Anita out of town). Anita goes to Vegas to hunt for a serial killer vampire. Hijinks ensue with Edward and the rest of the team, they save the day and she goes home. But no, more crap has to be going on with the ardeur (I mean after 9 books don’t you think Anita would realize she needs to eat and feed more often before it goes out of control???? ) and yet even more men are added to her menu – despite the fact that she emphatically tells everyone she doesn’t need anymore men in her life. So my thinking is, if she doesn’t want to collect more men, she should use the men she’s already sleeping with to keep that freaking ardeur under control. That just makes sense right?

One more thing – I hate how Marmee Noir dies. Can we say anti-climactic?

AND I just knew that Anita was going to use the hated ardeur to save the day, again. I mean why does she hate it? She should freaking embrace that shit and rule the world already.

Skin Trade gets a D from me. And yet despite all that, I’m still going to keep reading this series in the hopes that one day things will get better.

This review is cross-posted at Thrifty Reader.

There is Life...

2008-09-06T23:07:00.002-05:00

So, I am sitting here debating what to do about this blog! I kind of miss updating it, but it has been months since it saw any regular activity and as it stands right now, I don't think anyone that used to blog here is interested anymore. The amazing thing is that I just checked the email and authors are still offering books... Kind of crazy considering how dead this place has been. I haven't read as much fantasy/sci-fi this year as I normally do, but the more I have been thinking about, the more I would like to make it separate from my regular blog.

Are there still people out there that read it? I don't know if I have made any sort of choice, but feel free to comment if anyone actually reads this post. If I knew for sure that I was back on top of my game, I would be all for starting this up again, but I don't want to start it up just to die horribly.

some changes

2008-02-05T22:53:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone,

You may not know, but Mailyn and Dance Chica are no longer blogging. Dance Chica has taken down her own blog and Mailyn is using her Imaginary Origin blog as a site for her fanlistings. Kelly, Nath and I are going to be working on things around here, cleaning it up and writing reviews. So hopefully you're still visiting!!

Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs

2008-01-20T23:01:00.000-06:00

When her former boss and mentor is arrested for murder and left to rot behind bars by his own kind, it's up to shapeshifting car mechanic Mercy Thompson to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not. And she'll have to choose between the two werewolves in her life-whether she wants to or not.

The second book I read of 2008 was the latest book by Patricia Briggs. The third book in the Mercedes Thompson series, it was a book that I just had to have and I could not wait to read! In each book, Mercy is the main character, but the book revolves around a different paranormal group each time. This book centred on the Fae community. It makes for an interesting series because we continue to learn more about Mercy and her friends; but we also learn more about the different paranormal groups that may have had characters present in the previous books, but were not centred around. I have always been interested in the Fae community. Before paranormal books were the big industry that they are now, I was a big fan of this particular sub-group. So, now that this sort of literature is very popular, it is nice to see some of the lesser groups being explored.

I love this series, I think I might have mentioned before. The second book was a favourite read of last year and the first book was a favourite read of the year before, so we all know that this book will likely end up on the year end list. I just love Mercedes Thompson's character! She can annoy me, do not get me wrong, but Briggs has created a character that really interests me. I read other paranormal authors and the books do not always have characters that I have any sort of feelings about, but Mercy I do. I genuinely cannot wait until book four to see what happens next, and I will be very sad when this series reaches the end!

Mercy is a favourite stubborn person. This is a characteristic that really plays out in this book. The person that she is out to save, the fae that sold her the garage she is currently running, is in danger, but he does not want her help. She puts herself on the line for him, though, and it makes for an intriguing read. Bad things happen in this book, but good things come out of the bad. The love triangle that is a theme in the previous two books also makes an appearance in this one, so people will want to read it to see just what guy trouble Mercy gets herself into in this book! I was not really surprised, but others might be.

Anyways, the best way to sum this review up is by saying that Patricia Brigg's series is hands down the best series I have read in a while. Of the paranormal nature, anyways. I also love Kelley Armstrong and Colleen Gleason. Those are my top three. With those authors writing, I do not even need to attempt anymore paranormal authors (although, I will, of course), so you know I am in love! In February, I get to read Gleason's new book, I have several books to go to get caught up in Armstrong's series, and Briggs has a new book out in a new series later this year, so I am pretty set for a while.

I strongly recommend Patricia Briggs if you are looking for a new paranormal author to enjoy!

The Princes of the Golden Cage by Nathalie Mallet

2008-01-02T22:02:00.000-06:00

Prince Amir lives in a lavish and beautiful cage. He lives in a palace with hundreds of his brothers, all barred by law from ever leaving the palace until he, or one of his brothers, becomes the next Sultan. Living under constant threat of death at the hands of his scheming brothers, Amir has chosen a life of solitude and study. His scholarly and alchemical pursuits bring him under suspicion when his brothers begin to die from seemingly supernatural means. Amir finds himself thrown together with his brother Erik, the son of a barbarian princess. Together they must discover the dark secret that is stalking the halls of their golden cage.

This was my first read for 2008. One of the books that I had wanted to read in 2007, I just never found the time for it, so I am happy to start off the year with such a promising talent. The Princes of the Golden Cage was Nathalie Mallet's debut novel, and it was wonderfully written. It is an interesting mesh of fantasy, history, and the modern world that works very well for the novel. While there are supernatural elements to this novel, it could easily be historical fiction. At the core, it is a novel about a young man who, while born to noble blood, is a prisioner. All of his brothers are held in golden cages until their father dies and an heir ascends the throne as the next sultan. There is sword-play, a harem, a sultan who is allowed to take multiple wives, lots of off-spring, and a battle to be the one that is chosen as heir. When you look at it like that, it can almost be something occurred historically.

Amir, the main character, is a bit of a skeptic. When his brothers begin dying by unnatural means, it takes a great deal for him to believe that it might be supernatural. He has no desire to have the throne for himself, so he keeps a low profile so that his other brothers do not look upon him as a threat. He looks after his two 'sick' brothers, but otherwise leads a very solitary existence. Then, he meets Erik. Erik has kept a low profile as well, and until the killings begin and he shows himself to Amir, he was lost in the cages with very few people being aware of who he was. Amir is very untrusting and believes that Erik is a bit too trusting, so it makes for an interesting friendship. They are brothers, but as different as night and day. They really off-set each other in the novel.

I would not say that the book dragged, but it did have a bit of a slow beginning, so I was very surprised when I hit the last hundred pages and found that I was too engrossed in the book to put it down. Other novels that I read have much more action in them, but there was something compelling about this story. There was an air of mystery to it, and I found that I wanted to get to the end to see how it was all going to play out. Some of the surprises I had figured out, but other things that happened at the end surprised me. There were also a few moments where the author almost tricked me into thinking my assumptions were false, before verifying them as the truth. I like that about a novel, as I tend to at least have an idea where a novel is going.

While this book follows mostly male characters, it does have very intriguing women in supporting roles. To be anything else would not have worked for the overall idea of the novel, so it worked well. I think the sequel could very well have the female characters develop more, so I will be interested to see where the story goes next. I was not even aware this was the first book to anything until I got near the end, the book says nothing about being a series or anything, so that was a nice surprise. In the summer, I will be able to see what is going to happen next. I have already added it to my wish list.

I recommend this novel. This also completes book one for the Themed Reading Challenge, as the author is from Canada. I also want to thank Remy for sending me this book! Fatherhood has taken him away from blogland a lot lately, but she is so cute, so who can blame him!

Playing Catch-Up

2007-12-26T02:11:00.000-06:00

There will be a few posts covering several books in each post for the next little bit as I try and catch up on all the reviews I did not complete this year!

Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede
Book One in the Cecy and Kate Series

A great deal is happening in London and the country this season.

For starters, there's the witch who tried to poison Kate at the Royal College of Wizards. There's also the man who seems to be spying on Cecelia. (Though he's not doing a very good job of it--so just what are his intentions?) And then there's Oliver. Ever since he was turned into a tree, he hasn't bothered to tell anyone where he is.

Clearly, magic is a deadly and dangerous business. And the girls might be in fear for their lives . . . if only they weren't having so much fun!

I had this book on my wish list for quite some time. I usually really like books that are told in diary or letter format, provided I am a bit picky with what I choose. Lots of people said that this was a good book, and it received great reviews on Amazon, but I just did not like it. I could not get involved with the characters and I actually found them annoying at times. The story did not capture me in at all. It was torture to finish this book. I am not sure if maybe it was my mood at the time, or I just am not a fan of this series. It made me sad, though, because it was a book I had looked forward to reading, and it just left me disappointed.

Mirror Universe: Glass Empires by David Mack, Greg Cox, Mike Sussman, and Dayton Ward

There are moments glimpsed only in shadow, where darkness rules and evil incarnate thrives. You hope against hope that in your lifetime, evil is relegated to the shadows. But what if it wasn't?
What if you lived in a universe where your life was measured only by what you could do for the Empire? What would you do to survive? Would you sell your soul to free yourself? If you were offered the chance to rule, would you seize it? If you could free your universe from the darkness but only at the cost of your life, would you pay that price?

Star Trek: Enterprise® She seized power in a heartbeat, daring to place herself against all the overlords of the Empire. Empress Hoshi Sato knows the future that could be; now all she has to do is make sure it never happens. For her to rule, she must hold sway not only over the starship from the future but also over her warlords, the resistance, and her Andorian husband. As quickly and brutally as Hoshi seized power, imperial rule is taken from her. Her only chance to rule again is to ally herself with a lifelong foe, and an alien.

Star Trek® One man can change the future, but does he dare? Spock, intrigued by the vision of another universe's Federation, does what no Vulcan, no emperor, has ever done: seize power in one blinding stroke of mass murder. And at the same instant he gains imperial power, Spock sows the seeds for the Empire's downfall. Is this a form of Vulcan madness, or is it the coolly logical plan of a man who knows the price his universe must pay for its freedom?

Star Trek: The Next Generation® Humanity is a pitiful collection of enslaved, indentured, and abused peoples. No one dares to question the order, except at peril of their lives. One man survives by blinding himself to the misery around him. However, Jean-Luc Picard resists, just once. And in that one instant he unlocks a horror beyond the tyranny of the Alliance. Can a man so beaten down by a lifetime of oppression stop the destruction?

When I decided that it was time I restarted buying Star Trek books, this is one of the first that I picked up. I am not a big fan of short story collections. I read them from time to time, but they are not my favourite thing in the world. That may have affected my response to this book, because while I liked it, I did not love it. One of the minor problems is that I was never a big fan of either The Original Series or Enterprise, so to read books set in those worlds left me trying to remember who was who. I really like books set in the Mirror Universe, though. Those were always some of my favourite episodes because they take everything you know and play around with it. It sorts of makes you wonder if there is a Mirror Universe really and someone sort of like you is leading a very different life. It is interesting to think about. I look forward to reading the next book in the New Year.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Winer of the Hugo and Nebula AwardsIn order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut-young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister. Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

It was probably not the best timing when I read this book. I had started it right before Sandy got really sick, so I was finishing it up right around the time she died. This is when my really good reading year sort of slowed down, and I even almost lost interest in reading in the first place. The period in which I read this book does not leave a great impression behind, though. I think it will always be the period that I read it in more than the book that will stick with me. That being said, I was not a huge fan of this book. I have to be frank, I have been noticing a pattern this year. I am just not a big fan of books narrated by children. Sometimes they work for me, but many of the books that I really did not like this year, that was why. Does that mean this was a bad book? Nope. I still intend to read more from Card in the New Year. Will I be able to reread this book in the future and get a different impression of it is anyones guess, but for right now, this book did not capture me like it did so many others.

Un Lun Dun by China Mieville

2007-12-11T11:26:00.000-06:00

What is Un Lun Dun?

It is London through the looking glass, an urban Wonderland of strange delights where all the lost and broken things of London end up . . . and some of its lost and broken people, too–including Brokkenbroll, boss of the broken umbrellas; Obaday Fing, a tailor whose head is an enormous pin-cushion, and an empty milk carton called Curdle. Un Lun Dun is a place where words are alive, a jungle lurks behind the door of an ordinary house, carnivorous giraffes stalk the streets, and a dark cloud dreams of burning the world. It is a city awaiting its hero, whose coming was prophesied long ago, set down for all time in the pages of a talking book.

When twelve-year-old Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret entrance leading out of London and into this strange city, it seems that the ancient prophecy is coming true at last. But then things begin to go shockingly wrong.

China Mieville has been a fantasy/science fiction author that I have been interested in for quite some time, but this was my first attempt to read him. I liked the cover for this book, and the illustrations were very appealing for the simplistic nature. They added to the story. I received this book when it first came out, but when I tried it the first time it did not interest me. I put it aside for a few months to go back to when the mood was right. When I reattempted a couple months ago, I found that it was actually a fun book.

Un Lun Dun is sort of like the mirror universe to London. When people in London try to get rid of things, Un Lun Dun is where they go. They are in trouble, though, and they are waiting for their saviour to come and make things right. They have a book that has outlined everything that will happen when their saviour arrives, but when Deeba and Zanna find their way over there and appear to be the prophecy coming true, the citizens of Un Lun Dun soon learn that things do not always go the way they are supposed to. These are their adventures to save Un Lun Dun from those that wish to bring about its destruction.

This book is a magical adventure for young readers everywhere. It has its awkward moments where I found that I just wanted to skip ahead, but overall it was an enjoyable read. I think it was a promising first look at China Mieville, and I look forward to reading more from him in the future. The paperback is coming out in January, so it is just in time to purchase it with your Christmas money. I recommend this book for a fun read with illustrations.

To read more about it, head over to Random House, where it is published.

The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden by Catherynne Valente

2007-11-18T12:27:00.000-06:00

A Book of Wonders for Grown-Up Readers

Every once in a great while a book comes along that reminds us of the magic spell that stories can cast over us–to dazzle, entertain, and enlighten. Welcome to the Arabian Nights for our time–a lush and fantastical epic guaranteed to spirit you away from the very first page….

Secreted away in a garden, a lonely girl spins stories to warm a curious prince: peculiar feats and unspeakable fates that loop through each other and back again to meet in the tapestry of her voice. Inked on her eyelids, each twisting, tattooed tale is a piece in the puzzle of the girl’s own hidden history. And what tales she tells! Tales of shape-shifting witches and wild horsewomen, heron kings and beast princesses, snake gods, dog monks, and living stars–each story more strange and fantastic than the one that came before. From ill-tempered “mermaid” to fastidious Beast, nothing is ever quite what it seems in these ever-shifting tales–even, and especially, their teller. Adorned with illustrations by the legendary Michael Kaluta, Valente’s enchanting lyrical fantasy offers a breathtaking reinvention of the untold myths and dark fairy tales that shape our dreams. And just when you think you’ve come to the end, you realize the adventure has only begun….

I was drawn to this book from the first time I saw it. It has a wonderful cover that you cannot help paying attention to. They say not to judge a book by the cover, but sometimes covers are so eye-appealing you want the book just so it can grace your shelf and add some colour. Couple that with the fact that the recycled paper look gives the book a bit more of an older feel, it makes for a wonderful first impression of an author that I have never read before. So, of course, now the true test is whether the book is a decent read or not.

On to the premise. When I read the back of the book I was interested simply by the fact that they are marketing it as "A Book of Wonders for Grown-Up Readers". I am quite fond of novels of the fairy tale variety, so I was interested to see what this book had in store for me. Normally to read a really good fairy tale novel, I tend to have to read young adult books, but this one was marketed for an older audience. And, the style that it was written in is perfect for the type of novel it is. Fairy tales got there beginning as oral tales, with someone remembering all the stories and either passing them on through the family or traveling around and telling tales at towns. It was not until people like the Grimm Brothers that fairy tales were transformed from oral tales to written ones. This novel is written, of course, but one of the main characters is telling the stories to a young prince. Her tales are not written down in a conventional manner, but she was born to know them.

This is the story of a lonely girl who has found herself on the outskirts of civilization. People fear her and generally avoid her, so she spends her childhood being raised by nature in the garden. It is a young boy that befriends her. He believes that since he is a prince he needs to prove his bravery, so he seeks her out. His family is not supportive of his sneaking away, and his sister will do most anything to see him not be able to slip from her sight. He is addicted to the stories, though, and finds many ways to have them continue. She transports him, and thus the reader, to amazing worlds of fantastic creatures and wonderful adventures. It is really two novels in one, so you get the chance to read two novels for the price of one. The best thing about the second book is when pieces left unfinished in the first story found their way into the second.

I loved this book! Catherynne is a fantastic world creator and I cannot wait to read the next book! I ordered it today, actually, as it came out on October 30th. If anyone is looking for a book for Carl's Once Upon a Time challenge next year, I recommend this one!

To learn more about this book head on over to Random House.

Some Time With Shannon Hale

2007-10-30T10:15:00.000-05:00

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

When Dashti, a maid, and Lady Saren, her mistress, are shut in a tower for seven years for Saren’s refusal to marry a man she despises, the two prepare for a very long and dark imprisonment.

As food runs low and the days go from broiling hot to freezing cold, it is all Dashti can do to keep them fed and comfortable. But the arrival outside the tower of Saren’s two suitors—one welcome, and the other decidedly less so—brings both hope and great danger, and Dashti must make the desperate choices of a girl whose life is worth more than she knows.

With Shannon Hale’s lyrical language, this forgotten but classic fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm is reimagined and reset on the central Asian steppes; it is a completely unique retelling filled with adventure and romance, drama and disguise.

I read this book before it was even out in many places. Shannon Hale has quickly became one of my favourite young adult novelists. This book worried me at first. It had a bit of a slow start, so I was not even sure if I was going to like it. One of the saving graces was that it did not only take place while they were locked up in a tower. That might be okay for a fairy tale, but for a novel that would be a bit boring! The novel is told in diary-format from Dashti's point of view. Sometimes Dashti annoyed me, I think a lot of it was because she sort of did the predictable things. She was also a bit of a faithful servant at times, she was so loyal that at times she was just plain annoying. Overall, though, I was quite fond of this book by the end. Shannon Hale can tell a decent story. Romance, adventure, royalty, and other elements that make for an interesting fairy tale story.

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king's priests have divined her small village the home of the future princess. In a year's time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from among the girls of the village. The king's ministers set up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a princess.

Miri soon finds herself confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting desires to be chosen and win the heart of her childhood best friend. But when bandits seek out the academy to kidnap the future princess, Miri must rally the girls together and use a power unique to the mountain dwellers to save herself and her classmates.

After reading Hale's new novel, I decided it was about time to read her Newbery-award winning book. I have to say, it was another good read! This one was a bit more interesting than The Book of a Thousand Days because it had more going on in it. Hale seems to enjoy the romance elements in her books, though, they almost always play a part. I suppose romance is a fairy tale ending, but that does not mean that it is had to be included. Even if the romance does not always work out, Hale always finds a way to work the element into the novel.

This novel was about Miri and her mountain friends. They had grown up in a secluded area of the kingdom, and were not very well aware of royalty. When the priests predict that the princes new wife will come from this mountainous area, the girls are sent to a Princess Academy to become the women that the prince would be fond of. During the course of the novel, Miri grows as a person. This also happens with Dashi, Hale is very good at writing novels with strong female characters that may not always be aware that the strength is there, but they grow into it. It makes for interesting reading!

Overall, I recommend both of these novels. I just have to readRiver Secrets, and then I will be all caught up in my young adult reading.

A Contest!

2007-10-26T17:33:00.001-05:00

On my regular blog, The Written World, I am hosting a contest. All the details are found below:

Since the release of her first novel, I have been a huge supporter of author Colleen Gleason. Earlier this month I was brain-storming something new to do on my blog since October was such a horrible reading month and I have been too busy to do a great deal of blogging. October is generally my favourite month of the year, so it seemed fitting even if I had read a lot to do something special. So, I propose a contest. I hope it will be a fun idea and lots of people join in. Now, for the run down.

Running Dates: October 25th-November 15th, 2007

The Name of the Game is Fan Fiction, Art, or Photography

The Details: The object is to write fan fiction, draw a picture, or take a photograph relating to Colleen's two in print novels and her forth-coming one.

The idea is to rewrite a scene that you did not like, add a scene that you wish had been there, or write a scene that you wish will be included in The Bleeding Dusk. And, those are just three ideas, as long as you keep the three novels in mind, you can come up with your own ideas. If you are not up to writing, you can also do something photography or drawing related. The only thing I will be strict about is effort. I am not expecting perfection, and I won't give you word limits or anything like that, but I just want the work to clearly show that you have taken a bit of time for the activity. Any questions, just ask in the comments.

The Prize: A $25 dollar gift certificate to Amazon and a signed copy of The Bleeding Dusk. It will not be an Advanced Reading Copy, it will be an early copy in about January. And, Colleen is also throwing in a Vis Bulla t-shirt. I have one of the other styles, I might have to get one of the new ones now... They are very decently priced!

I hope that people join in! I plan to post all the submissions on my blog, not just the winner. Please don't post your entry in the comments, email it to me at twisted_kingdom_blog AT hotmail DOT com. The most important thing is to have fun and be creative!

A Fun Contest for a Timeless Movie

2007-10-09T16:08:00.000-05:00

I am so excited, a rerelease of The Princess Bride! William Goldman's novel is one of few books I have actually planned to reread and actually did so! And the movie is one of my favourite movies of all time. As I have been seeing mentions of the book and movie around the blogosphere, I have wanted to either reread or rewatch the movie, but I have not had a chance to yet. I am lucky I have found the time to write this post. So, why am I posting? To talk about a very interesting contest!

In conjunction with the 20 th anniversary of The Princess Bride , MGM Home Entertainment is launched the “Ode To Princess Bride” Sweepstakes, an online contest that provides an “editor's tool kit” with video, audio and music from the film and allows fans to create their own “Ode to The Princess Bride” video trailer. The contest winners will be selected by Norman Lear and Rob Reiner. One grand prize winner will receive a state-of-the-art Panasonic Home Theater package and The Princess Bride script autographed by Rob Reiner and Norman Lear. For more information, please visit www.ThePrincessBride.com .

Cool, huh? I am lucky I have time to myself at all lately, but if I did I would be entering for sure! Since I do not, everyone out there should join in! The prize is nice, wouldn't you say? Good luck to anyone that joins in!

Check out the DVD special features:

• NEW True Love and High Adventure: The Official Princess Bride DVD Video Game

• NEW Princess Bride: The Untold Tales Featurette

• NEW The Art of Fencing Featurette

• NEW Fairytales and Folklore Featurette

So, even if you are like me and do not have time for the contest, still remember to pick up your copy of the movie on November 13th!

Review: Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik

2007-09-26T07:05:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone,

I'm sorry to have been such a bad blogger and that Kailana had to maintain this blog by herself. However, I don't know how often I'll be contributing to this blog in the future. It's not that I've lost interest in blogging or reading... simply, the books I read are more geared towards romance, even with a lot of paranormal elements, than fantasy or sci-fi and so, I think that reviewing those books here is just the wrong place. However, the book I'm going to review today is pure fantasy :D

Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik
published by Del Rey in September 2007

Tragedy has struck His Majesty's Aerial Corps, whose magnificent fleet of fighting dragons and their human captains valiantly defend England's shores against the encroaching armies of Napoleon Bonaparte. An epidemic of unknown origin and no known cure is decimating the noble dragons' ranks-forcing the hopelessly stricken into quarantine. Now only Temeraire and a pack of newly recruited dragons remain uninfected-and stand as the only means of an airborne defense against France's ever bolder sorties.Bonaparte's dragons are already harrowing Britain's ships at sea. Only one recourse remains: Temeraire and his captain, Will Laurence, must take wing to Africa, whose shores may hold the cure to the mysterious and deadly contagion. On this mission there is no time to waste, and no telling what lies in store beyond the horizon or for those left behind to wait, hope, and hold the line.

Genre: fantasy, dragons

Series: Temeraire, Book #4

Empire of Ivory picks up where Black War Powder left off. Temeraire and Laurence, along with the crew, the ferals dragons and so on, come back to England, to find that most of the dragons of the Corps are sick... they suffer from a sort of consumption and so far, none of the dragons afflicted have survived. Later, they found out that the cold Temeraire got during Throne of Jade is actually the consumption that the other dragons are suffering and as a result, Temeraire along with all the sick dragons of his formation are heading to Africa to find a cure.

I have to say that I've been waiting this book with a lot of anxiety. If any of you have read the excerpt of Empire of Ivory at the end of Black War Powder, you'll know that many dragons have died and I was very, very worried for Lily, Maximus and Volly. I almost didn't read the book when I got it, because I was so worried... however, I'm glad that I did read it, because once again, Ms. Novik has delivered. Empire of Ivory was a great read, a great continuation to the story... and a lot happened. The whole book focused less on war and more on the English Corps. In addition, Temeraire is back with his formation and I think that's why I enjoyed this book more than Throne of Jade and Black War Powder. I miss the camaraderie between Temeraire, Lily and Maximus and their Captains. In Throne of Jade and Black War Powder, many new characters were introduced, but there wasn't much friendship or interaction between them and Temeraire/Laurence. They were necessary for the story to advance.

Also, Temeraire is a bit less "political" in this book. He still wants a better life for the dragons, but it isn't all he talks about and that was a great relief for me. I understand what Temeraire wants and demands, but it's tedious to read about ^^;

One thing that I really liked about this book, is that we got to see a bit more of the relationship between the Captains and their dragons. We all know that the relationship between the dragons and their Captains is important; however, to see how the Captains suffered for their sick dragons, it was touching and it emphasized the special bond even more. Also, it's sad how people outside the Corps do not understand this attachment. They do not understand that the dragons are more than an animal... They can communicate with you their thoughts, their feelings and so on. They're not ships or horses... Another thing that I enjoyed was the display of the dragons' intellectual capacities. It's been said in previous books that dragons learn to speak in their eggshell and acquiring new languages is hard (except for Temeraire). In addition, when they have to learn about the signal flags, it has to be right after they hatched if not, it's too late and they have difficulties. In this book, the dragons get engrossed in mathematics and theories and so on. I thought it was nice and interesting.

Finally, even though it focused less on war, I think this book contained a lot of development for the future. There was more time for Ms. Novik to focus on the characters and their growth... there are few surprises and twists that I didn't expect.

For those who thinks that the ending is a cliff-hanger, it is. However, remember that Ms. Novik is contract to book#6 of this series... if you do the maths, well we're only at book #4 right? Also, remember the promise Temeraire, Lily and Maximus made to each other in His Majesty's Dragon? Wonder if they'll keep it :D

Grade: 4.5/5

Fans of the series, you won't be disappointed.

Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong

2007-09-21T22:31:00.000-05:00

I have been a bit busy with my life and not really posting reviews, although I have been better the last few days, so to give this blog a bit of activity, one of my fellow Historical Tapestry bloggers offered to guest blog. Here is her review.

When Paige Winterbourne is ousted as leader of the American coven of Witches, all she wants to do is hide under her duvet for a few months. But fate, of course, has other plans. A murderer is on the loose – someone with Superhuman skills and a grudge against the supernatural community. When Paige learns that the killer is targeting children, she has to get involved.

Desperate to protect those she loves, Paige is thrown into a world of arrogant sorcerers, drunken necromancers, sulky druid gods and pretentious leather – clad vampires. Not to mention an apparently unstoppable supernatural psychopath hell – bent on revenge.

This is the fourth in the series and the second featuring Paige as the main character and I think this is the best one so far. I feel like all the characters are growing up and are less annoying, even Elena the female werewolf who was the main character in the first two books. I was going to stop reading after the first two books because Elena really annoyed me but I’m glad I changed my mind.

This story focuses on Paige and her new boyfriend Lucas Cortez, who father is the CEO of the biggest supernatural organisation but Lucas doesn’t like the way his father does things so he works against the organisation by protecting and acting as the lawyer for many innocent supernatural people. But while Lucas is away his father comes to see Paige and from there they both find themselves dragged into a case they could end up killing them. Paige and Lucas criss- cross the country trying to find the killer and following any leads that come up. In the end it takes a necromancer, vampires, werewolves, sorcerers and witches working together to bring the killer in.

The only problem I found with this story is there wasn’t enough Savannah and I really like her I think that she is a much better character then Paige but that isn’t to say I don’t like Paige I do I just want more Savannah.

I can’t wait to read Haunted.

Emailing

2007-09-19T22:01:00.001-05:00

I keep forgetting to check the email for this blog, I'm a slacker, I know, so if you want a reply please email kiwi_shelf AT hotmail DOT com. The other email is like spam city, too, so we will go with this method for a bit.

And, yes, I do plan an actual update sometime in this century. :)

Sci-Fi Recommendations

2007-09-13T15:22:00.000-05:00

Since I am not really in a reviewing mood lately, I thought that I would share a list of sci-fi books that looked interesting. Angela did them for her Thursday Thirteen, to see the list click here.

Some of them I have heard before and was planning to buy anyways, but others I am being introduced to for the first time. She also provides links to excerpts to see if they interest you. Hopefully I will get back to reviewing soon, I have a lot of great books to talk about!

Commenting

2007-09-10T09:52:00.001-05:00

I had to turn word verification on, I was browsing some older posts and I noticed that we had a major spamming problem! I have been deleting them as I see them. Is there a way to turn comments off to older posts without turning them off to newer, does anyone know? I get an email notification now, so I can catch it easily, but we didn't have it for a while, so there are probably lots of messes for me to clean up. If you are browsing older posts and see any spam, just comment if you would, and then it will be brought to my attention. Otherwise, I will spam clean when I have the time to.

Into the Void, The Two-Front War, and Endgame by Peter David

2007-09-08T16:23:00.000-05:00

Completion Date: August, 2007
Publication Year: 1997
Books Two, Three, and Four in Peter David's Star Trek: The New Frontier Series. (Review for Book 1)

Reason for Reading: I really liked House of Cards, so I decided that it was a good idea to see what else this band of crewmates got themselves into. I really wish that they had made this into a television show and left Star Trek: Enterprise alone, but unfortunately this will likely never be a television series. It's too bad, this is a very entertaining cast of characters.

Sector 221-G: For the whole of Federation history, this large area of space has been controlled by the Thallonians, a cruel, militaristic race of which little is knownexcept that they rule the other races in their sector with vicious iron hand.

Now the Thallonian Empire has collapsed and the systems it once ruled are in chaos. Old hatreds are surfacing. Petty tyrants control deadly weapons. World after world is descending into disorder and self-destruction. The Federation must send a starship to help where it can and report what it finds.

That ship is the U.S.S. Excalibur, a newly refit Ambassador-class starship commanded by Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and manned by Starfleet's best and brightest, including some old friends from Star Trek: The Next Generation and some of the most dynamic new characters ever to crew a Federation starship.
Join Captain Calhoun and the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur as they explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations, and boldly go where no one has gone before!

Reading these three books and the one that comes before it almost makes you think that this was supposed to be the series, and then it got popular so they made more. These four books all talk about the same time and show the progression of events all within a short period of time. This is Starfleet's band of misfits, they are all capable of doing their jobs, but their lives have been hard and has made it so they go about things in a way that might not be the regular way.

My only beef with this series is who they chose as the first officier, Commander Shelby. She guest-starred on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation once and she rather annoys me. I think that is the point, but it does not mean that I was thrilled to see her playing a starring role. It works, though, Captain Calhoun is not your textbook Star Fleet Captain, and his wild ways play off nicely to Shelby's stick-in-the-mud mannerisms, but she still annoys me. She probably always will annoy me. Their fights are pretty funny, though, so maybe she will loosen up a bit during the course of this series.

There are a few characters in these books that I would like to see on television. The chief engineer is quite the interesting character, I can see hints of Scotty in many ways. The chief security officer reminds me a bit of Worf of all the security officers on the shows. Then, there is the vulcan doctor who is quite different than any doctor we have seen before. If like anyone I would say the early episodes with the Doctor on Voyager. Throw in a navigational officer who is thinking so fast he can look asleep and still function and a half vulcan/half romulan comm officer, and we have an interesting time ahead of us.

To sum up these three books, there is a lot of action, the captain finds himself in the middle of his mission with people after him on all sides, and he does not exactly go by the book to correct the situation. All in all, it is an entertaining series that I look foward to reading more from. I own the next four books, so I will likely read them soon, but then I have to find the rest of the books in the series.

The Farther Shore by Christie Golden

2007-09-04T06:28:00.000-05:00

Completion Date: August 2007
Pages: 275
Publication Year: 2003
A Book in the Star Trek: Voyager series, sequel to Homecoming

When an unstoppable Borg plague breaks out upon Earth, blame quickly falls on the newly returned crew of the Starship Voyage ™. Did Kathryn Janeway and the others unknowingly carry this insidious infection back with them? Many in Starfleet think so, and Seven of Nine, in particular, falls under a cloud of suspicion.
Now, with a little help from the Starship Enterprise ™, Admiral Janeway must reunite her crew in a desperate, last-ditch attempt to discover the true source of the contagion and save Earth itself from total assimilation into a voracious new Borg Collective.

But time is running out.
Has Voyager come home only to witness humanity's end?

This book continues the duology about Voyager's return to the Alpha Quadrant. Once again, a very short book, but I for the most part like how they decided to tie up Voyager's loose ends. It is too bad that for some reason Voyager is hardly novelized after the show went off the air: there are only two more books that even talk about life after they were lost for seven years.

So, briefly, what happens when they get back is Torres goes on a journey to find herself and repair bridges from her past. It makes references to an episode of Voyager I had never seen before at the time of reading, but I watched a rerun of it last week, so now I understand what happened. If you have not seen the episode, it is called something like The Barge of the Dead, then that is okay. The book explains the important parts so that you know what is going on. Meanwhile, Tom Paris is home with their newborn baby trying to get used to being a father. Torres thinks that he is home hanging out in his apartment with his friends, but really he is caught up in the middle of what is looking like a Borg plague. Since Voyager has just returned with two Borg aboard, they are blamed for the spread of the disease and their two Borg crewmates are imprisioned.

This book also discusses holographic images rights. The Doctor on Voyager has developed outside of his program to be a working and functioning being who thinks for himself. A human currently residing on earth decides to take advantage of his return to have a holographic rebellion, which the Doctor gets blamed for and taken into custody. Janeway is a new admiral who is not ready to give up the 'big chair' and will do everything for the safety of the crew she has finally managed to return home. All in all, this was a good read. I will read the other duology soon, then I have one trilogy that came out recently to read, and then after that there is no more.

Homecoming by Christie Golden

2007-08-24T08:50:00.000-05:00

Completion Date: August 23, 2007
Pages: 262
Publication Year: 2003
A Book in the Star Trek: Voyager series

Reason for Reading: I always thought they should have done a movie or something to show what it was like when Voyager got home, but they never did, so I decided I had to read this book and its sequel to see what it was like for the crew.

After seven long years in the Delta Quadrant, the crew of the Starship Voyager™ now confront the strangest world of all: home. For Admiral Kathryn Janeway and her stalwart officers, Voyager's miraculous return brings new honors and responsibilities, reunions with long-lost loved ones, and for some, such as the Doctor and Seven of Nine, the challenge of forging new lives in a Federation that seems to hold little place for them.
But even as Janeway and the others go their separate ways, pursuing new adventures and opportunities, a mysterious cybernetic plague strikes Earth, transforming innocent men, women, and children into an entirely new generation of Borg. Now the entire planet faces assimilation, and Voyager may be to blame!

I put off this book for one main reason, it and its sequel are essencially one book broken into two. That really annoys me about books, and I was hoping that they would put them together for a later release, but I do not think Voyager gets the sort of market that say Star Trek: The Original Series or Star Trek: The Next Generation receives. There actually has not been a Star Trek: Voyager book in a couple years, unlike the other series. Anyways, I am not a big fan of books being made two books when they are really just one. I know that Star Trek books are generally short, but loyal fans will not mind.

So, this book fills the readers in on what life was like when Voyager returned to the Alpha Quadrant. It takes up almost exactly after the last words spoken on the series finale of the show and takes readers through a period of time spent on Earth. It shows the development of relationships, reunions with family members, adjusting to life on Earth for those that have not been, and much more. Just in case readers thing the book is rather, well, boring, by the usual adventure story idea, there are a few more things for the Voyager crew to team up and fix during the course of the book.

All in all, for me, this book was good because it cured some of my curiousity following the competion of the series. There are better Star Trek books, but for what this book was for it was sufficiant.

Death in Winter by Michael Jan Friedman

2007-08-20T20:10:00.000-05:00

Date Completed: August 19, 2007
Pages: 368
Year Published: 2007
A book in the Star Trek: The Next Generation series

Reason for Reading: I was hesitant to read 'new' Star Trek books because the crew had all gone their own ways, so the crew of the Enterprise is much different than it was for years. I finally decided to give the books a try, though, and see what happened after the cameras finished rolling.

Long before Captain Jean-Luc Picard took command of the Starship Enterprise,™ he fell deeply and hopelessly in love with Doctor Beverly Crusher. Picard never acted on his feelings, yet he found a measure of contentment as Beverly's close friend, colleague, and daily breakfast partner.
When Doctor Crusher leaves to become the chief medical officer of Starfleet, the brightest light in Picard's life is taken from him. He has barely resigned himself to his loss when he learns that Beverly has been declared missing in action -- and presumed dead.
Kevratas is a bleak, frozen world on the far side of the Romulan Neutral Zone where the Federation has become the plague-ravaged natives' only real hope. Starfleet has no recourse but to send in another team -- and Picard is the natural choice. Critical to the mission are two colleagues from his former command, the Starship Stargazer: Pug Joseph and Doctor Carter Greyhorse. Joseph is a man with a past to live down, and Greyhorse has served time for attempted murder. They are determined to succeed where the doctor failed.
On the Romulan homeworld, meanwhile, the political vacuum created by the demise of Praetor Shinzon has been filled by Senator Tal'aura. But there are those who oppose her, including Commander Donatra and the warbirds under her command.
So begins a desperate struggle -- not only for the freedom of the long-oppressed Kevrata but also for the soul of the Romulan Star Empire. Before it's over, destinies will be forged and shattered, the Empire will be shaken to its ancient foundations, and Jean-Luc Picard's life will be changed...forever.

It is save to say that I have been 'watching' Star Trek since The Next Generation aired 20 years ago. I was only 3, but my father watched it and I was there, so I remember it from a pretty early age. When I was older I watched it with older eyes, and by now I have seen every episode several times a piece. So, it is also save to say that there are certain storylines that I have been waiting since episode one to see concluded. One of those storylines was cleared up in Death in Winter. I am super happy, but since I think it is a huge spoiler, I will leave it for your reading pleasure.

So, this book takes place after Star Trek: Nemesis. Data has died, Deanna and Will are off on their honeymoon, LaForge and Worf are still serving on the Enterprise, Picard is waiting for his ship to be repaired, and Crusher is serving as the head of Star Fleet Medical. There have been a lot of changes to the senior crew, so it was interesting to see where the show was going if they ever made another movie. I keep hoping that Data will reappear and that he is not dead, but unfortunately no appearance from him.

Anyways, this book mostly concentrates on Captain Picard. There is a disease sweeping through an alien race and Doctor Crusher has been sent to find a cure. The species are in Romulan space, though, which causes some troubles for the mission and the next thing Captain Picard knows he is hearing that Beverly is missing in action. He does not know if she is alive or dead, but because her mission was so important to the salvation of a race, Picard is sent in with another doctor to try and save them. He is accompanied by members of his crew from his Stargazer days. He has to put aside his fears that Beverly is likely dead and be a species saviour.

If you like Star Trek: The Next Generation you should read this book.

All Good Things... by Michael Jan Friedman

2007-08-19T12:46:00.000-05:00

Completion Date: August 17, 2007
Publication Year: 1994
Pages: 248
Part of Star Trek: The Next Generation series

Reason for Reading: This is a novelization of the very last episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was a wonderful way to end the series, and has always been one of my favourite episodes of all time, so when I saw a hardcover edition with pictures from the show in the middle, I decided to pick it up.

Seven years ago, Captain Jean-Luc Picard first faced the judgment of the Q Continuum -- a race of beings with God-like powers over time and space who presumed to gauge humanity's fitness to exist in the galaxy. Seven years ago they suspended judgment, but now a decision has been reached: The human race will be eliminated, not only in the present, but throughout time. Humanity will never have existed at all.
The only chance to save mankind lies with Captain Picard. An old enemy has granted him the power to revisit his life as it was seven years before, and to experience his life twenty-five years in the future. With the help of friendships that span time and space, Picard struggles to defeat the plans of the Q Continuum. But even as he fights to save the human race from total extinction, he has been set up to be the unwitting agent of mankind's destruction.
In an effort to save humanity, Picard must sacrifice himself and all those he commands and if their sacrifice fails all mankind is doomed.

There are so many episodes of Star Trek that I have watched and enjoyed over the years. When this episode aired in the early 90's it meant that Star Trek: The Next Generation was going off the air forever. It was a sad day because you know, I am a big X-Files fan as well, but other than those two shows, as well as Star Trek:Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, I have never found a show that I have to watch. Instead, most of my television viewing is reruns of these shows. My solution? Bring another Star Trek on television that is not Enterprise. I was never able to get into that show.

One of the good things about reading the book versions of episodes is that there are scenes in the books that got cut out of the television version. It was interesting to read those scenes in this novel. What really seemed to get cut out were the cameos. For example, Deanna's mother and Doctor Pulaski have a scene in this book, but they were not in the television show. Doctor Pulaski was the doctor on the show for one season, the second when where Doctor Crusher went off to be the head of Star Fleet Medical. What really happened was that the writers did not know what to do with their female characters, or so I have read, and so they killed off Tasha Yar, gave Deanna Troi less screen time, and sent Beverly off to Star Fleet Medical. I am glad they brought her back, and the actress that played Tasha Yar even returned, but she played her daughter. I wonder what the show would have been like if Tasha had not been killed off. Until Star Trek: Nemesis, she was the only leading star to be killed off of the show. (Then they killed Data. I still have issues with that.)

Right, the problem with reviewing these books is I start rambling on about the television series, sorry about that. In this book Captain Picard travels back and forth through time. He is in the present, but then he travels back to seven years before to be with the crew before Farpoint Station and into the future 25 years where we see the cast older, and many of them retired. I am glad that the characters have developed differently than the 25 into the future predicted. Deanna and Will got together, in this novel she was supposed to have died. Beverly and Captain Picard were supposed to marry and then get divorced, but that has not happened yet. I am still hopefully they will get together, though, and they might have in more recent books. Will and Riker hate each other in this book, but that does not happen.

So, another funny Data quote:

Wiping her hands on her apron, she leaned in close to La Forge and spoke quietly--though not so quietly Picard couldn't make out what she was saying. "You're his friend, eh?"

He saw the former engineer nod. "That's right. And I have been for quite some time."

"Well then," said the housekeeper, "as his friend, see if you can get him to take that gray streak out of his hair. He looks like a bloomin' skunk, he does. People will soon start walking on the other side of the street when they see him coming."

Data, who had obviously overheard, cast a remonstrative look at Jessel. "Thank you," he told her. "That will be all."

Without another word, she made her exit. The android turned to his guests with a wry look on his face.

"She can be trying at times," he admitted. "But she does make me laugh now and then."

La Forge smiled. "So... what is it with your hair, anyway?"

Picard was glad someone else had mentioned it. Unfortunately, Data looked a bit embarrassed.

"I have found that a touch of gray adds an air of... distinction," he explained. "Unfortunately, I don't seem to have it quite right yet.".....

She is Data's housekeeper. To give you context, Data says that "a touch of gray adds an air of... distinction." Here is what Picard thinks about "the touch of gray" when he sees Data.

"Being an android, he hadn't aged over the years. However, there was a prominent streak of gray on one side of his head-not a natural streak, but one that looked as if a paintbrush had been taken to his head."

This is the best picture I could find online in a hurry. If you look closely you will see it really does look like the stripe of white that skunks have on their tail.

Overall, another enjoyable read in the Star Trek family of books.

The Locus Awards

2007-08-18T08:59:00.000-05:00

There are a couple challenges going on where people are reading the The P ulitizer and The Booker awards for fiction. After seeing the challenges, I got browsing some of the awards for fantasy and science-fiction. One such award is the Loc us Award. One of the awards is for art, voted for by Locus readers, and I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the work by these artists. This years winner was John Picacio.

Star of Gypsies by John Picacio
Copyright 2005
Interzone by John Picacio
Copyright 2007
Offical Website

My thoughts on John Picacio is that he is amazing. Interzone is very much a piece that if I had wall space, I would want it hanging on my wall. His artwork very much has a fantasy/science-fiction feel to it (which makes sense considering he does covers for those genres, including some Star Trek covers). I have not seen the other peoples work, but I love his, so I am happy he won. He has a blog on his web site in case anyone is interested.

In 2004, 2005, and 2006 there was the same winner: Michael Whelan.

Dragonflight by Michael Whelan
Copyright 1978
Cover to Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight
Beanstalk by Michael Whelan
Copyright 1999
Official Website

Michael Whelan is an author I recognize, it appears he does the covers for authors such as Anne McCaffrey. He also does his own art which the second person is. He has been around for a while, it seems, and he has some amazing pictures! You can visit his website to see more.

In 2002, Bob Eggleton won.

Roller by Bob Eggleton

Worlds of Fire and Ice by Bob Eggleton
Copyright 2001
Official Website

These two paintings were not used as book covers, but he is also a fantasy and science-fiction cover artist.

Michael Whelan then won from 1980-2000. That's pretty impressive.

In 1979, Boris Vallejo won. He has a lot of art, and he does superheroes, so his art is recognizable. Just two paintings that I thought were impressive.

Not sure on the Name
By Boris Vallejo Fallen Angel by Boris Vallejo
Official Website

There is a few of the winners of the Locus Award, I will likely return another day to look at even earlier back but in the beginning there were two art categories and that will take up a lot of space. So, I will leave you with these beautiful paintings until next time...

Book Porn

2007-08-16T20:26:00.000-05:00

Since I do not have a review for this blog tonight, I decided that my poppet should not have the night off so soon, so I took some pictures of the books I received from Carl for the Once Upon a Time Challenge and the two books that I got in the mail today.
First up, Poppet met Conan today. I have known these books existed forever, but never read them. They are classics in fantasy, that's for sure, and the amazing thing is... Robert E. Howard only wrote for 12 years. He commited suicide when he was 30. Pretty impressive, huh, just imagine what he could have accomplished if he lived longer!Then, I have The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint and Ravens of Avalon, which is the newestl novel based on Marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon series. I am thinking since it falls chronological in the earlier part of the series, I might have to reread the rest of the series. Just throwing this out there, anyone interested in reading Marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon series in a group setting? It would be chronological, not in order of release dates.... Since I have read them before it would be fun to have people to discuss the books with. Just comment in the comment section if you are interested. I would have to look up the correct order because I read them originally as I found them.

That was actually hard to find out. The chronological order of the Avalon series is...
1. Ancestors of Avalon (I have never managed to finish this book...)
2. Ravens of Avalon
3. The Forest House
4. Lady of Avalon
5. Priestess of Avalon
6. The Mists of Avalon

Great series, but when I read them, I read The Mists of Avalon, then Priestess of Avalon, then The Forest House, and then Lady of Avalon. I have had Ancestors of Avalon since it came out, but I just cannot seem to get into it. So, why did I get Ravens of Avalon... I'm a sucker, plain and simple. I see Bradley and I hope that it will be good, even though she died 8 years ago and it is actually Diana Paxson that I am supporting.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

2007-08-15T18:42:00.000-05:00

Date Completed: August 15, 2007
Publication Year: 2001
Part of The Chronicles of Narnia
Owned Prior to 2007

Reason for Reading: After watching A Bridge to Terabithia last night, I was in the mood for another sort of thing in the same vein, so I decided a reread of some of The Chronicles of Narnia was in order because I used to do so every year, but never have since I started blogging.

They open a door and enter a world- Narnia … a land frozen in eternal winter … a country waiting to be set free. Four adventurers step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia -- a land enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change … and a great sacrifice.

This is probably my favourite and most read of the series. I was so happy when the series sort of got resurrected when the new movie came out because I had been enjoying the series for years. It was nice to see a new audience taking the time to read it. Now they are going to make all the books into movies, something that has never been done before, so I am sure this series will get all the recognition it needs. It is just sad that it took a movie to get people reading, but at least they are reading!

I am not sure I really need to tell people what happens in it, the book has been reviewed on several blogs in the last few years and a lot of people have seen the movie. This book is just one of my early childhood memories. I think this is one of my first chapterbooks, actually. Mind you, I no longer have my old editions, a few years ago I bought the book that has all the novels in it so I could read them more easily. So, as you can see, I have always loved fantasy. From the time I was very young it was one of my most favourite things to read.

So, instead of me rehashing the plot, what's your favourite childhood 'chapter book'? Have you read it since then, and if so, was it as good or did you find yourself wondering what on earth you ever found in it? This one is probably mine, so obviously I have read it since and obviously I still read it from time to time. Great book.

House of Cards by Peter David

2007-08-14T14:25:00.000-05:00

Date Completed: August 14, 2007
Publication Year: 1997
Book One in the New Frontier series

Reason for Reading: Somehow, I missed this series. I did not even know that it existed, but earlier this year, Zeek posted for the Ten Books She Could Not Live Without (full blogger list found here) that she could not live without Peter David's New Frontier series (you can see her list here). I was intrigued, but it took me all this time to actually get around to both purchasing and reading the first book in this series. (Actually, I only found the book yesterday). Angela (ScifiChick) also likes this series, and since these are both people I trust, I am now going to read this series. (Although Angela did not have this on her list, but she did have A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle and Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn, which are two of my favourite science-fiction books.)

Sector 221-G: For the whole of Federation history, this large area of space has been controlled by the Thallonians, a cruel, militaristic race of which little is knownexcept that they rule the other races in their sector with vicious iron hand.
Now the Thallonian Empire has collapsed and the systems it once ruled are in chaos. Old hatreds are surfacing. Petty tyrants control deadly weapons. World after world is descending into disorder and self-destruction. The Federation must send a starship to help where it can and report what it finds.

That ship is the U.S.S. Excalibur, a newly refit Ambassador-class starship commanded by Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and manned by Starfleet's best and brightest, including some old friends from Star Trek: The Next Generation and some of the most dynamic new characters ever to crew a Federation starship.
Join Captain Calhoun and the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur as they explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations, and boldly go where no one has gone before!

This book largely just sets the series up. Some of the main characters are introduced, but they do not actually come together as a crew in this book. In the first section we meet the man that would go on to captain the U.S.S. Excalibur. He is only 19 years old when we first meet him and living on a very violent planet. Despite his youth, he has already accomplished a great deal and then he meets Jean-Luc Picard, then the captain of the Stargazer, who sees something in this young man that could equal greatness. It would be 20 laters later before he would become the captain of the Excalibur, and lots of things have happened in his life between now and then.

In this novel, we have Captain Jean-Luc Picard, some appearances from Ambassador Spock, some of the crew from the U.S.S. Enterprise-E, and other characters that I am sure that will go on to instill greatness. As this book only sets the series up, and all the adventures that will be coming are only hinted out, I thought I would share a wonderful scene from the book:

Looking at the monitor screen, in regards to their entourage, Commander William Riker commented, "I feel like a mother duck."

Data turned at his station and regarded Riker with such clear befuddlement that it was all Picard could do to keep a straight face. "Don't say it, Data," he pleaded, heading it off.

"'It,' Captain?"

"Yes. Don't begin inquiring as to whether Mr. Riker will begin quacking, or waddling, or laying eggs or acquiring webbing between his toes. The answer is no."

"Very well, sir," Data replied reasonably. "In any event, it will not be necessary, since you have already voice all the possibilities that occured to me."

Picard opened his mouth again, and then closed it. Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi exchanged broad grins.

"Although," Data added thoughtfully, "there is a slight tendency toward waddling...."

Riker's face immediately darkened. The fact that Deanna was now grinning so widely that it looked as if her face was going to split in two didn't help matters. "Mister Data, I will have you know I do not, have never, and will never, 'waddle.'"

"You do tend to sway when you walk, sir," Data replied, undetered and apparently oblivious of the imagery he was evoking. "A sort of rhymthmic, side-to-side motion that could, under normal conditions, be construed as--"

"No, it couldn't," Riker said sharply.

"If you would like, I can demonstrate," Data began, half up out of his chair.

Both Riker and Picard quickly said, "No!" Surprised by the vehemence of the reaction, Data sat back down.

(Pages 69-70 from House of Cards by Peter David (the four-in-one book)).

I LOVED this scene, no, I LOVE Data. I was laughing, and I could picture this scene in my head. It was priceless, and the best thing is.... I cut it off, there is more to the scene. This is Data, afterall. So, maybe people want to pick up a copy of this book just to see what else happens. I know that I am thrilled with the series, even if this book only starts things, I can see much more hillarious moments as the series progresses. I am prepared to sit back and enjoy the ride, that's for sure.

A Time to be Born by John Vornholt

2007-08-13T21:55:00.000-05:00

Date Completed: August 13, 2007
Pages: 284
Publication Year: 2004
Book One in the A Time to... series

Reason for Reading: I stopped reading Star Trek a few years ago, but I remember when this series came out. I almost resumed reading Star Trek right then and there, but there were so many other books that I wanted to read I didn't. When I recently found the first five books in the series at the second-hand bookstore, I picked them up.

On the cusp of their epic battle with Shinzon, many of Captain Jean-Luc Picard's long-time crew were heading for new assignments and new challenges. Among the changes were William Riker's promotion to captain and his new command, Riker's marriage to Counselor Deanna Troi, and Dr. Beverly Crusher's new career at Starfleet Medical. But the story of what set them on a path away from the Starship Enterprise™ has never been told.
UNTIL NOW.

The site of one of the Dominion War's fiercest battles, the Rashanar Sector now contains a vast interstellar graveyard littered with the lifeless hulks of hundreds of devastated starships. The explosive destruction of so many varied warp drives has severely distorted the space-time continuum in this region, resulting in dangerous unleashed energies and bizarre gravitational anomalies.

The Enterprise has been assigned to patrol the perimeter of the danger zone, while other vessels carry out the difficult and highly hazardous task of retrieving the bodies of the dead from the wrecked warships.

To some alien races, the former battleground is hallowed space. To others, including the rapacious Androssi, it is a scavenger's paradise, ripe for salvage. None expect this ship's graveyard to hold a deadly secret that will force the android Data to make a heart-wrenching decision about the path his life will take -- and that will endanger not only the Enterprise, but Picard's future in Starfleet.

This is a series of books that I believe many Star Trek fans will want to read because it explains all that happened between the movies Star Trek: Insurrection and Star Trek: Nemesis. A lot changes, and with this series of books, people can understand why. For starters, I was very happy to see Wesley Crusher return to the cast. I would not call myself a big fan of him, but it was about time he reappeared. I was mostly just curious what happened to him and what he was doing during those years that he was off with the Traveler. This book fills the reader in.

I will have to read book two in this series soon, it has a cliff-hanger sort of ending and I want to know what happens next. Mean writers. At least when this series came out they came out one book a month, but for some reason the sixth book in the series is out not available on amazon.ca. Anyways, unlike the last book I read, the Dominion War is over in this book. The Federation is left to pick up the pieces, and the Enterprise is sent to a particularly bad spot to salvage the bodies and send them home to their families. This battle was particularly bad and is full of mystery. It seems that the mystery did not end with the destruction of all those ships, though, the Enterprise and its crew find itself in the middle of it.

This was a rather interesting way to explain all the changes that the crew go through, and I am enjoying learning why things turned out the way they did. The problem with the show not being on television anymore is that things are not explained each week, so when they make a new movie there are often big gaps. Writing books to fill them in is, I think, a great idea.

There is one scene in this book that I do not think I will ever forget. It is between Geordi and Data, and honestly, it was such a perfect scene. Not perfect in how things were dealt with, but perfect in how it was orchestrated. Another good book in the Star Trek series.

The Battle of Betazed by Charlotte Douglas and Susan Kearney

2007-08-12T20:06:00.000-05:00

Date Completed: August 12, 2007
Pages: 263
Publication Year: 2002
Part of the Star Trek: The Next Generation series. An untold tale of the Dominion War.

Reason for Reading: I spent my childhood reading Star Trek novels and watching it on television. This is why there are so many fantasy books that I still have to read, I started out my life with science fiction, mostly books based on Star Wars and Star Trek. So, the other day I decided that I am going to start reading these series again. Deanna, the main character in this book, was always my favourite character from TNG and I always wondered how Betazed was saved, so this was a logical reentry into the genre.

In the darkest hours of the Dominion War, as the Federation's downfall seemed ever more certain, Jem'Hadar and Cardassian forces conquered Betazed, the homeworld of Deanna Troi. Their victory sent shock waves through the Alpha Quadrant, and put the Dominion within striking distance of Vulcan, Andor, Tellar — and possibly Earth itself.
To secure their position in the very heart of the Federation, the Cardassians begin constructing space station Sentok Nor in orbit of Betazed. The station is to serve as both the seat of the Dominion occupation and the site of horrific experiments by Cardassia's foremost exobiologist, the infamous Dr. Crell Moset.
With Starfleet's forces spread too thinky in the ongoing struggle to retake Betazed outright, the U.S.S. Enterprise™ along with some old and new friends, is deployed to carry out a dangerous and desperate plan. But no matter what the outcome, the consequences could alter Betazed irrevocably, forcing Deanna Troi to choose between her world's survival and its very soul.

I remember when I was watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Commander Sisko was told that the Dominion had just attacked Betazed. Then, not a lot was explained about what happened after that, and what was done to save it. I had always been curious, so when I was at the bookstore looking at Star Trek books and saw this one, I had to see what happened.

This book captures the struggle that the Federation was in, they just did not have enough vessels to retake Betazed, and lots of people on Deanna's homeworld were dying. The Dominion, the bad guys, were winning and the Federation desperately needed something to swing things into their favour. Then, a member of the Betazed Resistance got a message to Star Fleet and offered up a plan that could easily bring about the rescue of the Betazed people, but they needed Deanna and she was not sure if this was something she wanted to be a party to. It would mean release even more evil into the world, and Deanna was not sure if that was worth it or not if the evil turned on them.

This was a good book. Star Trek novels are not exactly brain food, but they are like brain candy. They are usually pretty short with lots of activity, and since I have seen every single episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and most of Star Trek: Voyager, I can hear the characters voices in my head and picture the activity much more than normal. It was interesting to see how Betazed was saved, to watch the relationship between Deanna Troi and Commander Riker move towards what it would be in Star Trek: Insurrection, and to visit with some old friends. I think you will likely see more of my Trekkie roots on this blog in the future.

This book was exactly what I needed!

Recommendations

2007-08-08T20:46:00.001-05:00

Howdy Folks! Sorry I have been so slack in updating, I am hoping people still read this blog... If you do, I am looking for some recommendations. Carl's reading challenge will be starting up soon, and last year I rewarded myself with one new purchase in honour of the challenge, so this year I am looking for another one. It is the R.I.P challenge, so I am looking for dark fantasy. I know most of the 'popular' fantasy authors, so I am really hoping people will go outside the box. Anyways, any recommendations would be great!

Also, I am looking for some Charles de Lint order. I have read a few books by him, but it was years ago, and I am currently reading Spirits in the Wires. I also have The Onion Girl headed my way. What other books by him are really good and people recommend? He has a lot of books to get through.

I have two fantasy books on the go, so updates soon, don't lose interest!

The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe

2007-07-30T15:52:00.000-05:00

Completion Date: July 30, 2007
Pages: 324
Publication Year: 2006
Received from Random House prior to 2007.
Book One in the Drakon Series

Reason for Reading: I was looking for something different about the time that I acquired this book. It is really a mix of fantasy, historical fiction, and romance.

For centuries they’ve lived in secret among northern England’s green and misted hills. Creatures of extraordinary beauty, power, and sensuality, they possess the ability to shape-shift from human to dragon and back again. Now their secret–and their survival–is threatened by a temptation that will break every boundary....

Dubbed the Smoke Thief, a daring jewel thief is confounding the London police. His wealthy victims claim the master burglar can walk through walls and vanish into thin air. But Christoff, the charismatic Marquess of Langford, knows the truth: the thief is no ordinary human but a “runner” who’s fled Darkfrith without permission. As Alpha leader of the dra´kon, it’s Kit’s duty to capture the fugitive before the secrets of the tribe are revealed to mortals. But not even Kit suspects that the Smoke Thief could be a woman.

Clarissa Rue Hawthorne knew her dangerous exploits would attract the attention of the dra´kon. But she didn’t expect Christoff himself to come to London, dangling the tribe’s most valuable jewel–the Langford Diamond–as bait. For as long as she could remember, Rue had lived the life of a halfling–half dra´kon, half mortal–and an outcast in both worlds. She’d always loved the handsome and willful Kit from the only place it was safe: from afar. But now she was no longer the shy, timid girl she’d once been. She was the first woman capable of making the Turn in four generations. So why did she still feel the same dizzying sense of vulnerability whenever he was near?

From the moment he saw her, Kit knew that the alluring and powerful beauty was every bit his Alpha equal and destined to be his bride. And by the harsh laws of the dra´kon, Rue knew that she was the property of the marquess. But they will risk banishment and worse for a chance at something greater. For now Rue is his prisoner, the diamond has disappeared, and she’s made the kind of dangerous proposition a man like Kit cannot resist....In this bewitching novel, Shana Abé transports us into a world of exhilarating romance and magic.

This book was an interesting read. Normally Shana Abe writes romance novels, and the Romantic Times Bookclub calls this book the "Historical Romance of the Year" for the year that it came out, so the fact that I read it is something of a mystery even to me. I actually was interested in the fantasy elements and seemed to overlook the romance elements until I actually owned the book. I think the best place to start is by saying that this book has a very nice cover. There are dragons in this book, of course, and they are described as more sleek than dragons that we regularly read about in fantasy novels. This book shows an example of what they were supposed to look like.

So, the pros of this book. I really liked the main female character, Rue. She could be annoying at times, but for the most part she had a very fierce spirit for the time that this book came out in. She left home because she was different, and everyone thought that she was dead, but it turns out that she faked her death so that she could have a life of her own. That, and she has powers that are not common in females of their tribe. I liked the interaction between her and other characters in the book. The lead male, Kit, was a good character too. He could be a bit demanding, he was the alpha drakon afterall, but he was generally just doing what he thought was best for his people. He thought that bringing Rue home was the best thing for her, even if she did not quickly agree.

The problems I had with this book, there were a few dull spots that I felt dragged a bit. There was one part of the book where I was so bored I put the book down for a bit and considered whether I would actually finish it, but I am glad I preservered. I found that I wanted to know what happened next and how the book ended. There was a bit too much romance for my taste as well, but it is a historical romance, I should have expected it. It was tasteful, though, so it was not so bad.

Overall, not the best thing I have ever read, but I plan to read The Dream Thief and maybe onward if more books are released in the series. It is nice sometimes to think that we do not know everything about our world, and that maybe things like dragons roam the earth without us regular people even being aware.

Dragons of Winter Night by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

2007-07-27T12:08:00.000-05:00

Completion Date: July, 2007
Pages: 395
Publication Year: 2000
Purchased in 2007
Dragonlance Chronicles Volume II

Now the people know that the dragon minions of Takhisis, Queen of Dragons, have returned. The people of all nations prepare to fight to save their homes, their lives, and their freedom. But the races have long been divided by hatred and prejudice. Elven warriors and human knights fight among themselves. It seems the battle has been lost before it begins.

The companions are separated, torn apart by war. A full season will pass before they meet again--if they meet again. As the darkness deepens, a disgraced knight, a pampered elfmaiden, and a rattle-brained kender stand alone in the pale winter sunlight.

Not much in the way of heroes.

After reading The Dragons of the Autumn Twilight, I was looking forward to reading the next book in Weis and Hickman's Dragonlance Chronicles. Sadly, this book suffered the fate of most second books in trilogies. It was good, but it was not great. It dragged for me, there was not a lot of action, so it was not a captivating read.

In this book, the main characters split up into groups, so the book covers many different scenes as it follows the main characters around. A lot of interesting things are set up in this book, but you have to wait for the third book for them to come to fruitation. So, onward to the pros. The pros of the book were that there was Tas in a large portion of the book. The mood of this book was a bit darker, so Tas was very serious for himself in this book. He had his humourous moments, but for the most part he was serious. I understand why, but I miss my funny Tas. The goblins in Weis and Hickman's world are HILLARIOUS! They are inventors, and they talk a lot, people have never heard them complete a sentence. When they speak it is in a very jumbled mess. I loved the goblins, I hope to see more of them. One of Tas's more humourous scenes was when he met the goblins because they use sling-shots as elevators. Pretty funny!

Tanis surprises in this book. He is the leader of this group and people look up to him for the next step in their adventure, but the pressure is getting to be too much for him it would seem, and when a character from his past returns it will be interesting to see if he remains the leader or takes easy way out. Some of the other characters develop, and some of them were not in the book enough for me. It was not that the book was written badly, it was that I missed action. The book was all about getting reading for the action, and while there was a little bit near the end, it was a long time coming. That being said, I think it really sets up the trilogy for book 3 where all the action happens.

So, while not a great book, it was readable and I think it will be interesting to see what happens in book three. An enjoyable series.

Blogging Meme

2007-07-26T13:45:00.000-05:00

We were tagged by SciFiChick. I even tagged people!

-Start Copy-

It’s very simple. When this is passed on to you, copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside those that you like. (Check out especially the * starred ones.)

Add the next number (1. 2. 3. 4. 5., etc.) and write your own blogging tip for other bloggers. Try to make your tip general.

After that, tag 10 other people. Link love some friends!

Just think- if 10 people start this, the 10 people pass it onto another 10 people, you have 100 links already!

1. Look, read, and learn. ***
-http://www.neonscent.com

2. Be, EXCELLENT to each other. *
-http://www.bushmackel.com

3. Don’t let money change ya! *
-http://www.therandomforest.info

4. Always reply to your comments. ****
-http://chattiekat.com

5. Link liberally — it keeps you and your friends afloat in the Sea of Technorati. **
-http://chipsquips.com

6. Don’t give up - persistance is fertile. *
-http://www.velcro-city.co.uk

7. Give link credit where credit is due. **
-http://www.sfsignal.com

8. Pictures say a thousand words and can usually add to any post.*
-http://scifichick.com

9. Be Brave, some of the best posts are when you step out of your comfort zone.
-http://twisted-kingdom.blogspot.com

My Tags: (basically people that have commented on the blog)

Nymeth at Things Mean a Lot
Marg at Reading Adventures
Raspberry Swyrl at Pandora's Aquarium
Nicola at Back to Books
Li at Me and My Books
Kris at The Reading Spot
Rosie at Nobody Asked Me...
Cory at The Dragon's Loss
Nath at Books, books, and more Books
Josette at Books Love Me...

Annoying Title Diversity

2007-07-22T21:27:00.000-05:00

I am all for diversity in the world, but this is a post about books. Since it all started with a fantasy author, I decided to vent my frustration here instead of on my own blog. I am of the scary notion that books should have the same title regardless of where they are produced. I know, this is something that has been going on for generations, but it's so confusing! People recommend books, but they are not the same titles as you have, so you search looking for the titles in your country. Even for translated books, all good if the content inside is different, but I strongly believe that the books should have the same titles for simplicity sake.

I bring this up because I live in Canada. We do not seem to have our own publishing traits, it is either we get books at the same time they are released in the US or Canada. If you discover the book when it first comes out, differing titles should not confuse you too much. It is when you discover an author later on that the problems start. My problem of the day? Sara Douglass. I know this is not her fault, it's the publishers fault, but I am super annoyed. I tried to read her Troy Game series about a year ago, but I could not get into book one. Instead of giving up on her as an author, though, I decided that I was going to read her other trilogies. In Australia, and thus originally Canada, her first trilogy was referred to as the Axis trilogy. Then, she wrote another trilogy and called it The Wayfarer trilogy. That's fine, but in the US all six books were put together and renamed The Wayfarer series. I have the Axis trilogy, but the other day I went to the store and picked up The Wayfarer trilogy. Tonight, I took all my books and put them together. You know what I have? A MESS!!!

Let me elaborate. I knew the titles I was looking for, but instead I just went by the trilogy name. The three books I bought say book one, two, and three of the Wayfarer Redemption. You know what I have in actuality? The US releases of book two and three of what I know as The Axis trilogy and book one of the Australian version of The Wayfarer trilogy. That means, I have book two and three of The Axis trilogy twice. I should have looked at book titles, but I was concerned with the trilogy, and since I live in Canada, normally it would have been the Australian versions of the books. I think it started out that way, but time went by and now we sell both the Australian versions AND the United States versions. This makes it VERY confusing for new readers of Douglass. You know, just so you know, the back covers say different things, so it does look like different books. I just had not read the other books yet, I like to own all the books before I start.

So, that is my vent: Books should have the same title regardless of the country. It would just make things EASIER! Heaven knows we try and make life easier in every other aspect, why not book titles too!

Lynn Flewelling's Luck in the Shadows

2007-07-21T08:35:00.000-05:00

The Genre

Fantasy: Wizards, Magic, Fae, Spies, Journey, Intrigue, Adventure, Series

The Plot

From Amazon: "When young Alec of Kerry is taken prisoner for a crime he didn’t commit, he is certain that his life is at an end. But one thing he never expected was his cellmate. Spy, rogue, thief, and noble, Seregil of Rhiminee is many things–none of them predictable. And when he offers to take on Alec as his apprentice, things may never be the same for either of them. Soon Alec is traveling roads he never knew existed, toward a war he never suspected was brewing. Before long he and Seregil are embroiled in a sinister plot that runs deeper than either can imagine, and that may cost them far more than their lives if they fail. But fortune is as unpredictable as Alec’s new mentor, and this time there just might be…Luck in the Shadows."

Mailyn Says:

The Review

I enjoyed this book immensely. Alec and Seregil are great characters. They aren't alike as far as temperaments go but they are two wonderful heroes and I'd be hard pressed to choose between them. The secondary characters are all well thought out. I never felt like anyone was thrown in without being really needed. One of my favorites of these would be the great wizard Nysander.

The world that Flewelling builds is very interesting. She goes into great detail without boring you and, pretty soon, you feel you are in the book experiencing everything along with the characters. A lot of intrigue and suspense that neatly sets the stage for the rest of the books yet gives you enough to be satisfied when you are done with this one. There's wizards and magic and even a centaur or two but, for all the fantasy aspects, this world feels like an alternate universe with some similarities to England in the Middle Ages or the 1800's. I couldn't decide which since it tended to shift from the time in the cities to the time running around the countryside.

The suspense and the action were both very entertaining. A lot of times I tend to skip these scenes with women writers but I couldn't get enough and was sucked in desperately wanting to know how or if our heroes, both, would make it through to the end.

A word of caution, this book does contain homosexual undertones. This doesn't bother me in the least since I read and watch m/m romances all the time, especially in anime and manga. However, some people may be put off by this. I will say that it is not, at least in this first book, anything major. One of the characters is bisexual and he happens to be attracted to another character. Nothing happens and, as the love is unrequited, the man in love doesn't try anything. They have a wonderful friendship and, it seems to me, this was setting up the stage for an actual romance for the, so far, heterosexual character.

The Verdict

I loved this book and I can't wait to read the rest in the series! Far as I know it's a trilogy but I'm not sure. I will let you all know. I think this is a good read for anyone looking for a little adventure, suspense, and fantasy with some wonderful characters. A solid 4.5 out of 5.

Kailana Says:

After reading Mailyn's review, I decided that I had to give this book a try, so I actually have had it for a while, but it was just not my sort of fantasy. I actually started it a while ago, and this month decided I should finish it up so I could clear it off the nightstand. It's that problem of wanting to love the book, but just not being able to. I found that the book really dragged, even when there was action going on I could not get into the book and found myself bored and skimming.

I will say that the homosexual overtones did not bother me, so that was not why I did not like the book. I am pretty easy-going with that, so it appearing in novels does not bother me. So, after being so disappointed in this book, I was at the store the other day and one of my friends was working. She suggested I read Flewellings other trilogy because she liked it, but I am not sure if I am ready to embark on that yet. I think I might keep this book around and see if I can get into it in the future. Otherwise, it is either a book you love or you hate.

The History of the Hobbit: Part One: Mr. Baggins by John D. Rateliff

2007-07-19T21:29:00.000-05:00

The History of the Hobbit presents for the first time, in two volumes, the complete unpublished text of the original manuscript of J.R.R.Tolkien's The Hobbit, accompanied by John Rateliff's lively and informative account of how the book came to be written and published. As well as recording the numerous changes made to the story both before and after publication, it examines – chapter–by–chapter – why those changes were made and how they reflect Tolkien's ever–growing concept of Middle–earth.

The Hobbit was first published on 21 September 1937. Like its successor, The Lord of the Rings, it is a story that "grew in the telling", and many characters and story threads in the published text are completely different from what Tolkien first wrote to read aloud to his young sons as part of their "fireside reads".

As well as reproducing the original version of one of literature's most famous stories, both on its own merits and as the foundation for The Lord of the Rings, this new book includes many little–known illustrations and previously unpublished maps for The Hobbit by Tolkien himself. Also featured are extensive annotations and commentaries on the date of composition, how Tolkien's professional and early mythological writings influenced the story, the imaginary geography he created, and how Tolkien came to revise the book years after publication to accommodate events in The Lord of the Rings.

Like Christopher Tolkien's The History of The Lord of the Rings before it, this is a thoughtful yet exhaustive examination of one of the most treasured stories in English literature. Long overdue for a classic book now celebrating 70 years in print, this companion edition offers fascinating new insights for those who have grown up with this enchanting tale, and will delight those who are about to enter Bilbo's round door for the first time.

People have been commenting on my blog concerning this book, so I am going to try and do this review justice. I thought this book was brilliant. I got it just a matter of days ago, and read the first chapter. I had planned to just read it chapter by chapter, but the book was so interesting that I found myself wanting to learn more.

I remember getting The Hobbit. It was several years ago, and I had just finished reading The Lord of the Rings. My mother was going on a trip, and she always asks me for a book list. I mentioned wanting to read The Hobbit now that I had read the other books. My mother was on the plane, and seated beside her was a little boy and he was reading The Hobbit. My mother can talk to anyone, so she struck up a conversation with him and told him that he was reading the book that I wanted to read. When the plane landed, the little boy gave my mother the book! So, that is how I came to own The Hobbit. Cute story, huh?

John Rateliff's book is not exactly Tolkien, but that is not why I liked it so much. I think the book was so great because I feel like I know Tolkien now. I have read things on him, heard people talk about him, but it was by reading a book that explained why or possibly why Tolkien wrote The Hobbit the way that he did that I feel like I connected with a man that died several years ago. I read my fair share of non-fiction, but never have I felt like I have read so much. This book illuminated The Hobbit for me, but it also showed me things about other Tolkien works that I did not know, and I enjoyed learning.

Essentially what this book is is early versions of what became The Hobbit. Rateliff goes chapter by chapter and discusses the key things in each chapter, what was changed for the published works, why things were the way they were, and much more. The insight is amazing because I was reading one of my favourite books, by one of my favourite authors, but I was also getting inside his head at the same time. The things I learned are really interesting too, they are still running around in my mind after finishing the book a few hours ago. For example, Gandalf's name was originally Bladorthin, and Gandalf was originally the name of the chief dwarf, Thorin. Reading Tolkien's notes you can actually see where the change took place. I have to say, I like Gandalf much better... mainly because I can actually say it.

I want to say so much about this book, but at the same time, I do not want to reveal all Tolkien's secrets to everyone. I think Tolkien fans should read this book. I have always wanted to read The Annotated The Hobbit, but it is out of print. I no longer feel that way, this book was enough for me. The best thing was, some things were not changed between the manuscript and the actual published version, but readers just do not notice it. When you think of "The Ring" do you not think of it as evil? It was not evil in The Hobbit, though. It was just a ring that made Bilbo invisible. I read Lord of the Rings first, though, and I think I probably took the evilness from those books and transferred it to Bilbo's ring.

The book also includes never before seen drawings, plot notes, insights on how Tolkien writes (I mentioned it on my other blog, he writes in pencil and then to correct, he writes over it with pen. He was very thrifty, but then The Hobbit was written in the 30's), discussion of the languages that are the basis of the names in the book, a look at the what inspired him in the real world to write these scenes, and so much more. I honestly cannot wait for the sequel because I really want to know "the rest of the story".

Rateliff has a fantastic book here, Tolkien helped of course, and I hope that other people can see that as well. He ties The Hobbit in with other works so you get the larger picture, not just one book.

And the Winner is....

2007-07-17T21:21:00.000-05:00

Jenny!

Since you entered by email, I will email you to tell you that you won. Sorry that this is so late, Colleen was away and then I did not get a chance to announce the winner until right now.

So, now for PICTURES!

David sent the following blurb along: "Here's a picture of me reading Rises the Night along with my friend Sheri (from Tennessee), who is visibly frightened by the vampiric goings on. Don't worry, she soon dusted the undead stalker about to attack her (my flatmate Alistair from Scotland). Venator or not, not even vampires should mess with a pregnant lady!!"

Entry Two, from Rinoa, shows the best place ever for Colleen's book, right by Marion Zimmer Bradley! (That's one of my favourite Bradley's too).

Marg sent along a picture of her son reading Gleason. I am not sure if it is age appropriate. haha. Is he not cute, though? (And he reads, his Pokemon books show up on Marg's library list from time to time.)

Not to be undone, we have a cat reading! This is Merlin, Rhinoa's cat. She sent six different pictures (she also has a cat name Morgaine). Coolest cat names ever! haha

And, lastly, this is a picture sent in by Jenny, the winner, of Gleason in Singapore!

This is are the pictures I received, some people did not send any. Feel free to send more in even if the contest is closed, it's fun!

The End is Near and Announcement

2007-07-16T11:07:00.000-05:00

*****This is a Sticky Post, Scroll Down to see new posts*****

Today is the last chance to get your submissions in for your chance to win Bleeding Dusk by Colleen Gleason. So, if you were waiting until the last minute, this is the last minute!

Kailana has another new group blog. It is centred around historical fiction. To pay it a visit, click here.

Colleen is gone away until Monday, so if there are any last minute submissions you have until then to send them in. (twisted_kingdom_blog AT Hotmail DOT com.) Anyone want to send in at least some pictures of you reading Rises the Night? I want to post some fun pictures on Monday.

Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind

2007-07-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

Completion Date: July 2007
Pages: 848
Publication Year: 1995
Purchased in 2007
Book One in The Sword of Truth Series

In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help…and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence.
In a dark age when it takes courage to live, and more than mere courage to challenge those who hold dominion, Richard and Kahlan must take up that challenge or become the next victims. Beyond awaits a bewitching land where even the beat of their hearts could betray them. Yet, Richard fears nothing so much as what secrets his sword might reveal about his own soul. Falling in love would destroy them - for reasons Richard can't imagine and Kahlan dare not tell him.

In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan cals upon Richard to reach beyond his sword - to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed…or that their time has run out.
This is the beginning. One book. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.

I had heard about this series for years, but I always have so many series on the go that I do not have a chance to read all the other series that I want to read. I probably could if I was one of those people that could read a lot of books by the same author in a row, and I used to do that when I was younger, but now I like variety. So, it takes me a while to read series. This one came out 12 years ago, and I only now finished book one. The new book comes out in November. It would be wonderful if I could have all the other books read by the time the new one comes out in paperback next year.

Anyways, I loved this book. I plan to move on to the next book very soon because I think I have encountered a new favourite author to enjoy. The two main characters in this book meet by chance, Kahlan Amnell is searching for a hero and Richard Cypher is feeling a little lost following the brutal murder of his beloved father. Kahlan is in trouble, the world she represents is in trouble, and in Richard she finds the person that will lead the world into a new era. He just does not know that yet. Richard has lived in a sheltered world where magic does not exist and the citizens live in peace. Kahlan comes from a place where magic is the norm and a violent dictator is changing life as she knows it. The only thing that separates these two worlds is a magical wall that is beginning to fail, letting the evil of Kahlan's world into Richard's and changing the life that he has always known.

There was nothing about this book that I did not really like, there were scenes that surprised me and at the time I wondered if they were necessary, but as the novel progressed they made sense to me and I sw them in a different light. That's right, there were surprises! Sometimes books follow the same pattern to such a degree that you might not know exactly what is going to happen, but when it happens you are not surprised. Surprising things happened in this book. Kahlan is worldly and is used to a life that Richard does not even understand. She is scared to reveal just who she is to Richard because she has spent her whole life being feared and hated. Richard is very naive, and he can be annoying from time to time, but it is not his fault. He has been thrown into a very different world and his life is very different now than the one that he has always known. He does very brilliant things, though, so I am sure that his character will really grow during the course of this series.

A fantastic first book to a trilogy. I look forward to the next book. There is a lot more that could be said, it was a over 800 page book, but I will leave it for anyone interested to explore.

InterWorld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reeves

2007-07-11T09:18:00.000-05:00

Completion Date: July 2007
Pages: 239
Publication Year: 2007 (Eos, a division of Harper Collins)
Received from Harper Collins in 2007.

Reason for Reading: This book will be included on Harper Collins What Would Harry Read blog, but I would have read it anyways because I tend to buy Neil Gaiman's books.

Joey Harker isn't a hero.
In fact, he's the kind of guy who gets lost in his own house.

But then one day, Joey gets really lost. He walks straight out of his world and into another dimension.

Joey's walk between the worlds makes him prey to two terrible forces—armies of magic and science who will do anything to harness his power to travel between dimensions.

When he sees the evil those forces are capable of, Joey makes the only possible choice: to join an army of his own, an army of versions of himself from different dimensions who all share his amazing power and who are all determined to fight to save the worlds.

Master storyteller Neil Gaiman and Emmy Award-winning science-fiction writer Michael Reaves team up to create a dazzling tale of magic, science, honor, and the destiny of one very special boy—and all the others like him.

I first started reading Neil Gaiman a couple years ago. The more I read him, though, the more I wonder if I am a big fan or not. I started out reading Good Omens, which he co-authored with Terry Pratchett. I thought that book was brilliant, so I added Gaiman to my list of authors to buy. It was last summer before I read another book by him, this time Stardust. I really like fairy tales, so this book was an enjoyable read. Now, I find myself wondering if I read the two good books and should not expect great things in the future. I liked Neverwhere when I read it, but looking back on it I cannot even remember it anymore. Coraline was okay, but not the best book I have ever read. What I am trying to say is that the more I read him, the more I wonder why.

InterWorld was not a terrible read, but once again, not the greatest science-fiction book I have ever read. A lot of people are saying that, though, that this is not as great as his previous works. I suppose part of the lack of Gaiman writing style is that this book is co-authored with a man that is known for his science fiction television writing, and normally for shows of a more serious nature than Gaiman's normal writing. You cannot expect the same thing with this book as when he co-authored with Terry Pratchett because Pratchett is closer to Gaiman's style. That being said, I liked this book.

For me, the best part of this book was Hue. I think Hue was typical Gaiman making an appearance, and while the bubble-like creature never spoke, he was a fantastic addition to the cast of characters. I liked his appearances, they made the book for me. This book is supposed to be one of those reads where your root for the underdog. Joey Harker has no special abilities outside of the fact that he can travel through dimensions. The other characters he encounters can do other things and are more beneficial to the mission, but it is Joey that saves the day. All I can say is, very predictable book. Like there is any doubt about the income of the story, you could skip everything in between and still not be surprised by the ending. Some of Gaiman's other books are a bit more crafty with their endings, you get a bit of surprise, this ending was so cliched.

****SPOILERS*****

What really annoyed was how predicatable the book was. Boy finds he has special powers, bad people find him and it looks like the end is near, but at the last minute he is heroically saved. He goes to live with the good guys, the bad guys get mad and set up a trap, everyone is captured except for the heroic Joey Harker. He gets blamed for what happened, and sent home, but he is not prepared to go down without a fight. He attempts to save the day with no plan, has a lot of "bad" things happen, and of course in the end saves the day. He has no powers, no special skills, but he is the one that wins out over the more powerful people in the book. It's a scenerio that has been done over and over again. Sometimes it would be nice for the bad guys to win for a change.

****END SPOILERS****

Okay, now that I had my vent, I will stay maintain that if you are a Gaiman fan you should read this book. It is always appropriate to read all an authors books so that you can get an idea of all aspects that they are capable of.

Parting Thoughts: When I first finished this book I thought I liked it a lot more than I find myself feeling now that it has been about a week since I completed it. When you start thinking about it and analyzing it, you find that there are better books you could be reading. I am starting to think that none of his books are ever going to be better than Good Omens and Stardust. I read for the hope that authors books get even better, but that has not happened for me yet with Gaiman.

Rises the Night Scavenger Hunt--Update

2007-07-10T10:40:00.000-05:00

We're hearing about sightings of Rises the Night all over North American and beyond--in convenience stores, pharmacies, grocery stores, airports, etc. So we know you're finding it, and we know it's out there!

So in the interest of making the scavenger hunt a little easier, so you have an even better chance of winning an Advance Copy of The Bleeding Dusk, here's the new deal:

+ Send an email to twisted_kingdom_blog AT hotmail DOT com telling us where you saw the book and the following information: what store, city, state/province, and number of copies--and this will enter you in the drawing to win an ARC of The Bleeding Dusk.

+ If you send a PHOTO of the book in one of those locations, that automatically gives you a double entry--that's right, TWO chances to win!

The contest runs until July 10th!

The Magic of Fairy

2007-07-07T13:42:00.000-05:00

I finished Beastly by Alex Flinn last night. I enjoyed this book immensely. It’s a young adult urban fantasy novel that puts a modern spin on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. I couldn’t put it down! It’ll be out in hardcover in October. I’m hoping to have a review of it up in coming weeks but since this book was the inspiration for this post, I just had to mention it now. Definitely be on the look-out for this one.

Reading Beastly has made me want to seek out other Beauty and the Beast stories—a fairy tale I was never particularly interested in before (unless you count the animated Disney movie which I use to love—and still do!). It’s amazing how something can be completely uninteresting to you one minute, and then you read a wonderful tale by a wonderful writer and suddenly you’re hooked. That’s the way it was with fairy tales for me. I was never much into fairies before, having always thought of them as the Disney prototype—small, cute, kind—but not very interesting. I much preferred vampires and other dark paranormal creatures. After being introduced to Holly Black’s Tithe, however, I’ve become captivated by them. Over the past year, I've sought out more and more stories along this vein and I’ve become more and more interested in folklore, fairy tales, and fairy tale re-retellings. I even bought a collection of stories from the Brothers Grimm a while back, though I've yet to make sizable dent in it. Fairy tales, as a whole, have a long history, and it seems there has been a swell of fairies in pop culture recently—not only in books, but even in movies. Neil Gaiman’s Stardust will hit the big screen next month, and also Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi’s Spiderwick Chronicles will be brought to theaters soon. I just think there’s a certain magic to fairy tales especially ones that combine my favorite elements—romance, adventure, suspense, enchantment, interesting characters and a good ending. Who could ask for more in a book? I'm very glad to have discovered the magic of fairy tales, no matter how late I am to the party.

Luckily I’ve already got Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley in my to-be-read pile. It’s also a young adult book which, as those of you familiar with my reading tastes will know, is one of my favorite genres right now.

Do you like fairy tales? What's your favorite classic fairy tale? What are your favorite re-retellings? Have you ever found yourself interested in a particular fairy tale only after having read a good re-telling of it? What do you think is the reason behind fairies' increase in popularity?

***

For more on fairy tales, check out Kailana's Fairy Tales Re-Visited Part One, Part Two and Part Three.

Melissa Marr Runs an Art Contest, Stephenie Meyer Offers Quotes

2007-07-04T23:15:00.000-05:00

Calling All Artists!

Melissa Marr, YA urban fantasy author of Wicked Lovely, is currently running an art contest on her website. All you have to do is:

Portray a character, scene, or event from Wicked Lovely in whatever medium you choose--oil, watercolour, pen & ink, photography, sculpture (photo of it), digital, et al.

and you could win up to $300 in art gear! I enjoyed Wicked Lovely a lot. It was a very imaginative urban faerie tale. So go check it out if you haven't already. The contest ends December 22, 2007. Click here for contest details.

Eclipse Quote of the Day

Stephenie Meyer, YA author of the bestselling Twilight vampire series, is posting up one quote per day until August 6th, from her newest release, Eclipse, on her website. So if you’re eager for a taste of Eclipse, hop over to her site to see today’s quote!

Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman

2007-07-04T14:08:00.000-05:00

Completion Date: June 30, 2007
Pages: 352
Publication Year: 2001
Owned Prior to 2007

Reason for Reading: It's Neil Gaiman, need I say more?

In Neil Gaiman's richly imagined fiction, anything is possible. And the proof is in the telling in this extraordinary collection of short stories. Discover within these pages miraculous inventions and curious characters: an elderly widow who finds the Holy Grail tucked beneath an old fur coat in a thrift store, a terrified boy who barters for his life with a mean-spirited troll living beneath a bridge by the railroad tracks, a young couple who receives a wedding gift that gradually reveals a chilling alternative history of their marriage. Smoke and Mirrors will dazzle your senses, touch your heart -- and haunt your dreams.

I noticed it had been a while since I read Neil Gaiman, so I decided to pick up one of his books. I do not know why I am so slow reading him, I like him well enough, but I take a while to get around to the authors that I like. I imagine the trick is to like less authors...

I have the worst time writing reviews for short story collections because I am not sure really what to say. I liked all the short stories in this collection for the most part, I was reading along trying to figure out which one my favourite one was, but I found that there were a couple I was not a big fan of, but overall, the stories stand up well next to each other. I had a hard time saying which one was my favourite. I did really like one about Santa Claus, I thought it was very creative. There were a few other retellings of popular tales in there as well, one of my favourite being a retelling of Snow White.

This collection was a very varied group. There was straight fantasy, some horrorish stuff, even stuff that was almost science fiction in nature. Some of the stories were one page long, while others were several pages in length. I found that the stories all worked well together, even if I was not always sure what the thread was that held them all together. I am also not a huge reader of short stories, I prefer novels, but Gaiman appears to be good no matter what form he is using.

Parting Thoughts: I know I do not do this justice. I started out taking notes on all the short stories, but I found that was taking away from my enjoyment, so I just started reading without the notes. The collection starts off very well, though, the first story is related to King Arthur and the search for the Holy Grail. Overall, another great read from Neil Gaiman. (So far, Good Omens is still my favourite Gaiman. I know a lot of people like Stardust or Neverwhere as their favourite, but that one is mine. It might have a lot to do with the fact it was my first Gaiman.)

The Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine

2007-07-03T10:43:00.000-05:00

Completion Date: June 2007
Pages: 256

Publication Year: 2007

Purchased in 2007

Book Two in the Morganville Vampires series.

Reason for Reading: Sequel to Glass Houses.

Claire has her share of challenges. Like being a genius in a school that favors beauty over brains; homicidal girls in her dorm, and finding out that her college town is overrun with the living dead. On the up side, she has a new boyfriend with a vampire-hunting dad. But when a local fraternity throws theDead Girls' Dance, hell is really going to break loose.

It is a good thing I finally got around to reviewing this book. It reminded me that book three in the series comes out later this year and I do not have it on my list of books I am looking forward to.

This series is not exactly the most challenging series I am reading, but it is enjoyable. I read a few paranormal series here and there, but I am mostly moving away from that genre. There are only a few authors that I am looking forward to seeing what happens next with. This series is one of them. This book had a better ending than the last one, though, when the last one ended I was very impatient for book two because it had a majorly bad ending, in the sense that I wanted to know what happened next! This one, I of course want to read the next book in the series, but it is not a strong need.

Claire has a lot going on in her life. She's a genius, so she went to college early, but her parents would not let her go to a top of the line one because they wanted her to stay close to home. As a result, the school that she is attending is more interested in looks than grades. That does not matter, though, because she spends the majority of the book caught up in vampire drama, so there is often a reason why she cannot go to school. She a boyfriend in this book, and I kept having to remind myself that this is a teen book, so boyfriend and girlfriend is not necessarily going to go very far, especially since she is a minor.

Her other roommates have a relationship as well, and it gets pretty interesting during the course of this book. I cannot share because it would give away spoilers from the previous book. Let's just say that their relationship gets more and more complicated as time goes on. Claire's boyfriends dad is the cause of most of the excitement in this book. He is determined to kill all the vampires because they were responsible for his daughter and wives death. He does not take no for an answer, and he is hell-bent on revenge.

Claire is a typical teen caught up in a very strange situation. She is not the most popular kid at school, far from it, but she gets invited to the Dead Girls' Dance, and then everything in the book takes a drastic change for the worse. The mayor and most of the police force are under the rule of the vampires, so it is a question of who the quartet can trust to get them out of harms way safely.

Parting Thoughts: I find some of Claire's attributes annoying at times, sort of like I find Bella annoying in the Twilight series from time to time. I think it is the age, as they are both around the same one. This book was enjoyable, and I look forward to the next one.

The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny

2007-07-02T08:27:00.000-05:00

Completion Date: May 2007

Publication Year: Originally 1974, this version 1999

Received in 2007 during Buy a Friend a Book Month

Book Two in The Chronicles of Amber series

Reason for Reading: I think this series looks really good, and I had already read book 1 in it. I have to say again how happy I am that I received it back during Buy a Friend a Book Month.

Across the worlds of Shadow, Corwin, Prince of blood royal, heir to the throne of Amber, gathers his forces for an assault that will yeild up to him the crown that is rightfully his. But, a growing darkness of his own doing threatens Corwin's plans, an evil that stretches to the heart of the perfect kingdom itself where the demonic forces of Chaos mass to annihilate Amber and all whowould rule there.

For years I have seen this series at the bookstore, but never picked it up. I am glad that I am finally reading it now. It reads like one giant novel, with what happens in this book continuing on from what happened in the last.

The books in this series are very short, so I find that I have a hard time coming up with things to say about them so as to not reveal too much of the story. In the previous book, the story centred around getting to know the characters, in this book there is a lot more action. Brothers appear that were mentioned in the previous book, but no one knew where they were. It is basically a war in Amber, as the title of the book suggests, there are also guns.

This book seems to play around with time and space. Sometimes it seems to take place during the past with sword-fighting and valiant knights, and then other times it seems to take place during the present (well, Zelazny's present) with guns and leather jackets. For such a short book, a lot happens in it. Zelazny really plays around with shadows and what is real and not real. Characters reach the forefront, characters die, and a new foe becomes a threat.

Corwin is preparing to take over the kingdom of Amber for himself, and he has a lot of setbacks. It is very hard to sneak into Amber unnoticed. He is a very determined prince, though, and everytime something bad happens, he tries something else. He is not brilliant, though, because he is tricked in such a way that could lead to grave circumstances in the next books.

Parting Thoughts: My one beef with this series is the editing. For a book that was released so long ago, they had plenty of time spending some time copy editing before coming out with the collected works, and it does not look like they did at all. I was aware of this when I bought it, though, people mention it in Amazon reviews. I really enjoy the series, and it is much easier to read it this way than to track down the older books, so I will put up with the bad editing to find out what happens to Corwin next. I am looking forward to book three!

Rises the Night by Colleen Gleason

2007-06-28T10:10:00.000-05:00

Completion Date: June 27, 2007
Pages: 343
Publication Year: 2007 (Signet Eclipse)
Purchased in 2007
Book Two in The Gardella Vampire Chronicles

Reason for Reading: I wanted to find out what happened next, of course.

In Italy, a powerful vampire is amassing the power to control the souls of the dead. Lady Victoria Gardella de Lacy-a vampire slayer for just over a year-races across Europe to stop what could be the most deadly army the Gardellas have ever faced. She is accompanied by Sebastian Vioget, a man as tempting as he is untrustworthy.

But when Victoria discovers that she has been betrayed by one of her most trusted allies, the truth will challenge all her powers as a Venator-and as a woman.

I am so happy that I finally found the time to sit down and read this book! I bought it when it first came out, and then June just got away from me. I finally got my chance, though, so I am happy to report that I read it!

When I read books, one of the most important things for me is how women are portrayed in the novel. I am a girl, and I like to read books where I can either relate, admire, or look up to the female characters. I am not interested in the "too stupid to live" female characters that can be quite common in different forms of literature. I think that in the 21st-century people are passed needing to read about the damsel in distress that is saved by her valiant knight. I know that I am! Lady Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy is a woman, she may be a venator, but she is a woman first. She has taken on the role of protector and sworn to rid the world of vampires, but she is also battling with wanting the things that normal women in society have. This battle is one of the key themes of the novel.

Going back to how I like to read books with smart female leads, Victoria is put in a position where she is not protected as she normally is, and she still manages to kick vampire butt. This is very important to both her and to me as a reader, because it shows that just because she is a woman living in the nineteenth-century, she is still capable of protecting herself, even without that which makes her a venator. It is also nice that Victoria can be a woman and a vampire slayer because it seems to be common in other parnormal books that the women are all about the vampire slaying and less about being women. There is nothing wrong with being a female, the problem is how they are portrayed.

The other lead role in this book goes to Sebastian Vioget, which I am sure delighted many readers because he got a lot of page space. The other two men from book one did not, as one is dead and I will let you figure out Max on your own by reading the book. I am not sure who I like better, Max or Sebastian. I think they both have interesting characteristics, and that they would both equally be interesting to have lots of page time in the coming books in the series. I am also not sure Victoria really has to pick anyone, she has no intention of ever marrying. Sebastian turns out to be more than meets in the eye in several instances during this book. The reader learns a lot about him and why he found himself running a bar that was for vampires and humans.

A lot of things happen in this book. A great deal of it takes place in Rome, where a new threat is rising to give problems to the mortal race. It is up to Victoria and a few others to save the city, but I think saying too much about that would give away a big aspect of the plot. Colleen also introduces some other men to the mix, but none, for me, are as great as Sebastian and Max. I also highly doubt they will be her lovers in future books, if mentioned all.

Parting Thoughts: It is June 28th today, and I am sad because I have to wait until next year to find out what happens next. Did anyone read the little spoiler for The Bleeding Dusk in the back of the book? I never read them because I am interested in the book as it is, I do not need to be anymore anxious for its release. I think that this series has a good thing going for it, and that this book stands up to, if not surpasses The Rest Falls Away. I highly recommend this book and this series. Another great read, and one of my favourites of the year. To see my other favourites, see my Thursday Thirteen on my other blog.

RISES THE NIGHT SCAVENGER HUNT

2007-06-27T19:42:00.000-05:00

Colleen Gleason's second book in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles is barely out on the shelves and she's offering Twisted Kingdom readers a special opportunity to win an ADVANCE COPY of THE BLEEDING DUSK, the third installment in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles.

In order to be entered in the drawing, you need to send an email to me at Twisted_Kingdom_Blog AT hotmail DOT com along with a picture of RISES THE NIGHT in a store THAT IS NOT A BOOKSTORE IN THE US, CANADA, or AUSTRALIA.

That's right....a picture of the book in a bookstore in a country other than the US, Canada, or Australia--or a drugstore, grocery store, airport store, or other non-bookstore location anywhere (including the US and Canada).

Send the picture on and you'll be entered to win an advance copy of THE BLEEDING DUSK!

DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: July 10.

Colleen Gleason Scavenger Hunt

2007-06-27T10:12:00.000-05:00

So, ladies and gents, I need feedback. I imagine that some people out there must want an advanced reading copy of The Bleeding Dusk, but I have only received one picture! I am looking for some feedback, are people looking and just not finding anything? Should I extend the date passed the tenth? I live in a town where the chances of Rises the Night appearing anywhere but a bookstore is very slim, so I need other people to let me in one what is going on. This is a very flexible competition because Colleen does not even have the advanced reading copies in her possession yet.

Remember, if you live in North America, the idea is to find the book somewhere other than a bookstore: the airport, grocery store, Wal-Mart, etc. If you live elsewhere, you can take a picture of the book wherever you see it, so that includes the bookstore. You do not have to buy it, just throw the camera in your purse when you go grocery shopping or make sure the camera phone is charged.

In other news, I am just finishing up Rises the Night, so expect a review of it soon!

Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny

2007-06-23T14:44:00.000-05:00

This is the first book in The Great Book of Amber.

Amber, the one real world, wherein all others, including our own Earth, are but Shadows. Amber burns in Corwin's blood. Exiled on Shadow Earth for centuries, the prince is about to return to Amber to make a mad and desperate rush upon the throne. From Arden to the blood-slippery Stairway into the Sea, the air is electrified with the powers of Eric, Random, Bleys, Caine, and all the princes of Amber whom Corwin must overcome. Yet, his savage path is blocked and guarded by eerie structures beyond imaging—impossible realities forged by demonic assassins and staggering horrors to challenge the might of Corwin's superhuman fury.

I was so lucky to have won this book because, so far, I am really enjoying the series. This is the first book, and it was a good introduction. To be honest, so far I believe that the collected works is the best way to release this series because the books flow into one another in such a way that they can all be the same book. Corwin, a Prince of Amber, is the main character. He has been exiled on Earth, and has no memory of who he is and where he came from. The nine brothers are fighting for the throne of Amber, and it is these brothers that Corwin has to beat in order to become king. He just does not necessarily know this yet.

In this book, we really get our first glimpse of Corwin, and through him get a rundown of the family tree, and what a large family tree it is. Nine is just the brothers, there are several sisters, too. The family is all rather old, but for them Amber is the real world and the place that we call earth is just a shadow to them. The whole family is against one another, with brief alliances happening from time to time to gain power. Power is the name of the game for this family, that is for sure. Female characters are rather lacking in this power struggle, though. They make their appearances, but just as quickly they vanish so that their brothers can battle things out.

Overall, though, a very good first book to this series. I have also read book two, which I will review soon, and I plan to read more of the series soon. What does everyone think of the 1977 cover?

Books by Margaret Weis

2007-06-23T11:46:00.000-05:00

Margaret Weis has written a lot of books during her career, she had several books out this year alone. For the Author of the month challenge, though, I will be concentrating on her work on the Dragonlance novels. I will not be able to read all of them, of course, but I am hoping to read a couple between now and July 15th and then continue with more throughout the year.

Dragonlance : Chronicles (with Tracy Hickman)
1. Dragons of Autumn Twilight (1984)
2. Dragons of Winter Night (1985)
3. Dragons of Spring Dawning (1985)
Dragonlance Chronicles (1988)
4. Dragons of Summer Flame (1995)
The Annotated Chronicles (1999)

Dragonlance : Legends (with Tracy Hickman)

3. Test of the Twins (1986)
2. War of the Twins (1986)
1. Time of the Twins (1986)
Dragonlance Legends (1986)
The Annotated Legends (2003)

Dragonlance
Dragons of Glory (1986) (with Douglas Niles)
The Best of Tales (2000) (with Tracy Hickman)
The Best of Tales Volume 2 (2002) (with Tracy Hickman)
Spectre of Sorrows (2004)
Dragons in the Archives: The Best of Weis And Hickman (2004) (with Tracy Hickman)
Intro to Dragonlance Boxed Set (2004)
The Magic of Krynn: Tales, Volume One (2005) (with Tracy Hickman)
Holy Order of the Stars (2005)

Dragonlance : Tales (with Tracy Hickman)
3. Love and War (1987)
1. The Magic of Krynn (1987)
2. Kender, Gully Dwarves and Gnomes (1987)
Dragonlance Tales: Magic of Krynn, Kender, Gully Dwarves and Gnomes and Love and War (1991)

Dragonlance : Tales II
1. The Reign of Istar (1992) (with Tracy Hickman, Richard A Knaak and Michael Williams)
2. The Cataclysm (1992) (with Nancy Varian Berberick, Tracy Hickman, Roger E Moore)
3. The War of the Lance (1992) (with Tracy Hickman, Richard A Knaak and Michael Williams)

Dragonlance : Dragons (with Tracy Hickman)
1. The Dragons of Krynn (1994)
2. The Dragons at War (1996)
3. The Dragons of Chaos (1996)
Dragons of Time (2007)

Dragonlance : Second Generation (with Tracy Hickman)

The Second Generation (1994)

Dragonlance : Kang's Regiment (with Don Perrin)

1. The Doom Brigade (1996)
2. Draconian Measures (2000)

Dragonlance : Raistlin
1. The Soulforge (1997)
2. Brothers in Arms (1999) (with Don Perrin)

Dragonlance : Fifth Age (with Tracy Hickman)

Relics and Omens: Tales of the Fifth Age (1998)
Heroes and Fools: Tales of the Fifth Age (1999)
Rebels and Tyrants: Tales of the Fifth Age (2000)

Dragonlance : War of Souls

1. Dragons of a Fallen Sun (2000) (with Tracy Hickman)
2. Dragons of a Lost Star (2001) (with Tracy Hickman)
3. Dragons of a Vanished Moon (2002) (with Tracy Hickman)
War of Souls Gift Set (2003) (with Tracy Hickman)
The Search for Power (2004)

Sovereign Stone (with Tracy Hickman)
1. Well of Darkness (2000)
2. Guardians of the Lost (2001)
3. Journey into the Void (2003)

Dragonlance : Tales from the War of Souls (with Tracy Hickman)
1. The Search for Magic (2001)
2. The Players of Gilean (2003)

Dragonlance : Young Adult Chronicles (with Tracy Hickman)
2. Night of the Dragons (2003)
1. A Rumor of Dragons (2003)
3. The Nightmare Lands (2003)
4. To The Gates of Palanthas (2003)
5. Hope's Flame (2004)
6. A Dawn of Dragons (2004)
Chronicles for Young Readers Gift Set (2004)

Dragonlance : Dark Disciple

1. Amber and Ashes (2004)
2. Amber and Iron (2006)
3. Amber and Blood (2007)

Dragonlance : Dark Chronicles (with Tracy Hickman)
1. Dragons of the Dwarven Depths (2006)
2. Dragons Of The Highlord Skies (2007)

Not even all of these books interest me, but hopefully the ones that do, I will read in the coming months.

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

2007-06-19T10:52:00.000-05:00

MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae….

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands…

This was one of those books where first person narration was a huge disadvantage to the story because the story slowly unfolded through Mac’s eyes, and Mac was, simply put, too stupid to live. There’s just no other way to say it. She’s described as a 22-year-old blonde from Georgia, who grew up pretty sheltered. Thoroughout the story, there were numerous mentions of how she looked like Barbie; how pretty she was and how much she loved the color pink. I swear I got so tired of reading Mac’s ramblings about nail polish, clothes, shoes and whatever else came into her empty head: ("I’m big on drinking lots of water. Hydrating one’s skin from the inside out is even more important than using a good moisturizer on the surface.") But what was so frustrating about her was that she never knew what was going on and, because she didn’t know, the reader didn’t know, either. Mac was always in way over her head without a clue as to the kind of danger she was in, and she kept making the same mistakes over and over again—more concerned about her outfit and make-up than how she was going to stay alive. Not to mention the fact that she couldn’t see things that were right in front of her. Halfway through the book and she was still trying to deny what she was and it was irritating, especially when proof kept starting her right in the face. All she really did was follow around Jericho, blindly doing whatever he told her to do.

As for Jericho, he was supposed to be a shady, mysterious, character that’s always “in the know” with the dark side of things, such as criminals and whatnot. He was written as an Alpha male but he just came off as a jerk to me and a pretty bland one, too.

Besides the TSTL heroine (and bland hero), my main problem with this book is that it’s so blatantly a series setup; the plot never really gets off the ground and by the end, hardly anything has been resolved. The majority of the plot threads are just left hanging for the next book. I don’t mind if a book is a series starter or apart of a series—if you want to carry some subplots over for the next book, fine—but at least give me a solid story with some real resolution to the main plot by the time I finish the book. I felt like this book was just an intro book without any real substance. Anyone who brought this book in hardcover (raises hand) got ripped off.

In truth, I think Moning’s writing just isn’t for me. I tried one of her Highlander books before and found it mediocre at best, but I decided to try this one anyway because I heard she was doing something different with this series—not so much romance as paranormal suspense coupled with Fae. Also, I didn’t think it’d be fair to judge Moning’s entire works based on one book, but again, I was left wanting.

Final Word:

I found Darkfever’s plot boring; the heroine TSTL, the creatures unimaginative and Jericho a dull, jerk.

Author of the Month

2007-06-18T10:53:00.000-05:00

So, last months author of the month has been over for a few days, but I sort of lost track of the date. I find that June has gone by very quickly! That means that I meant to have Colleen Gleason's book read by the 15th, but I lost track of when the 15th was! Many apologies, but she is giving away an advanced reading copy of her new book, so it was a good author of the month month.

Now, we move on to the new author of the month: Margaret Weis. So, my plan is to read as many Dragonlance books as I can between now and the 15th (or so) of July. Tomorrow I will post a bit of a biography and a book list. I really like her writing, so hopefully I can get through a lot of her books! First, though, I am going to read Colleen Gleason's new book and post all about it!

Rises the Night Has Been Spotted

2007-06-15T13:20:00.000-05:00

Colleen Gleason just emailed to say that Rises the Night has been spotted in a Walgreen's in Texas, so that means that it should start appearing in stores across North America. Just remember, you do not have to buy it, just drop the digital camera in your purse when you go grocery shopping or make sure you have battery on your camera phone, and when you spot it, just take a picture and send it into Twisted Kingdom. If you live in the United States, Canada, and Australia, you have to try and find it outside the bookstore, but if you live anywhere else, anywhere you see it is fine. So far... I have one picture. So, hopefully I will get a few more between now and July 10th. The email is twisted_kingdom_blog AT hotmail DOT com. Although if you forget and send it to the regular email, those will count as well!

The Dream-Maker's Magic by Sharon Shinn

2007-06-13T11:01:00.000-05:00

Kellen's mother has always insisted that her only child was born male, not female, so Kellen has been raised as a boy. Then she is forced to go to school, where she meets Gryffin, whose mind is as strong as his legs are damaged, and the two become friends and allies. A few years later, the two get jobs working at a nearby inn, the Parmer Arms. When it is discovered that Gryffin is the kingdom's new Dream-Maker, someone whose mere presence can help dreams come true, he is whisked away to the castle, leaving Kellen behind. By now, their friendship is shading into something more.Will it endure?

This is book three in The Safe-Keeper series following on from The Safe-Keeper's Secret and The Truth-Teller's Tale.

This was my favourite in the trilogy I think. I really enjoyed all the characters in this book more than the characters in the other books. The way that all the pieces of the novel come together is very interesting. The main character is Kellen, her mother thought for sure she gave birth to a boy, so she raised her daughter as a boy for years. It took Kellan to get her own identity and break away from the norms that her mother set for her. She gets her own life and meets some very interesting people along the way.

Gryffin helps her out a great deal. They are both outcasts at school, Kellen because she is not sure if she is a boy or a girl and Gryffin because his legs are damaged. Between the two of them, they work together to get their lives together and be happy. Gryffin also is the new dream-maker, taken over from the older woman that lost her powers in The Truth-Teller's Tale. Dream-makers grant wishes, but rarely have any good luck themselves. Gryffin's good luck comes, though, but will Kellen and him be able to be together when he is the dream-maker is for you to find out by reading this book.

A very fine ending to a great Sharon Shinn trilogy.

Moonshine (Roc Fantasy)

2007-06-12T16:21:00.000-05:00

After saving the world from his fiendish father's side of the family, Cal Leandros and his stalwart half-brother Niko have settled down with new digs and a new gig-bodyguard and detective work. And in New York City, where preternatural beings stalk the streets just like normal folk, business is good. Their latest case has them going undercover for the Kin-the werewolf Mafia. A low-level Kin boss thinks a rival is setting him up for a fall, and wants proof. The place to start is the back room of Moonshine-a gambling club for non-humans. Cal thinks it's a simple in-and-out job. But Cal is very, very wrong.

I got to page 24, yes 24, before I decided I couldn't take anymore. The story is told from Cal's point of view and he tries just too damn hard to be cool, witty, and sarcastic. Like a private eye from one of those Maltese Falcon wanna-be B movies. He also tells us more than once that his brother is the very best and most efficient killer. I half expected the guy to be Superman or something. That's the problem with the way the book is written. In merely 24 pages the author managed to bore me because he tells, tells, tells the audience what he wants us to believe rather than trying to show it to us. Perhaps if Cal didn't think his brother was "the bomb diggity" or Bruce Lee reincarnated and perhaps if he didn't try so damn hard to sound cool I could have cared enough to stick with the story. As it is he grated on my hot damn nerves like a wanna-be teenage punk.

A sad 2 out of 5. Just because the book cover is nice.

Rene Lyons Guest Post

2007-06-11T05:54:00.000-05:00

The lovely women of Twisted Kingdom have graciously allowed me to hijack their blog for a bit. As for who in the world I am, my name is Rene Lyons. I'm a paranormal romance romance author who writes for both Samhain and the soon-to-be-opened Tease Publishing. I have three books out so far, all in eBook format and two in print. They are the first three books in a series I've titled the Templar Vampire Series.

Now...enough of that and on to the post. ;)

When I was a little girl I hated to read. And I mean hated it. And then it happened. I was roughly fourteen or so and I had strep throat. This put me on bed rest for the better part of ten days. Bored to death of daytime television (remember, this is back before the wonderful days of cable), I annoyed my mother to the point that she tossed a book in my face and told me to read it or go to sleep. Either way, she was done with my whining. So, I read. And read. And read. The book was Shanna by Katherine E. Woodiwiss. Needless to say I was hooked. A new obsession with reading was born. I read it in two days - and for those who know the book, it's a big one. More than anything, the happy ending got me. As soon as I was well enough, I raced to the book store and loaded up on romance novels. Oh yeah. I was a changed girl. I began to read everything I got my hands on. Books. Magazines. Hell, I even read the ingredients on boxes of cereal. The more words I took in the happier I was. Then, along came a treasure called Saving Grace by Julie Garwood. That book began me down the path that led to where I am today. I happened to have been in a god-awful relationship at the time I read SG, so I felt the book mirrored my emotions. By the time I was finished with it, I knew writing was something I wanted to do. I had to put my emotions down on paper. I had to tell the stories playing out in my mind like wonderful little movies. I had to....well, I just had to do everything that came with writing.

So, here I am, almost twenty years after reading Saving Grace. I did it. I made my dream come true. Determination and belief in one's self are things I hope to pass onto my daughter. I want her to look at me and be inspired to never give up on whatever dreams she may have. I mean, come on, I'm just a chick born and raised in Brooklyn (no, I don't live there anymore) who likes to jot down some stories. If I can come this far (with a very long road left to travel down), I hope my daughter can see that she can do the impossible as well.

Okay, was that too preachy? lol

Thanks to the incredible women of Twisted Kingdom. I had a blast taking over your blog. ;)

Thanks for stopping by Rene!

Magician: Apprentice by Raymond Feist

2007-06-10T05:21:00.000-05:00

To the forest on the shore of the Kingdom of the Isles, the orphan Pug came to study with the master magician Kulgan. But though his courage won him a place at court and the heart of a lovely Princess, he was ill at ease with the normal ways of wizardry. Yet Pug's strange sort of magic would one day change forever the fates of two worlds. For dark beings from another world had opened a rift in the fabric of spacetime to being again the age-old battle between the forces of Order and Chaos.

After reading Flight of the Nighthawks back in April, I decided it was time to go back in the pages to the first book in Raymond Feist's career. I was a little worried because people had told me that Pug, the main character, had annoyed them in this book. It was not a problem for me, though. I think it was actually good that I had read a later book because instead of seeing Pug as an annoyance, I saw him as the character that would grow up to be in Flight of the Nighthawk.

This is the book that explains how Pug became Pug. It is in this book that he gets the chance to become a magicians apprentice and learn the trade that will be so vital in his future. By the title, us as readers know that this what will occur for him, but on the day that the townspeople pick their apprentices, Pug is the very last one chosen. He fears that no one will pick him and then he will have to leave forever, but the King's Magician assures that does not happen and steps forward to offer Pug an opportunity that few will ever get the chance to experience.

It is actually aways interesting to me when an author puts enough time into a series that you can actually watch a fictional character grow up. Pug is just a child in this book, but by Feist's newest series he is by all accounts a grandfather, even if his son did not actually provide the sperm that made the children. I think that as a whole this series will be interesting because you get to watch Pug grow up from an annoying little kid to the very powerful adult. To watch him struggle to learn how to use magic was amazing, to see him be the brave soul that saved the princess was actually a little funny, and to watch his country be thrown into war a time for the cast of characters to grow.

This is book one in the Riftwar Saga. I look forward to reading the future books in this series.

The Looking Glass Wars

2007-06-09T12:32:00.000-05:00

At first I couldn't for the life of me figure out just how I felt about this book. It's just that kind of a book. Lucky for me I finally figured I don't care much for it and so here we are with this review.

From Amazon we have the plot:

When her parents, the king and queen of Wonderland, are killed by her Aunt Redd, Alyss Heart escapes by jumping into the Pool of Tears. Her jump takes her to Victorian Oxford, where she emerges from a puddle, lives as a street urchin, and is eventually adopted by Reverend and Mrs. Liddell. Unable to make anyone believe her fantastic story, she finally confides in Charles Dodgson, who says he will write a book about her. When she discovers that Alice's Adventures Underground is full of make-believe, and not her story or her real name, she sadly resigns herself to life as a Victorian girl of privilege. Meanwhile, back in Wonderland, the Alyssians form a resistance movement and attempt to overthrow the despotic Redd. For years, Hatter Madigan searches the world for Alyss so she can return to Wonderland as Queen.

Mailyn Says:

I have to admit there are a few things that attracted me to this book. Mainly the reviews mostly promising this was anything but Lewis's Wonderland. That was fine with me since I have never cared for the Alice books one bit. In fact, they are right up there with Pride & Prejudice in the "books I cannot stand" category.

Another thing was the plot which sounded interesting.

Unfortunately that was the only interesting thing about this book: the premise. The actual execution of it left much to be desired. The characters were, as many people have observed, as one-dimensional as they come. The all-powerful Alyss, the trusted bodyguard, and a host other cliche characters, along with some very bad writing, make this one of the most boring books I've read in a long time. I was mildly interested in the first couple of chapters but by the time I started seeing everything coming a mile away I just skipped ahead to see how Beddor would end it all.

All in all, a big waste of time regardless of whether you love or hate the original Alice books.

A 2 out of 5 just to give it a few points for the premise.

Kailana Says:

It's sad that you did not like this book Mailyn because while I did not think it was the best book ever, I also did not think it was a waste of time either. I really do not like Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. I consider it one of my least favourite books of all time. I can never even finish it, I find myself skimming. This book I read from cover to cover, so that puts it a bit ahead of the original.

I agree that the book is a bit predictable, but it was an original take on a classic story. The majority of the characters were compelling, but some of them I think he could have been developed a bit more. I did have the story figured out a great deal of the time, but Alyss interested me and she was a great figure to watch develop. I like how you can see aspects from the oringinal reworked. The Cheshire Cat works for her evil aunt, cards play an important aspect, and the catapillars are the philosophers that represent Lewis Carroll. It also shows how the story that we know of Alice in Wonderland progressed into the story that Beddor has written.

I liked this book better than the original. It is going to be a trilogy, so we will see if by the time book two comes out I still have enough interest in the story. Not a book to be bought in hardcover, but not a totally waste of time either.

Rene Lyons Interview

2007-06-07T22:11:00.000-05:00

Ladies and Gents, it is my pleasure to present a very new interview with Rene Lyons. She is the author of the Templar Vampire Series, and she is here today to answer both our question and any that you may have to ask her. She will also be back in the next couple days to do a guest blog post and there is a rumour of a give-away, so stay tuned! The books in her series so far are as follows: Midnight Sun, The Daystar and Tempting Darkness. You can read her blog by clicking here.

Twisted Kingdom: What is your favourite colour?
Rene Lyons: People always think it's black. Actually, it's white.

TK: What is your favourite food?
RL: Lasagna.

TK: Do you have any pets?
RL: Little Man and Bugsy are my two cats and I have one fish named Al Capone.

TK: Is it hard being a mom and an author at the same time, or do you have a nice balance?
RL: Most of the time I've found that perfect balance. But there are days when it's pure chaos around here and I can't even think.

TK:What is your favourite author/book?
RL:This Is All I Ask by Lynn Kurland, who also happens to be my favorite author. That woman could write a grocery list and I'd buy it. I also adore Anya Bast. I don't read much erotica, but I truly get lost in her books.

TK: Besides yourself, what is your favourite author/book from Samheim Publishing? Why do you recommend it?
RL: Nuermar's Last Witch by AE Rought is the sort of book that grabs you and doesn't let go until the last page. I loved the depth of the characters and the urgency of AE's writing style.

TK: What is it like to make the move from e-books to seeing your books in print? Did you feel the same for both experiences, or was one more exciting than the other?
RL: Although it was incredible to know my book was available as an eBook, the truth is, there's nothing like seeing your book in print. When I first held Midnight Sun - turned the pages, saw my words on paper - I felt as if I were in a wonderful dream I never wanted to wake from.

TK: Do you have rules for how your female characters are going to act in your books as a female author, or do they just take on roles of their own? (I'm sorry, I had to ask...)
RL: The only rule I make sure I stick to is that, none of my heroines can be Too Stupid To Live. I have no problem scrapping an entire book and re-writing it if she falls into that awful catagory.

TK: Which cover is your favourite? Was it weird to ask your friend to appear on the front of one your books?
RL: The Awakening is my favorite cover. I designed and created it myself, so I'm really proud of it. Andy Douglas and I had only just met when he was on the cover of Tempting Darkness (he's also on the cover of The Awakening). And no, it's not weird at all to have him on my books. In fact, it makes those two books very special to me. I'm blessed to have him as a friend. He's an amazing person.

TK: If you were given the chance of going back and re-write a scene or a character, what would it be?
RL: I'd re-write Midnight Sun. Yes, the entire book. I'd put back in a lot of Sebastian and the Templar's backstory that was taken out during edits. I'd also extend certain scenes between Sebastian and Allie that I now see played out in more detail in my mind.

TK: If you got offered the chance to make a movie or television series of your books, would you do it? Why or why not? And if you would, who would you like to see playing the lead roles?
RL: Of course I'd love to see my Templars in a movie or a television series! Wentworth Miller would have to play Sebastian. I'd have to have Andy Douglas play Lucian, because now, that's who I envision when I think of that character. As to Constantine, Raphael, and Tristan, maybe your readers can help me with who could play them.

TK: What's happening in the future? Any release dates for new books or new series that you will be working on?
RL: I'm writing Eternal Sin, the fourth installment of the Templar Vampire Series. Come July 31st, The Seraphim: Setheus will be released as an eBook. In October, Tempting Darkness will become available in print. The Awakening will also be released in October through Tease Publishing. Stella Price and I, along with a handful of other authors, are working on a project we plan on completing for Fall of this year. I can't say much about it yet, but I can tell you this: The New Generation of Romance is coming soon!

Upon completion of this interview, I have another question, so if Rene happens to read this, maybe you could say in the comments what readers can expect from The Seraphim: Setheus.

Clockwork by Philip Pullman

2007-06-07T04:51:00.000-05:00

An apprentice clockmaker facing failure...a writer with a story he can't control....a girl whose courage will need to match her kindness...a prince whose mechanical heart is winding down...a clockwork knight with murderous tendencies...and a doctor who just may be the Devil.

Their stories come together piece by piece in this chilling tale where nothing is as it seems, but like the gears of a strange and wonderful clock, everything fits together.

In my second year of university I took a fantasy course, and this book was supposed to be one of the books we read, but it never ended up happening. I hate to admit it but I am not really a huge Philip Pullman fan. I have read The Golden Compass, and it just did not do anything for me. I do not have a big urge to read the rest of the trilogy. I am not sure why I picked this book up considering my feelings on his other writing, but it was on the TBR pile and I thought I would give it a try.

I will admit it, for such a short book and for such a young reading level, being labeled as for ages 9 to 12, I thought that this book was very thought provocing. What would happen if you were a storyteller who had a story in a dream, wrote it down, but were not sure how it ended until one of your story characters walked into the bar you were reading in. What if you were an apprentice to a great clockworker and it was your turn to prove to the world what you were capable of, but for the first time ever there is nothing new to go on the clock. Or, if you were a little girl with a big heart facing a dangerous situation. What if all these things were parts of a story, and there was an evil doctor who was going to bring all the people that seem unrelated together.

In a way, this is a book about books and how sometimes the fiction can become the reality so you should be careful what lines you put to the page. This book is only 107 pages, a book that you can easily read in one sitting, but a lot happens in some very short pages. Welcome to your darkest fairy tale.

Thief with no Shadows by Emily Gee

2007-06-06T19:02:00.000-05:00

I was looking for books to buy one day and came across Thief with no Shadows by Emily Gee. The back blurb sounded good and there was a quote saying something like "great romance story!" ... and so I bought it. I guess I'm easy LOL

Thief with no Shadows by Emily Gee: 2.5/5
published by Solaris in April 2007

Melke is a wraith and so has the ability to become invisible. As a result, wraiths are usually persecuted because they are great thieves and spies. Melke has promised her mother that she would never become a thief; however, she breaks that promess in order to save her younger brother, Hantje, from the fire-breathing salamanders. So in exchange for her brother, she must steal a necklace from the sal Vere.

As soon as Bastien sal Vere is aware of the theft, he goes after Melke, but he is too late. Furious, he forces Melke to steal back the necklace. See, what Melke didn't know was that the necklace was made up of tears of psaaron, some sea creature, and it was the solution to a curse... and so Bastien desperately needs it in order to free himself and his sister.

My thoughts: I was quite disappointed in the book, not only because the great romance story wasn't there, but also because I think that the world building was lacking and there wasn't enough character development. Let's start with the world building... I thought that I miss a chapter or two where things were explained. There are 4 "paranormal" creatures and they're pretty much feared and each of them use sex in a certain way... and that was the only thing that was explained. There wasn't much about the geography or even day to day life or what kind of powers/abilities people could have. I mean, Bastien can talk to dogs in his mind and Liana, his younger sister, has a healing gift... but how rare are those powers... I have no idea. So my thoughts are that the author had this storyline all figure out, but not the world building and so she figured out she could still write the book. It's just seems to me that the book was lacking.

Now, the characters... well perhaps it wasn't a lack of development, but it was hard to be attached to them, to care. I think that the majority of them were uni-dimensional and that's too bad... cos it was very difficult to like them. Melke seems to passive and Bastien was a real jerk in my opinion... which is why it I didn't see any romance between them at all. Basically, Bastien despises wraith and he's very angry at Melke and so, he treats her really badly. I don't often dislike heroes in my books, but in this case, I really had difficulty to see a good side to Bastien. I just wanted him to get over his dislike and suddenly, he was already in love... I didn't buy it...

The idea and storyline wasn't bad, but the book would definitively have been better if it was a bit more developed.... because of this, the flow of the book was akward.

Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda

2007-06-05T22:24:00.000-05:00

Rowan doesn't believe he has a brave heart. But when the river that supports his village of Rin runs dry, he must join a dangerous journey to its source in the forbidden Mountain. To save Rin, Rowan and his companions must conquer not only the Mountain's many tricks, but also the fierce dragon that lives at its peak.

This short book is marketed to readers ages 8 and up. I should have been reading other books, but I recently read a review of this book and decided that I was going to pause in all that I should be doing to see if this was a series that interested me. It is very much a series for the young at heart, and I think I would be interested to see what happens in the later books.

This book takes place in a land called Rin. It is set in an age that is before the time that we are experiencing on earth, it is a very simplistic lifestyle and the citizens are all tradespeople who are very much tied to the land. When the villages river runs dry, though, the people are left faced with a dangerous situation. The water is the only source of refreshment for the bukshah, well water not being sweet enough for them. If the village people do not get to the root of the problem, the bukshah (which I picture as cows-like) will die and take a main resource away from the village leading to its eventual demise.

Once the village people are aware that there is a problem, they band together to formulate a plan that leads to the eventual decision that they are going to have to climb the Mountain and figure out what has stopped the water from flowing. Six brave souls volunteer for a mission that has never successfully been completed before: Strong Jonn, who is in love with Rowan's mother; Marlie, the weaver; Allun, the outsider that has something to prove; Bronden, the practical; and Van and Ellis, the inseparable twins. They are all brave souls, the bravest in the whole village, but a visit to Sheba, the towns oldest resident sets the tale on a different path.

The story is centred around Rowan. He is quiet, withdrawn, and fearful, but also the keeper of the bukshah. This is his story because Sheba chooses for this to be his tale. She teases the village folk that come to visit her, offering only a rhymn as their clue to the success of this mission:

Seven hearts the journey make.
Seven ways the hearts will break.
Bravest heart will carry on
When sleep is death, and hope is gone.
Look in the fiery jaws of fear
And see the answer white and clear,
Then throw away all thoughts of home,
For only then your quest is done.

Rowan, a visitor to Sheba's house, fears this rhymn. He has no way of knowing what lies in store for him and just how things will play out for him. He is ever fearful and refuses to believe that he can be brave, but he will be tested, as all the members will be, and the reader will get the chance to see whether this mission is successful or not. Oh, and there might even be a dragon for readers to meet.

My favourite thing about this book was that it is about a town where gender does not seem to matter. The women are just as strong and willing as the men, with three of the seven adventurers being women. I am always fond of novels that see women as more than weak and defenseless. As for downfalls, it is not the best book I have ever read, but it is a good start to a series that is focused towards younger children. It will teach them to root for the underdog.

Harper Collins also believes that this would be a book for Ron of Harry Potter fame. To see why, click here to be taken to the post they have provided.

Anno Dracula

2007-05-30T09:12:00.000-05:00

In this first of what looks to be an excellent series, Victorian England has vampires at every level of society, especially the higher ones, and they engage in incessant intrigue, power games, and casual oppression of the weak--activities, as we know, that are all too human. Numerous characters from literature and from history appear in both major and cameo roles. Spectacular fight scenes, stormy politics, and a serial vampire killer keep the action lively. A scholarly bibliography is included.

This was one of the most disappointing reads I've had in a long time. I had heard nothing but praise for this vampire novel but I don't understand why that is. The writing, IMO, was so bland and uninspiring I barely dragged through page 49 before I decided I could take no more. Mrs Newman seems to be in love with hyphens, so much so that I counted 11 on one page alone. So many words were hyphenated: new-born, un-dead, curly-haired, knee-tremblers, desk-banging, boot-leather, bread-knife, vampire-slayer,after-darks, tea-bowls...and on and on and on. It was distracting, to say the least. Too many sentences dragged on or made no sense and I found my mind wandering more than once. I couldn't care for any of the protagonists and I certainly didn't care to know just who the Silver Knife murderer was.

Maybe I can try and get into this another time but, for now, it's a DNF.

The Perilous Gard

2007-05-28T12:59:00.000-05:00

This is my second novel based on the Tam Lin folk ballad and I must say I am extremely disappointed. I like the Tam Lin myth and I found this book extremely and utterly boring. Let's have the plot first from Amazon:

In 1558, while exiled by Queen Mary Tudor to a remote castle known as Perilous Gard, young Kate Sutton becomes involved in a series of mysterious events that lead her to an underground world peopled by Fairy Folkwhose customs are even older than the Druids" and include human sacrifice

The plot and the fact that it's based on one of my favorite tales should have made this a great read. That and the praise that seems to follow this book everywhere. So what went wrong? I can't put my finger on it. All I can say is that there was nothing motivating me to go on reading.

The character of Kate, our heroine, is bland and given to sudden silly outbursts for really stupid reasons. The hero, Christopher, is no better. One of the things that really bugged me was how one minute they couldn't fathom for one second that faeries exited and the next they are all but going after them. They, especially our heroine, are portrayed as religious therefore they cannot accept such pagan thoughts. The next thing you know they are utterly convinced that it was the Fey that took Christopher's niece a while back. Up to this "realization" Christ was adamant that the girl was dead and it was his fault for not watching her and that she fell into the Healing Well and drowned. He has lived with this guilt eating away at him and will accept no respite from wallowing in his misery. Then it takes Kate barely a few sentences to convince him without a shadow of a doubt that it's the Fey that did it.

Huh?

I found this a little too convenient. That along with the bland characters and the writing, which felt stiff and without any emotion, made me not care what happened to any of the characters or how this would end up.

A very disappointing Did Not Finish.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

2007-05-26T15:41:00.000-05:00

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

I liked Ender’s Game, and I’m surprised that I liked it. Science fiction has never really been my forte. Even science fiction television shows: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek...none of that has ever interested me. I’ve always been more interested in fantasy. So I wasn’t expecting to really like Ender’s Game, which is based on the premise of a hostile alien race creating the need for child military geniuses. But the audiobook was nearing its due date at the library and I’d already renewed it twice, so I decided it was time to pop the discs in and listen to them. I can’t say I was riveted throughout the entire novel, eagerly turning the pages (or in this case, changing the discs), to get to the next sentence. It’s a little slow to start with—you have to be eased into the world and the lives of the characters—but as the story progressed, I became more and more interested in what would happen to Ender; in what would become of this genius child, thrown harshly into an adult world. I liked Ender because he strived so hard to do the right thing and hated when he couldn’t. The fact that he suffered so much when he had to make hard choices was testament of the good person that he was. I also liked Ender’s strength. When others sought to bring him down, he sought to show them otherwise. It was compelling to follow—it made you want to root for the underdog. And even though the world Card presented is different from the world we know, I could relate to Ender as a character. His emotions and his reactions to his situations were very human to me, even when the world he was in, was not. The secondary characters were well-developed, as well, bringing life to the story just as much as the main characters. One of the things I particularly liked was that Card didn't just tell you that the children were smart, he showed you.

As I mentioned before, I listened to this on audio. I’m quite new to audiobooks and the reading of this book surprised me because it was the first audiobook I listened to where there was more than one actor performing the reading. At first, I thought hearing a bunch of different voices would be distracting to the story, but it wasn’t. It actually made it more interesting and all the actors performed their readings well, putting emotion into each of the characters’ voices.

While I’m still unsure whether or not I would like to invest my time in the rest of this series (Ender’s Game stands-alone well enough), this is a book I would definitely recommend—not necessarily as a page-turner, but as a thought-provoking (and emotion-provoking) piece of fiction. I wish I’d read this book when I was younger, because I think it teaches some important lessons about life.

The Summoner: Chronicles of the Necromancer

2007-05-25T14:26:00.000-05:00

The comfortable world of Martris Drayke, second son of King Bricen of Margolan, is shattered when his older half-brother, Jared, and Jared¿s dark mage, Foor Arontala, kill the king and seize the throne. Tris is the only surviving member of the royal family aside from Jared the traitor. Tris flees with three friends: Soterius, captain of the guard; Carroway, the court¿s master bard; and Harrtuck, a member of the royal guard. Tris harbors a deep secret. In a land where spirits walk openly and influence the affairs of the living, he suspects he may be the mage heir to the power of his grandmother, Bava K¿aa, once the greatest sorceress of her age. Such magic would make Tris a Summoner, the rarest of magic gifts, capable of arbitrating between the living and the dead.

Although my expectations where high when I first heard about this book, as Necromancers are one of my favorite character types, I wasn't as disappointed as I thought I would be. I have to admit that yes, I was hoping this was a rare gem of a book that lives up to my expectations but, although it was not, it wasn't that bad a disappointment.

The book starts off well enough with murder at the palace and the escape of Tris and his friends. His quest to get to his uncle's lands takes up most of the book and are what, IMO, made it interesting as their journey is plagued with great dangers. It was fast paced enough to keep the reader entertained. In fact, it was not until they get to where they are going, almost at the end of the book, that the pace slows down and the novel loses interest. This is where we have some rather cliche moments, such as Tris having to fight with a ghost for an ancient sword or the fact that a character, merely pages old and a little too conveniently, turns out to be related to the one person they were going to see.

The problem is that the writer doesn't know what to do with the characters once they reach their first destination where Tris is supposed to get trained as a mage. We spend over half the book having fun as we follow their adventures and then the action gets bogged down in the last few pages as there is too much still to say and not enough room to say it in. It's almost over and Tris doesn't have any sort of training or control of his powers. All of a sudden and with the help of the Sorceress we find out that he knew a lot of magic all along but his grandmother, the great Summoner of her time, had repressed this knowledge until "the right time" else it cost him his life. He had to come of age and then be in danger before the magic kicked in, so to speak. A little too convenient way to get Tris to learn a lot in what little pages where left. To be sure he has a long way to go and anyone expecting an all out battle between good and evil will be highly disappointed. This book is obviously the first in the series and the ending clearly tells you so. Tris and his friends still have to learn to use their powers, gather an army and then they may be ready to face the villain.

Since most of the book was spent on the journey I rather enjoyed the book and I think it's pretty good for a first effort and as a beginning of a series. It does have a lot of room for improvement and I can't wait which way Gail goes with this. The next book in the series will be out on January 2008.

A 3.5 out of 5.

The Briar King by Greg Keyes

2007-05-23T05:15:00.000-05:00

Two thousand years ago, the Born Queen defeated the Skasloi lords, freeing humans from the bitter yoke of slavery. But now monstrous creatures roam the land—and destinies become inextricably entangled in a drama of power and seduction. The king’s woodsman, a rebellious girl, a young priest, a roguish adventurer, and a young man made suddenly into a knight—all face malevolent forces that shake the foundations of the kingdom, even as the Briar King, legendary harbinger of death, awakens from his slumber. At the heart of this many-layered tale is Anne Dare, youngest daughter of the royal family . . . upon whom the fate of her world may depend.

The Briar King by Greg Keyes
Published by Del Rey in 2004

4/5

I picked this book up at the bookstore one day pretty much on a whim. I had been seeing the third book in the trilogy around, The Blood Knight, and thought the trilogy looked promising, so when I saw the first book at the second hand store, I decided to give it a try.

There is a lot going on in this book. The book starts out in peaceful times, but there is a change coming. People can feel it coming, and though they are warned about what is about to occur, it is so out there that they do not believe it will happen. This is the story of a kingdom on the brink of take over, on the brink of something from the past reappearing in the future. The king's woodsman has been warned that his life is about to change, he can feel the differences in the forest, but he chooses to ignore the warnings until it is almost too late.

The princess of the kingdom is not your average princess. She refuses to confirm to the common ideals of being a princess and is not at all like her older sister. The sister that used to be her friend has become more like her jailer, making sure that she does not break the rules of decorum. When it gets to the point that she refuses to listen to anything, she is sent to a convent to be trained as an assassin-like character. The changes in the kingdom come to her sanctuary, though. Someone has desires to overthrow the king, and they cannot be successful if she is still alive to risk their plans. They plan to put her brother on the throne because he is mentally slow and will be a puppet king. Suddenly the princess that played at being daring is forced into that role for real.

There is an interesting band of characters in this book. Other than the woodsman and the young princess who both have destinies to fulfill, there is a young priest who sort of annoys me, but he is supposed to. He has spent his time living in books, and suddenly he finds himself in the middle of an adventure that he is not ready to handle. But when safety is offered to him, he finds that maybe he is ready to break outside of his norm afterall. There is also the roguish adventurer who knows nothing but fighting for his honour, but he finds himself up against forces that even surpass his fighting abilities. He becomes an unlikely ally to a rebellious princess.

Lastly, there is a young boy who finds himself the queens protector. He is the youngest of the guard, but he has dedicated his life to his queen and he will do anything for her. It might be the difference between success and failure for those that plot the overthrowing of the kingdom. As you can see, this book has a large band of heroes and heroines in the mix. The princess is supported by her lady in waiting, the king's woodsman finds himself caught up with a woman, and the queen finds herself in a place that she never dreamed of being.

This was an interesting fantasy novel and a decent beginning to a trilogy. I would not say that it is very revolutionary in content, but a lot happens in it to make it a good read. I look forward to seeing how this band of people transforms in the sequel, The Charnel Prince.

The Grenadillo Box

2007-05-22T18:36:00.000-05:00

Highly disappointed in this historical mystery novel by Janet Gleeson. From Amazon:

Nathanial Hopson is an apprentice to the famed cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale. This position, which often involves executing his master's designs in the homes of the wealthy and titled, allows Hopson access to all kinds of goings-on, both upstairs and downstairs. This device also allows Gleeson to give readers insights into both eighteenth-century social tensions and the wonders of antique furniture. The mystery starts with Hopson, assigned to make a Chippendale bookcase at the estate of Lord Montfort, discovering Montfort's dead body in the library, his hand clutching an elaborately carved box fashioned from grenadillo wood, his neck covered with leeches. The murder of the designer of the box, an apprentice friend of Hopson's, follows. The second murder convinces Hopson that his own life may be in danger, prompting him to sail into a full-scale investigation of both crimes.

There were many, many things I found rubbed me the wrong way with this book. So much so that I merely skimmed the last few chapters just to find out how it would all end.

One of the things that bothered me is the fact that the entire book is supposed to be one big letter. Make that huge letter. The very first page is a letter from Nathaniel, our hero, to Alice, the woman he is in love with. Clearly throwout the course of the mystery investigation they've had a fallout and, as Nathaniel explains in this letter, the entire book is his accounts of everything that happened so that she may understand what was going on and perhaps forgive him. Now, my problem with this is that, as a rule, letters don't have entire conversations in them. If this was supposed to be an account of everything that happened and you are writing all of this to someone I don't think you would send anyone 200+ pages written as a book, with entire conversations, descriptions of every place you ever went, and even word for word copies of quite a few letters you've discovered or have been sent by various people. If he was narrating to the reader or writing his memoirs or something I'd go with this but, again, a 200+ page letter that reads more like a book just so that someone forgives you? The fact that Alice was present a lot throwout the book and knew what happened half of the time makes it even more silly. Why the need to retell her every single conversation you ever had? She was there! She knew all this! It just didn't make sense at all.

Next is the fact that Alice ALWAYS just happens upon Nathaniel when he is in a compromising position with some "pretty young thing." Of course there are explanations as he gets help from these women but how is it that Alice catches him 3 times with 3 different women in compromising positions? Furthermore we as the readers know that nothing is going on because it's always some accident that lands him in said positions. Now, Nathaniel has a reputation for getting along famously with the ladies and he does get it on with quite a few of them yet none of these times does Alice happen to find him. It's only when he is really just investigating that she comes along and gets the wrong idea. How convenient. Also, how in the hell does she find him at those times? Is she a stalker? I mean, the man is literally ALL over the place with the investigation, going from town to town. He talks to a lot of people yet Alice only finds him at these moments when he is talking to the ladies. One particular time I found even worse than the others. He has gotten into an accident and the lady he is visiting to get some answers from is an actress. She offers him a bath and new clothes because he literally is covered in dung from head to toe. All is well until he goes into the bedroom to change. As he is standing in the middle of the room naked he happens to look out the window and guess who is looking back at him: Alice. First of all this is set in the late 1700's and I don't think people where that open to stand naked or half naked in front of a window that leads to a backyard much less the street. Second of all, I can't believe Alice was just strolling along in her carriage when she just happens to look inside someone's window and it just happens to be the one where Nathaniel is standing naked. The other two times were just as silly but I felt that was the worse.

Another thing is the way Alice acts towards Nathaniel. It is clear that he fancies her yet he says nothing and simply treats her with respect. He knows that she knows of his reputation so he decides he must take it slow and perhaps do the friendship first. Since he hasn't proposed to her or is even courting her what right does she have to get so angry with him when she catches him in these awkward moments? Sure, she may like him but if you are just friends it's a bit presumptuous on her part that he should be without other women. You don't have the right to judge your friends like that and what they do and who they do it with is their business. She just comes off as immature. Especially since, knowing full well that Nathaniel told her about one of the suspects she decides to ignore the warning on the basis that she feels he is simply jealous. She is still upset with him at this point over the women and she ignores the fact the man she is flirting with is a suspected killer and everything points to him.

Worse still is the way that Nathaniel comes across. His preoccupation with Alice and her misinterpretation of things makes him look like a whimp. He is doing nothing wrong yet he runs after her all the time to ask for forgiveness and to explain what happened. Not once does he stand up and asks what her damn problem is. He is also a coward and hesitates over and over never once standing up for himself. He lets everyone order him around simply because they are his superiors or because he is afraid to lose his job. There comes a time when you have to stand up for yourself, everyone else be damned, especially if you are risking your neck to find out who committed the murders. Also, the fact that he is always fainting when he sees blood and guts is annoying. He is not the only man involved with the murders yet he is the only one that gets physically ill every time they find a dead body. I can understand that no one likes to see dead people, especially gruesome murders, but none of the other men ever show as much weakness as Nathaniel does. In fact one of the men even comments on the fact that they don't feel any more comfortable than he does around dead people yet none of them take it so bad.

All in all the novel was a big disappointment. I would recommend it if only because the mystery was good enough. However, the main characters of Nathaniel and Alice are too damn annoying, especially as the story moves along, and the whole supposed "letter" format with conversations included just didn't do it for me.

A 2 out of 5.

Buddy Review: Jacob by Jacquelyn Frank

2007-05-21T07:39:00.000-05:00

So buddy review!!! It's been so long since we last had a buddy review!!

So Ames, tell me why you got this book :D

I kept picking this book up and putting it down, not sure about some of the reviews I had read. But then I read one good review and saw it not too long after at the library. I couldn’t resist anymore! What about you?

Me, well I was seeing Jacob everywhere! In bookstores, at Wal-Mart, at the grocery store! But I held out! I was so proud... I took a look at the cover, read the back blurb and thought it was another book about vampires and I said, No. I've had enough. Then, I read someone's review, I think it was Kristie... and I broke down and bought it. However, it's been sitting in my TBR pile for a few months :P Until I saw it was part of your challenge...

Since time began, there have been Nightwalkers -- the races of the night who live in the shadows of the moonlight. Love with humans is absolutely forbidden, and one man makes certain to uphold this ancient law: Jacob, the Enforcer...

For 700 Years, He Has Resisted Temptation. But Not Tonight...

Jacob knows the excuses his people give when the madness overtakes them and they fall prey to their lust for humans. He’s heard every one and still brought the trespassers to justice. Immune to forbidden desires, uncontrollable hungers, or the curse of the moon, his control is total -- until the moment he sees Isabella on a shadowy New York City street. Saving her life wasn’t in his plans. Nor were the overwhelming feelings she arouses in him. But the moment he holds her in his arms and feels the soft explosion of her body against his, everything changes. Their attraction is undeniable, volatile, and completely against the law. Suddenly everything Jacob has ever believed is inflamed by the heat of desire... Bring on the night.

Genre: paranormal romance, demons, druids, necromancers Series: The Nightwalkers, Book 1 Published by: Kensington/Zebra Paranormal Romance in November 2006

Ok, this book was a pleasant surprise. I thought for sure I was going to hate it when the smart (librarian) heroine slips and falls out of a 5 storey window. I was this close to throwing the book against the wall, but I just had to see what would happen when our heroine, Isabella, follows Jacob into an abandoned warehouse. Then the story got really interesting…and the sex really hot. So yeah, I liked this book.

Well I have to admit that I did enjoy this book a lot too LOL... even with Bella falling from her window. You know, when you told me that she fell off the window, I thought you meant, she jumped out to avoid danger, but not even!!! I liked Jacob and Bella well enough; however, it seems to me that Bella took all the revelations too easily. Not at one moment did she doubt or freak out, which seems a bit unbelievable for me ^^.

That’s true upon reflection. But Isabella did see proof with her own two eyes when she followed Jacob into the warehouse right at the beginning. I enjoyed Isabella’s strength. She was a good heroine, despite falling out a window (which the author does explain).
Well yeah, she does see proof... but some denial would have been expected. I have to admit, I'm getting tired of vampires and so I was pleasantly surprised that they were demons :P I thought it was a great take on demons, very original and new. I liked the powers and the diversity of them...

Me too! I love this world that JF has built. The demon society is interesting and new, and I can’t wait for Gideon’s story, which comes out May 29.

We're so lucky that we don't have to wait too long, LOL! Although the book was enjoyable, there are still some few lose ends in the world building and that annoyed me. 1) What is the punishment? This was never mentionned... at first, I thought it was death, but then too many survived LOL All I know is that it must be embarassing... All right, onto no. 2) what do they do? I mean, it's great that they exist... but besides that? they don't mingle with humans... do they own some business corporate in secret? do they have a mission like the Dark-Hunters? I mean, it seems they're missing a purpose!

Hmm…I think the punishment was different for each demon? It was tailored to punish each demon differently. As for their purpose? I’m not sure about that one either. But what’s our purpose? LOL I don’t mean to get philosophical, but the demons not having a purpose didn’t really bother me.

Ames’ grade: B- (the minus is for the heroine falling out the window, even with an explanation, that’s a no-no)
Nath’s grade: Hmmm, I'd give this 3.75 (B) :P

The Summer King: Chronicles of Faerie Book II

2007-05-20T11:12:00.000-05:00

Kailana says...

17 year old Laurel Blackburn has returned to Ireland where her twin sister died the previous year. Guided by entries in her sister's diary that speak of a strange mission for a mysterious people, Laurel travels to Achill Island on the Irish west coast. As she searches for the lost Summer King of Faerie, Laurel is attacked by the Sea People and the raven-like gruagachs.

Will she find the King in time to light the Midsummer fires?

Will she be re-united with her sister?

And what of Ian, the dark-eyed brooding young man who shadows her every move?

Is he friend or foe?

I originally bought the 4-in-1 book for this as a treat last year during a rough week, and I read the first book way back then, but I am just getting through the rest of the books. I regret waiting so long to read the second book, though, because the first book was not as fresh in my head. It came back to me as I was reading, but the series would be better if you read the books close together.

This is a cute young adult series about faeries and the magical connection between our world and the faery world. Laurel is a skeptic about this world, but her sister was a true believer. When she died she was moving up the ranks in faery world, and was about to go on a mission for them because only humans can save the faery worlds in times of troubles. When Laurel visits her grandparents in Ireland a year after the accident that killed her sister, she finds herself entrapped in a world that she is not sure she wants to be in. When the magic folk tell her that helping them might mean a reunion with her sister, though, Laurel finds herself in a world totally new to her.

The story was interesting. With the other books in the series, the main characters are not skeptics, but Laurel is, so she has to figure things out in a totally different way than the others. If she was not helping her sister receive entry into the faery world, she would likely not believe anything that she saw. The story gets interesting, though, when she gets closer and closer to the conclusion of the mission and things get weirder and weirder. Especially with Ian, because she never knows who he is and whether he is a good guy or bad.

Overall, this is obviously a young adult series, but it is still an interesting collection with strong female characters and a magical world that will capture anyones imagination.

4/5

Dance Chica says...

I have grown wary of sequels in general, because often one finds they’re not as magical or original as their predecessor, but this one was a treat to read and I think those who enjoyed The Hunter’s Moon, will enjoy this one, as well. Melling takes the reader on a wild ride through Faerie. I love the land of Faerie as Melling describes it; she makes the mystical elements so mysterious and so enchanting that it leaves you with a sense that there are many secrets to Faerie, and you’ll never know them all no matter how much time you spend there. The story’s twist was a bit weird and somewhat confusing at first, but I liked this volume in the Chronicles of Faerie just as much, if not more, than The Hunter’s Moon. Whereas in The Hunter’s Moon, the heroine embarked on her journey largely alone, in this one, Laurel finds herself with a companion from the start, in the form of Ian--a surly Irish boy she’s known since childhood. He’s the bad boy of the neighborhood and they have sort of a love-hate relationship at first, but they worked well together, and the back and forth bantering between him and Laurel was hilarious. I thought Laurel was a great heroine and I found the romance very compelling. And there were pirates in this one! That about sealed the deal for me as I’m very fond of pirates in fiction. All in all, this was an enjoyable addition, and I can’t wait to read the next one. Melling really is a gifted storyteller.

The Chronicles of Faerie (in order):

The Hunter’s Moon
The Summer King
The Light Bearer’s Daughter
The Book of Dreams

Sabriel

2007-05-19T08:36:00.000-05:00

Mailyn says...

The Genre
Fantasy: Necromancers, Magic, Journey, Adventure, Kingdoms, Series

The Plot
From Amazon:

After receiving a cryptic message from her father, Abhorsen, a necromancer trapped in Death, 18-year-old Sabriel sets off into the Old Kingdom. Fraught with peril and deadly trickery, her journey takes her to a world filled with parasitical spirits, Mordicants, and Shadow Hands. Unlike other necromancers, who raise the dead, Abhorsen lays the disturbed dead back to rest. This obliges him--and now Sabriel, who has taken on her father's title and duties--to slip over the border into the icy river of Death, sometimes battling the evil forces that lurk there, waiting for an opportunity to escape into the realm of the living. Desperate to find her father, and grimly determined to help save the Old Kingdom from destruction by the horrible forces of the evil undead, Sabriel endures almost impossible exhaustion, violent confrontations, and terrifying challenges to her supernatural abilities--and her destiny.

The Review
Another book I loved and I can't wait to read the rest of this series, which I do believe, is a trilogy as well.

The only beef I had with this book is that, for the most part at the beginning of her journey, Sabriel is alone. This makes for a lot of descriptive passages and not a lot of dialogue. She may be a necromancer but she's not crazy so she doesn't start talking to herself. It can get just a tad boring even if there was a bit of action but this quickly passed once she reaches her father's house.

I absolutely loved the cynical cat, which of course, isn't a cat at all. I even kept hoping that it would be Sabriel’s love interest in disguise. Perhaps some young wizard being punished for past mischief and whom Sabriel would have to somehow free. I loved his snobbish attitude, which made him damn funny and cool. Sabriel wasn’t very lovable at the beginning as she was a little too naïve for my liking but she did have her reasons. She grew up in a shelter environment and, all of a sudden, she finds herself facing the fact that her beloved father may be dead and that the fate of the world pretty much rests on her shoulders. And she is only a teenager.

The Verdict
As I said, I can't wait to read the rest of this series. It's very addictive and you really want to know what happens to the characters as well as what will become of the Old Kingdom. The last few chapters are even better than the rest of the book and they wet your appetite for what's to come next.

A 4 out of 5.

Kailana says...

I have had this book just sitting here waiting to be read for quite some time. So, I am glad I finally sat down with it. It really is a rather short book, you would be surprised how fast you can get through it, because it keeps you reading the whole time.

Garth Nix delves deep into the mystical underworld of necromancy, magic, and the monstrous undead. This tale is not for the faint of heart; imbedded in the classic good-versus-evil story line are subplots of grisly ghouls hungry for human life to perpetuate their stay in the world of the living, and dark, devastating secrets of betrayal and loss. Just try to put this book down.

For some reason this book has no description on the back or inside about what it is about. I think that is a stupid thing to do, to be honest, because some people are not going to buy it without knowing what it is about.

Anyways, this novel follows 18-year-old Sabriel on her adventures after receiving a very disturbing message from her father. She had lead a sheltered life up until then, and was not really aware of what was going on in the Old Kingdom, the place where she was born. She had lived outside the wall for many years, and her father only occasionally filled her in on what she was missing while being outside. So, when she had to go back there, she found herself on an adventure that she was totally unaware of. Since many Outsiders did not dare to cross the Wall, many people were unaware of what was going on in the Old Kingdom. This meant that Sabriel didn't know her history very well, and had to fill herself in as she went along.

This trilogy received the same sort of attention as Philip Pullman's trilogy, but if I have to be very honest, I liked this one better. I just never was able to get into Pullman's first novel, and as a result have stayed away from the other two books in the trilogy. I will get to them one day, but I would rather read the rest of this trilogy than return to Pullman.

Sabriel is a very human heroine. She gets the job done, but like regular folks she has to deal with fear and indecision. In many hero novels, the main character seems to be super-human, Sabriel is a character that would be easier to relate to. She also has to deal with the fact that if her father was dead, she was now a very powerful person in the Old Kingdom, something that she had never really thought of before and was not prepared to take on. There's even a little romance in the novel, but it is not the most important thing ever. Instead of the damsel in distress, Sabriel saves a young man that has been trapped in Death for about 200 years. I am afraid to say it, but romance just seems to be a given when things like this happen.

You will really enjoy this novel, I can safely say. It is well-written, and Sabriel is not an annoying heroine. She gets the job done, but at the same time has human failings. It makes her the better character to read about, I think. It is also the more interesting fantasy novel I have read with a Necromancer in the fore-front.

4/5

Dance Chica says...

I’m afraid I wasn’t as enamored with this novel as my fellow bloggers were, which is a shame because I was kind of looking forward to this book since I’d heard so many good things about it. Plus, the main character is a necromancer which is so often left unexplored in fiction, but it wasn’t as good as I’d been expecting it to be. I liked the characters well enough, especially Mogget—the talking cat (he was just hilarious with all his sarcasm), and I found Sabriel was a competent heroine; the story itself was interesting, but I think it was the writing that fell short for me. There were parts—especially in the very beginning—where I felt the story lagged, and the romance seemed to come out of nowhere; it just felt very forced to me. I half read this, half listened to it on audio. Tim Curry, the narrator for the audio version, was very good. I really enjoyed his reading because he gave each character distinct voices, putting emotion into the characters. I liked how he acted out Mogget’s voice, which was more like a purr than anything and seemed to capture his character, well. His voice made all of Mogget’s sarcastic remarks even funnier. All in all, it wasn’t a bad story; it was good—very imaginative, in fact—but I probably won’t be reading more in the trilogy or at least, not anytime soon. I just wasn’t intrigued enough. Still, I do plan to read more by Garth Nix.

A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray

2007-05-18T21:37:00.000-05:00

Kailana's Review

A young adult, soon to be, trilogy that I have wanted to read for a while, this enters the marks as one of the better books I have read this year. Young adult books are much better than they were when I was a young adult, I know that much.

From the back of the book:

Gemma Doyle isn't like other girls. Girls with impeccable manners, who speak when spoken to, who remember their station, and who will lie back and think of England when it's required of them.

No, sixteen-year-old Gemma is an island unto herself, sent to the Spence Academy in London after tragedy strikes her family in India. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma finds a chilly reception. But she's not completely alone... she's followed by a mysterious young man, who warns her to close her mind against her visions.

For it's at Spence that Gemma's power to attract the supernatural unfolds; there she becomes entangled with the school's most powerful girls and discovers her mother's connection to a shadowy group called the Order. It's there that her destiny waits... if only she can believe in it.

A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY is a curl-up-under-the-covers kind of book... a vast canvs of rustling skirts and dancing shadows and things that go bump in the night. It's a vividly drawn portrait of the Victorian age, when girls were groomed for lives as rich men's wives... and the story of a girl who saw another way.

I regret that it took me so long to discover this book. I had heard of it, but it never grabbed my attention enough to buy it until recently. Now, I can't wait to read the next one and I hope it will be equally good. Young adult novels have come a long way, some of them are even better than novels marketed at adults.

This novel was attractive to me because people were saying it had fantasy elements to it. I enjoy fantasy novels, so I decided to see what these fantasy elements were. This book takes place in the later part of the 19th-century. The main character, Gemma Doyle, is dealing with being a sixteen-year-old. Teenage years are never easy, and with the last few months has brought a very difficult daughter for Gemma's mother. They used to get along, but now Gemma has it stuck in her head that she absolutely has to go to London. Her mother doesn't agree, and this causes lots of conflict between mother and daughter.

Then one day, everything changes for good. While in the marketplace, Gemma says a horrible thing to her mother and the next thing she knows, her mother is not around anymore to argue with. Gemma blames herself, and is racked with guilt for quite some time. She is her most annoying at this part of the book, while she deals with the loss of her mother. But then, she discovers she has an amazing gift that results in a whole other world for her. A young man, who you will find an interesting member of the cast of characters, follows Gemma to London where Gemma is attending Spence Academy.

When Gemma first arrives in London, she wonders why she ever really wanted to go there in the first place, but then she starts to make friends and lets her powers work, and a whole new world is open to her, a world of adventure and danger. She is in a school where girls are supposed to be learning how to be good wives, they are more interested in pleasing their men folk than doing anything for themselves. Gemma soon learns this is not the way that she wants to spend her life.

I hope I am not making this novel sound silly, it is anything but. I was glued to my seat while I was reading this, waiting to see what adventures would happen to the quartet next. As Gemma is not alone when she has her adventures, most times she has her three female friends with her. They are an interesting group, but they each have something to bring to the novel as a whole.

I can't wait to read the sequel!

4.5/5

Mailyn's Review

I'm afraid I don't share most everyone else excitement over this book. Sure, I've heard so many things I was expecting something actually, well, exciting. Don't get me wrong, Libba's writing is wonderful. It's the subject matter that I found sorely lacking. The story started off promising enough and I was quickly drawn into it but, as soon as the four main girls started with the "club" I quickly grew bored. And annoyed. Those had to be the four most petulant and annoying girls I've ever read about. They start out nice enough but, by the end of the book, I was all but hoping they'd get spanked, smacked or something. Watching their utter stupidity reveal itself and the way they thought they "knew what's best" reminded me of every smug teenager that has utter those very words, then realize how sadly they were mistaking once they saw they were in over their heads.

It's not a good thing when you are rooting for the bad guys to win simply because the heroines are all some kind of serious idiots.

If ever Mrs Bray writes any other novel I am sure I will be reading it as I did love her writing. I just hope the hero or heroine isn't related to any of the four from this novel.

A solid 4 for her writing and a 3 for the story since it did have a promising beginning.

As a final note, and although I am far from being a prude, I think it's only fair to warn parents of children under the age of 15 of the following encounter [in a dream] between the main character and her love interest. Something similar happens again latter on in the story, although I don't remember it being as detailed as this one. I

Those black eyes flutter open, see me...Every muscle in his arms flexing as he pushes himself up, pulls me under, slides on top...His fingertips are a whisper on my skin. A thumb inches towards my breast, traces circles over and around...Feel my thighs moved apart by a knee...

The warm fingers trail down, hesitate, then brush past a part of me I don't understand yet, a place I haven't let myself explore...

The fingers, strong and sure and not entirely unwanted, are back, the whole of his palm cupped against me...The thumb on my breast rubs my skin into a delicious rawness, as if I've never truly walked in my skin before.

Dance Chica's Review

I agree with Mailyn. I liked the book—really, I did—but Gemma, the main character, annoyed me at times. There were moments when I wanted to slap her and the other girls. However, I do think the book was well-written. Bray is great at suspense. The entire novel is oozing with suspense; the world, the characters, etc., are so mysterious that it makes you want to know more about them, and I feel that Bray did a good job of capturing the Victorian age. There’s also a lot of thought-provoking, social commentary throughout the book. However, I don’t know if I’ll pick up the sequel, Rebel Angels, anytime soon. While I did enjoy the magic and suspense of A Great and Terrible Beauty, in all honesty, I was disappointed. I was expecting it to be much better than it was. So in conclusion, I'd recommend it as something to check out because it was a good story (and most people really loved it), but while I did like it, I just felt it was a little overrated.

3.5 out of 5.

Guest review: Haunted by Kelley Armstrong

2007-05-17T12:29:00.000-05:00

As Kailana said earlier this week, although "Kelley Armstrong" month is over, we still have reviews of her books in store! So here is the review of Haunted from Rhinoa from Rhinoa's Ramblings. You've pretty much figured out that we, gals at TK, were fans of Kelley Armstrong, so I thought it'd be nice to have an outsider's opinion! :D

Haunted - Kelley Armstrong
published by Orbit (2005)

Series: Women of the Otherworld series, Book 5

Genre - Horror, Fantasy
Rating - 4/5

Eve Levine - half-demon, black witch and devoted mother - has been dead for three years. She has a great house, an interesting love life and can't be killed again - which comes in handy when you've made as many enemies as Eve. Yes, the afterlife isn't too bad - all she needs to do is find a way to communicate with her daughter Savannah and she'll be happy.

But fate - or more exactly, the Fates - have other plans. Eve owes them a favour, and they're just called it in. An evil spirit called the Nix has escaped from hell. She feeds on chaos and death, and is very good at persuading people to kill for her. The Fates want Eve to hunt her down before she does anymore damage, but the Nix is a dangerous enemy - previous hunters have been sent mad in the process. As if that's not problem enough, it turns out that the only way to stop her is with an angel's sword. And Eve's no angel...

The fifth in the series which has Eve Levine (Savannah's mother) as the heroine despite the small issue of her being dead! Eve is called in to help the Fates capture the Nix, a viscious being that helps give people the confidence to commit rape, murder and torture. Three have already failed in the quest before Eve gets roped in.

This was possibly my favourite so far. There is lots of information about Eve (who seems to have been slightly misunderstood and misrepresented in the previous books...) and the whostworld (where apparently you can still enjoy physical relationships with other ghosts!). Eve is a great character, the ones with a dodge past always seem to make for more interesting lead roles, and she really contrasts with the horrible things that the Nix has been involved in. I liked using the Nix to explain how people were pushed over the edge to become serial killers and rapists. The addition of the angels, especially Trsiel worked really well in the scheme of the story as well.

Disturbingly good humour!

Ironside Giveaway Winner

2007-05-17T05:31:00.000-05:00

I put the names of all who entered the Ironside giveaway into a “hat” and had my littlest brother draw a name. And the winner is...

Meardaba

Please email your mailing address to thetwistedk @ gmail.com (no spaces, of course).

Thanks to all who participated!