Experience Two Sides of One Author

The Inheritance: And Other Stories
By Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm
Harper Voyager (2011)
Paperback, 400 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 Possible

I like to review anthologies on the basis of each story, especially when the stories bear little or no relationship to each other, aside from having been written by one author. That means I review each story on its own merits and then rate the book as a whole.  I'll start by giving a one-line synopsis of each story with my rating for that story alone. At the end, I'll give the reasoning behind my rating of the book as a whole, which is based on the story ratings taken together.

Megan Lindholm:

A Touch of Lavendar - a coming of age story about a young boy and the aliens in his neighborhood
3 stars - interesting but not altogether enchanting as I had hoped. Might be one of the better Lindholm bunch, but still not 4 star quality.

Silver Lady and the Fortyish Man - A romance, of sorts. It seems to have no ending, as if the romance is still ongoing.
3 stars - interesting with a few points that almost reach that elusive 4th star.

Cut - Mercifully short, bizarre and somewhat forgettable tale of mutilation and individual rights.
2 stars - definitely not my thing.

The Fifth Squashed Cat - The key to immortality for select people?
3 stars - definitely weird. Interesting, in a way, but lacks something I can't put a finger on.

Strays - An abused girl cares for stray cats.
5 stars - clearly one of the best of the Lindholm selections.

Finis - Fear of Vampires?
5 stars - Well done story and unique twist on an over-done theme.

Drum Machine - Getting your own way does not always lead to happily ever-after.
2 stars - Confusing. Three characters in the story. Two people who interact with each other in one scene, one from their mutual past. Each of the three characters seems to have or once had his/her own agenda. Seems to be multiple plot lines, but the story is too short to pull off that sort of multiplicity successfully.

First half of the book - While there are a couple of gems in the Megan Lindholm bunch, most stories are average or fall short of their potential. Two of the average stories stand a bit above the rest, but not so far above as to rate another full star. 

Robin Hobb:

Homecoming - Political exiles sent to establish new colony.
5 stars - some surprising twists; interest doesn't lag.

The Inheritance -  Cerise's inheritance isn't what she expected.
4 stars - not quite as interesting as other stories about this world.

Cat's Meat - Cats speak to whom they wish; we humans should listen sometimes...
5 stars, Justice is served from an unexpected source.

Second half of the book. These stories are longer, more elaborately plotted than those in the first half, as well as being more polished and among the most interesting in this collection.

The entire collection has some interesting bits and some that might have been better left in the desk drawer... taken as a whole, I'm not sorry I read this and was grateful to experience a side of the author I had not previously encountered.  A definite recommendation for the authors fans.  Those looking for something new may also find a few gems here, but should be aware that the collection is variable in quality.

An advance review copy of The Inheritance: And Other Stories was provided to me free by the publisher in exchange for this review.  This review has been posted on Dragon Views, LibraryThing, Amazon.com and wherever else I may deep appropriate.

A Light-hearted Look At The Life Of Witches

A Modern Witch
Debora Geary
Fireweed Publishing (2011)
Kindle Edition
Rated 5 stars of 5 possible

A Modern Witch by Debora Geary is a light-hearted look at the life of Witches and the awesome powerful magic spells they are capable of casting.

Debora Geary sets the hook right away as we discover 28-year-old Lauren has been brought into a witch's chat by the fetching spell that is not supposed to make mistakes. At first, Lauren is convinced that, despite the spell-caster's assurance, there has indeed been a mistake. She is no witch... or is she?

Discover the magical and captivating answer as you watch Lauren gain the knowedge she needs with the help of her new-found friends, who just happen to include a little 4-year-old, story-stealing witchling who needs a tale of his own...

I loved these characters right from the start. The author's well-written prose brought them to life and the situations in which we become acquainted with the characters seem very realistic. Within the world of this story, the reader can even believe in magic for a time...

Recommended for readers of light fantasy, romance, and those looking for something a bit different. The Kindle edition of A Modern Witch was provided to me by the author in exchange for this review. This review has been published on Dragon Views, LibraryThing, Amazon.com and wherever else deemed appropriate by this reviewer.

The Newest Dark Hunter Novel Has Been Released: Retribution

RETRIBUTION:

"...Harm no human…

A hired gunslinger, William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave. He believed that every life had a price. Until the day when he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he’d spend eternity protecting the humans he’d once considered prey.

Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of vampires and raised on one belief- Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both their people and mankind, and they must all be destroyed. While protecting her adoptive race, she has spent her life eliminating the Dark-Hunters..."     

See the trailer.  If the video embedded below won't work for you, there's a direct link to Youtube following the embedded version.  There are also - included below for your pleasure - links to the author and publisher websites, where you will find excerpts from the book.

TRAILER URL:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_5-t69aOko


Sherrilyn Kennyon's website about Retribution containing excerpts:

http://www.sherrilynkenyon.com/book/retribution/


Macmillan's Sherrilyn Kenyon website:

http://us.macmillan.com/author/sherrilynkenyon


And now, the exciting part:  Somehow, I wound up with two finished copies of the hardcover edition of Retribution... That being the case, there will naturally be a review coming from me.  But I only need one copy of the book for that purpose. I've decided that the best thing to do is to give away the extra copy to one lucky reader.  My financial status demands that I restrict the entries to those with a United States mailing address; sorry about that folks...

To enter the contest, comment on this entry.  You do not need to post your mailing address, just a valid email where I can contact the winner.  You do need to be 18 or older as of September 1, 2011. I will choose the lucky person at the end of August, 2011 via random.org. from all entries received before Midnight Central Time, at the end of this month.  No comments posted on or after September 1, 2011 will count as an entry into this drawing.  The winner will need to have a valid mailing address within the United States, which I will use to send the book.

Late Series Entry: Best Start at Book 1

No Mercy
Sherrilyn Kenyon
St. Martin's Press (2010)
Hardcover, 352 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

No Mercy is paranormal romance, and part of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series.  The main characters are shape shifters and an Amazon warrior/queen who was betrayed by her overly jealous sister thousands of years before. Now, the Amazon is a Dark Hunter, with special powers and immortality.  She's also falling for one of the shape shifters, a bear who has the ability to assume the appearance of being human.

Lately, I've been straying from my normal reading genres, which mostly include science fiction and fantasy, but also lots of historical fiction, which often has some romance included.  I also seem to have acquired an affinity for series books, jumping into the middle of a series without knowing it IS a series until later.  In the case of No Mercy, it's not yet a mid-series book, but closer to the recent end of a very long (20+ volume) series.  Coming into the series at this point puts the reader at something of a disadvantage, in that references to events that occurred earlier in the series are made in No Mercy, but having not read the earlier books, I had no idea what the characters were talking about.

Series connectivity aside, I have to say I did enjoy this book, despite the fact that paranormal romance generally isn't my thing. Sherrilyn Kenyon is a new-to-me author, whom I am glad I ventured to try. For those with at least some familiarity with the Dark Hunter series, No Mercy would stand alone well enough that it would not matter if a few books from the series were skipped. For those completely unfamiliar with the series, as I was, starting with No Mercy probably isn't the greatest idea. Knowing what came before may be helpful.

Recommended to fans of the Dark Hunter series.

A finished hardcover copy of No Mercy was provided to me free by the publisher in exchange for this review. This review appears on Dragon Views, Library Thing, Amazon.com and wherever else deemed appropriate by this reviewer.

Teaser Novella

Gaslight Chronicles
Photographs & Phantoms
Cindy Spencer Pape
Carina Press (2011),
Kindle Edition
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

Photographs & Phantoms is a blend of genres featuring historical romance, paranormal, mystery, fantasy and alternate history. Photographer, Amy Deland is haunted by a shadow appearing in some recent portraits... The presence of that shadow ruining the portraits is bad enough, yet each time the shadow appears, the subject of that portrait has died shortly afterward. Amy is determined to get to the bottom of the situation and find an explanation for the phenomenon. Will she succeed?

The book has an intriguing and mysterious premise that enticed me to download the promotional freebie. First off, it's (marginally) historical fiction. Second, the story promises some magic.  Reading further, one discovers that this isn't true history, but an alternate version, which I usually find interesting. I'm glad I didn't know when I downloaded this book that Carina Press is a Harlequin imprint, or I might have skipped it.  I normally find straight romance tales to be too fluffy, plotless, and sticky sweet to suit me, which wasn't the case here, except for the big sex scene near the middle of the book, which I skipped.  Sorry, but I don't find that unadulterated sex moves the story along... this novella would have been better without that scene.  Minus half a star for the uninteresting and unnecessary sex scene.

Over all, I found the mystery to be entertaining and the entire tale to be a page-turner. Still, some scenes later in the book could have been better developed. I was disappointed to find that, although the male lead in this tale is described as being a Sorcerer, very little magic was involved. Most of the magic could be explained by the technology used... so minus one fourth of a star for that lack of development, and minus another quarter-star for the lack of magic...  I'd have loved this book to be a little longer - say about 30,000 words.

Incidentally, for those who haven't read this book, the Kindle edition is still free from Amazon.com.  Sure, it's an advertisement/teaser for the publisher's other books, but one that is very much worth reading  I'm not obligated to review this book, however, writing reviews IS what I do... so why not?  Recommended to adult readers age 18 and up who like something more than straight, sticky-sweet romance.

This review, for which no compensation - financial or otherwise - has been received by the reviewer, appears on Dragon Views, LibraryThing, Amazon.com and other sites deemed appropriate by the reviewer.

An Epic Conclusion

Oracle's Legacy: Dawn of Illumination
R. B. Holbrook
Lulu.com (2010),
Paperback, 458 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible


Oracle's Legacy: Dawn of Illumination is the thrilling conclusion to the author's debut series, which began with Oracle's Legacy: Children of Sun. Since the Oracle's Legacy series is one massive story broken up into three books, the best way to read the series is to begin with Oracle's Legacy: Children of Sun and read the books in order. In this way, the reader does not miss character background or important story issues by starting in the middle or at the end.

As with Shadows of Fate, this third volume builds on the story thus far, beginning where the previous volume ended. Whether you borrow or buy these books, try to get them all at once, so you can rapidly move from one to the next without much delay. When you do this, you will get the most seamless transition from one book to the next, and the story will have a greater impact. 

Taken as one long epic, Oracle's Legacy is a fascinating story... however, if you like short stories or even average-length novels, you probably won't like this, because the three books are one large story, of which the three parts should be read in sequence, and for best effect should be read together, as opposed to reading one book and then something else before continuing with the saga.

Recommended to adults who love epic fantasy and science fiction. Oracle's Legacy: Dawn of Illumination was provided to me free by the author in exchange for this review. This review will be posted on LibraryThing, Dragon Views, Amazon.com and wherever else deemed appropriate by this reviewer.

Oracle's Legacy:
Book 1: Children of Sun
Book 2: Shadows of Fate

Suspense and Comic Relief

Oracle's Legacy: Shadows of Fate
R. B. Holbrook
lulu.com (2009),
Paperback, 556 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible


Oracle's Legacy: Shadows of Fate is the follow-up novel to Oracle's Legacy: Children of Sun and is the authors second book.  The story continues from where the first book left off. Tightly woven, the story of Ollie Mason and her family continues to hold the reader spellbound as the plot thickens and draws nearer to the climax.

Sometimes it's hard to put a finger on why I like or dislike a book. Oracle's Legacy is a series like that.  I've enjoyed reading all three volumes... The characters are developed enough that I either like or dislike them as is supposed to be... and some characters, while not necessarily on the side of good, are still interesting enough that I like them too.  The story is a mix of suspenseful scenes with some comic relief, all serving to move the plot along to where book two transitions easily into the third volume of the epic.

Caviat:  Lots of violence, yet not unnecessarily violent, given the context of the story. Recommended to readers of epic fantasy who do not mind a fair amount of violence in the book, but should be read following Oracle's Legacy: Children of Sun.

Oracle's Legacy: Shadows of Fate was provided to me free by the author in exchange for this review. This review has been simultaneously posted on Dragon Views, LibraryThing, Amazon.com and wherever else deemed appropriate for this book's content.

Fun, Chilling Tale

The Haunted E-book
J. L. Bryan
Smashwords (2011), Mobi format,
Print length, 246 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

The Haunted E-book is a ghost story and a horror story... and, well, it's just plain spooky. Dee escapes her librarian job and her unfaithful boyfriend by reading romance and fantasy on her Kindle. One day, while looking for something new to read, she discovers The Haunted E-book and downloads a copy to her Kindle.

The author uses a "book within a book" technique to tell the story of Jonah, a 19th century tramp printer, who traveled the rails, taking on printing jobs wherever he went... His ghost awakens every time someone reads a book he created. During our reading of the book, we get to peek inside Dee's book and see just what's going on; and then, Dee discovers that the stories she has been reading are true...

There are a couple of things I really, really liked about this book.  First that Mr. Bryan brought the story into the 21st century by having at least two characters own and interact with a Kindle ereader... and another character has a netbook computer but one character also has an original vellum and leather-bound copy of Jonah's book, with it's eerily spooky origins that are revealed only later in the story. So, technology has it's place in this story, which we don't see often enough these days.

The second thing I really like is that some lesser known bits of real history are brought into the story (the bits about the tramp printer and the books bound in human skin have their basis in fact) which only adds to the fun, creepy feeling of this book; and that makes it a delight for those like me who adore the chilling tales; especially late at night. This also helps with the suspension of disbelief.

And that, of course leads to the one chapter that almost blew this story away for me, and the reason I dropped one star off the rating.  I won't go into too much detail here because I've already got one major spoiler in this review, and I don't like using lots of spoilers, so just let me say... that one chapter - the one that takes place aboard the airplane - not the bit near the end, but earlier in the book, before Dee meets Madison... was just too far off the path of believability.

In all, J. L. Bryan has a talent for sucking the reader deep into his books; and he doesn't let go.  The story is well told and, for the most part, well written, though I did see an error or two as I read through on my Kindle, but I was too wrapped up in the story to stop and make a note of just where the errors are located. They're small things anyway and if you're as wrapped up in the story as I was, the typos likely won't matter.

My standard warning on books like this: Contains some graphic scenes not recommended for younger readers or for people sensitive to the blood and gore that accompanies many horror/thriller type stories. If these kinds of scenes don't bother you, then yes, I highly recommend this book.  The author provided a free mobi format copy of this book upon which I based this review. This review is being simultaneously published on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Dragonviews, LibraryThing and wherever else I can manage to find space for it.

No Clear Nemesis, Neutral Characters

Elephant Milk
By Diane Sherry Case
Miraculous Books (2010),
Paperback, 164 pages
Rated 3 stars of 5 possible

Elephant Milk is a surreal, coming of age story that takes place in 1969, mostly in Mexico. Amid her experiments with sex, drugs and finding herself, 17-year-old Sean also has to deal with her dysfunctional family and her mother's obsession with being a famous movie star.  After finding some black clothes beside the road that are wet with blood, Sean makes the decision that the best way to deal with her problems is to run away to Mexico, after her boyfriend.  Once in Mexico, Sean needs a way to get around, so she joins a traveling Circus... and that's where the real fun begins.

I should preface my remarks about this book by saying I'm not the intended audience for this book. Still, I appreciated some of the events in the story and the characterization. Diane Sherry Case has created some interesting characters, and has caught the flavor of the time depicted.  So, with that said, why did I rate the book only 3 stars?  Admittedly, this story even had 4 star potential, but the good characters just weren't likable enough... in fact, with the exception of Sean and her circus master/boss, and his wife, Ana, I found all the characters to be fairly neutral. There also is not any clear nemesis in the story, which could have made the book more interesting, if a bit longer. I had such high hopes for that too, when Sean found the bloody black clothing.

There are points in the story that would make for good discussion group material and the intended audience may appreciate Sean and her confused time of self-enlightenment more than I could. Oh, and the cover art - absolutely wonderful. That's what drew me to this book in the first place.

This book was received free from the author in exchange for this review. This review has been simultaneously posted at Dragon Views, LibraryThing, and Amazon.com

 

Role Reversal

My Sparkling Misfortune
Laura Lond
Dream Books LLC (2010)
Print length: 164 pages
Rated 5 stars of 5 possible


My Sparkling Misfortune is a novella-length story aimed at middle school kids who love fantasy, yet also appeals to any age reader. The well-crafted story is told from the point of view of a very unusal protagonist - a villain, who is quick to let us know he is a villain by trade, and that we shouldn't expect him to be going around doing good deeds.

In general, one isn't supposed to like a villain, but the protagonist of this novel starts collecting a fan club almost from the first page and through no fault of his own. The hero-villain role reversal that occurs in this novella makes for good discussion material as well as bringing a new point of interest into the story.  Kudos to the author for bringing a most entertaining and unusual story to readers of all ages. My Sparkling Misfortune is the first of a new series, which, if the following books are anything like this first one, should be a big hit with readers young and old alike.

I have to recommend this often humorous, always entertaining novella to those readers looking for a quick, fun read and laughs on almost every page. The PDF document format of My Sparkling Misfortune was received free from the author in exchange for this review.   

This review has been simultaneously posted on Dragonviews and LibraryThing.

 

Refreshingly Different

King Arthur's Raid on Hell and Other Poems
G. R. Grove
Smashwords (2010),
Mobi format for Kindle,
Print Length: 96 pages
Rated 5 stars of 5 possible

King Arthur's Raid on Hell and Other Poems is a small collection of the author's poetry mostly written in medieval fixed forms, or approximations of medieval forms. Some are in Welsh, some in English, all are beautifully rhythmic. Unlike most works that contain words or phrases in languages I do not comprehend, I did not find my lack of understanding the Welsh language to be a hindrance in reading these poems, because the wonderful, lyric quality came through, despite the language barrier. Also, since most of the poetry is in English there were only a few pages that I was unable to fully comprehend, but, again, the lyrical quality more than made up for the lack of comprehension.

It is not often I can read through an entire book of poetry in just two days, as I did with this book... I appreciated the brevity of most of the poems, and even though some poems were longer, they, too, were refreshingly different than my usual reading material.  Kudos to the talented author of these wonderful poems. I recommend this book to those who love poetry and those who are interested in the medieval era.  This book was received free from the author in exchange for this review. This review has been simultaneously posted at Dragon Views, LibraryThing, Smashwords and Amazon.com

Doesn't Quite Live Up To Promise

Powerless: The Synthesis
Jason Letts
Powerless Books (2010) PDF format, 228 pages
Rated 3 stars of 5 possible

Powerless: The Synthesis is the first of a new YA fantasy-adventure series, and is apparently also the author's first book. Mira Ipswich is 15 years old and tired of being kept at home by her overly protective parents. She wants to go out into the mist and find out what life is like on the outside. But Mira lacks one thing everyone else has and that lack makes her different than everyone else, and vulnerable as well.

Powerless has a nice balance of dialogue and description, well-developed characters of the kind you love and the kind you love to hate, and an interesting plot. I liked the story and can't wait for the next book to see what happens with Mira and her friends and family... but I hope to see some improvement in the writing too.

Some parts of the story aren't as well thought out as might be the case. For instance, an incident in chapter nine seems to happen without enough foreshadowing and hits the reader like one of the rocks thrown by a supporting character in a later chapter... I won't say which incident as I like to keep my reviews as spoiler-free as possible in case someone is reading the review prior to having read the book. Additionally, Mira's class ranking changed dramatically from the beginning of the school year to the end... which stretched my suspension of disbelief, perhaps just a little too much given that she started 9 years behind the other students and so was not as prepared as her fourteen class mates...

Also as mentioned by at least one other reviewer, the young teens of Mira's class sometimes act younger than they are.  I won't say that makes the story less appealing to the targeted age group, but having the teens act a bit more mature certainly wouldn't hurt anything. The other thing I noticed which distracted me from the story some is that there are occasional errors of a typographical nature scattered throughout the book... Errors such as these really should be corrected prior to publication. So, two stars deducted for the flaws mentioned.

I'll make a note here for those bound to disagree with my rating of this book. My ratings are based solely on the quality of the writing: plot, characterization, (and if reviewing a finished copy) grammar, spelling, factual or other types of errors noted in a book will all count for or against the rating of a particular book.  The author's ethical conduct and/or political views have no place in a review, as far as I am concerned, so I don't even take them into consideration. I am capable of evaluating the writing without agreeing or disagreeing with the author's ethics and politics.

I received the PDF of this book free from the author via LibraryThing Member Giveaways in exchange for this review. This review was simultaneously published on Dragon Views, LibraryThing, YABooks Central, and Amazon.com

Exploring The Rainforest

Dragon Keeper: Volume One of the Rain Wilds Chronicles
and Volume 10 in the Realm of the Elderlings series
By Robin Hobb
Eos (2010),
Hardcover, 496 pages
Rated 5 stars of 5 possible

Dragonkeeper is both the first book of a new series and the tenth of a massive previous series by this talented author. Both series are set in the same world. Dragonkeeper is set in a rainforest type area and tells the story of dragons who didn't properly develop, so the beasts need help from humans to survive. Meanwhile, the councils at Bingtown, Cassarick, and Trehaug want the dragons moved farther away from the human settlements, so they hire some young people who have few or no ties to civilization to escort the dragons up river toward a legendary city of the Elderlings, known as Kelsingra. Nobody knows exactly where Kelsingra is, but the dragons have their memories and say they will know Kelsingra when they see it.

The author takes many pages to get the characters ready for their journey, which makes for a slow start to this interesting novel. Given the terrain and the hardships of a low technology world, the preparation time is probably realistic, if a little less interesting than the larger portion of the book. Dragon Keeper is loaded with a cast of interesting and well-developed characters of all kinds. Some surprising plot twists add interest and keep the reader turning the pages until the cliff-hanger ending is reached, leaving some questions unanswered and several obvious paths to the beginning of book two of this exciting new series.

Recommended for fantasy fans ages 14 and up.  This review has been simultaneously published on Dragon Views and LibraryThing.

Main Character Not Respectable

Nose Down, Eyes Up
Merrill Markoe
Villard (2008)
Hardcover, 320 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

What if you could really have a two-way conversation with your dog? No, I mean a REAL conversation, you know, where the dog can respond to you and you understand immediately what he's saying, without you having to spend hours figuring out what he means... Nose Down, Eyes Up by Merrill Markoe takes that premise and runs with it, straight into the funniest novel I've read this year.

When Gil discovers that he can understand what his dog is telling the other dogs, he tries to develop the dog, Jimmy, and his advice into a marketable commodity via the internet.

While the premise of this novel is good and the story pretty funny, there were also times I wanted to hit Gil on the head... He was pretty stupid to be getting involved with his ex-wife after she had gotten married to someone else, plus, the way he treated his girl friend kept me from being able to respect him as an honorable person... These things, along with the fact that some of Gil's personal life seemed to have little or nothing to contribute to the story kept me from giving this novel the full five stars.

Nevertheless, read this novel if you want some laughs, but only if you can tolerate some stupidity in the main character.  This review has simultaneously been posted on Dragon Views, LibraryThing and Amazon.com.

Good Versus Evil - With A Twist

Burned: Volume 7 in the House of Night series
P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast
St. Martin's Griffin (2010),
Hardcover, 384 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

The first thing I noticed about the novel, Burned, is the quiet elegance of the dust jacket design which you can see to your left, courtesy of the publisher. Pictures of the previous six novels grace the back cover.  Yes, once again I find myself reading a series but not starting with the first book. Since I'm new to the House of Night series, this will be a good test to see if this book can stand alone.  A well-written series book should be able to stand alone, but some series books other than this have failed the test. The next thing I noticed: the inside of the dust jacket could double as a poster.  No doubt, some teens will love that feature. And even stripped of the dust jacket entirely, this is one very nice looking book. Front, back and spine boards are illustrated in a design that coordinates with, yet does not duplicate the design used for the dust jacket. That's a nice change from the plain, undecorated covers used on so many books these days.  So much for the impressive appearance... now to get at the contents.

Burned hooked me at once and has been an interesting read. The characters, for the most part, are well developed, and believable. However, at times, the teen-speak seems a bit too mature for the characters. While not entirely flawless, the writing is very well done. I'm fairly sure that fans of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight will probably love the House of Night series, while those who don't love Twilight aren't likely to love Burned either. As for me, I'm very interested in what contemporary writers are doing with vampires; this is quite different than the prototype, Count Dracula, and highly enjoyable. This book makes me want to round up the entire series so I can read them in order.

While the basic plot of Burned is good versus evil, which is probably the oldest plot in the universe, this mother-daughter team approaches the ancient battle from new directions and with intriguing characters. This easy to read, fairly fast-paced tale has it all; the good, the bad, the aggravating... right down to some scenes being a little too drawn-out. Now for that test I mentioned a few paragraphs back... While Burned doesn't entirely fail as a stand alone novel, some references to past events (probably described in one or another of the previous six novels) could do with a bit more explanation.

I highly recommed the House of Night series to fans of vampire literature and to those looking for something different to read. While starting with Burned is possible, it's not the best place to begin this series.  Instead, go back and read Marked first, followed by the other volumes of this series in order of publication (Betrayed, Chosen, Untamed, Hunted, Tempted), ending with Burned. That way, you won't get a lost feeling when some of the past events are mentioned.

The publisher has also graciously allowed me to post links to the video trailer, the song from the trailer, and first chapter of the book, all of which you will find below. A finished copy of the hardcover first edition of this book was provided to me free by the publisher in exchange for this review. The text of this review has simultaneously been published on Dragon Views and LibraryThing, including the links to the extra bonus material. I will probably also post the text of the review sans the good stuff on Amazon.com.

Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmJjEDZJkYc

Song: http://www.houseofnightseries.com/pages/downloads.html#songs

First chapter: http://www.houseofnightseries.com/pages/burnedxrpt.html

House Of Night Website: http://www.houseofnightseries.com/index.html

Tightly Woven, Complex Story

The Wizard's Son
By Kathryn L. Ramage
The Wapshott Press (2009)
Paperback, 296 pages
Rated 4 Stars of 5 Possible

Following the posting of my review of Storylandia 1, which the editor of Wapshott press called "fair minded and honest", I received a request to give Wapshott Press another chance. I always intended to do that, but had no idea the opportunity would come so soon. I chose The Wizard's Son because I've long been a fantasy fan, and because it looks so good.

The first attraction of this novel is the lovely cover, with a view of the wizard's castle on the front, done in shades of red and black; absolutely perfect for this novel - but it doesn't stop there. The story synopsis available on the publisher's website set the hook before I ever got my hands on the book. The Wizard's Son is not simple fantasy with a single story arc. Instead it is a complex story that examines several issues in depth through multiple plot lines in the non-linear story. These issues include but are not limited to good versus evil, human nature and self restraint.

This novel does not disappoint, yet there is room for improvement too. While the characters introduced in the early part of the story are nicely developed, those who come along later are a bit flat. For instance, Orlan Lightesblood's wife and daughter are important to him, yet we are not allowed to know them well... Still, we have a tightly woven, well-told story with interesting and believable characters which is well worth the time it takes to read.

Recommended to fantasy fans ages 14 and up. This review has been simultaneously posted on Amazon.com, Dragon Views, Library Thing and YA Books Central.com. The Wizard's Son was provided to me by the publisher free in exchange for this review.

Relocation, Vampire Style

Still Sucks to Be Me:
The All-true Confessions of Mina Smith, Teen Vampire
By Kimberly Pauley
Mirrorstone (11 May, 2010),
Hardcover, 384 pages
Rated 5 stars of 5 possible.

Coming soon... and every bit as good as her first book. Kimberly Pauley has done it again... Yes, I can say that because I'm one of the lucky recipients of an advance copy of Still Sucks To Be Me, which arrived in my possession on May 6. Kimberly writes in a fast, easy-breezy style that will charm you and keep you turning the pages to see what happens next.

Still Sucks To Be Me takes up where Kimberly's first book, leaves off, and moves the story of Mina Hamilton Smith and her family forward, with laughter on almost every page.  Kimberly has kept what was good from her first book - those myth and truth snippets at the head of each chapter, plus pages from Mina's notebook, and added some fresh new scenery as Mina and her family relocate, and brought along some new characters and their attendant drama. Most of the action takes place in a small Louisiana town where everyone knows everyone else (and their business). Primarily aimed at the young adult market, Mrs. Pauley's books also appeal to the teens inside the adults we have become.

While you most certainly can read Still Sucks To Be Me alone, why not read both books, for twice the fun? Recommended reading for those looking for something different and fun to read. You won't be sorry!

An advance copy of Still Sucks To Be Me was provided to me free by Kimberly Pauley in exchange for this review, however, long before I was able to get my hands on the advance copy, I pre-ordered the hardcover version because I knew this is one book that belongs in my permanent collection. This review has been simultaneously posted on Amazon.com, Dragon Views, Library Thing and YA Books Central.com

Still Sucks To Be Me Launch Contest - (Now Over)

Oh Coolness! Kimberly Pauley's new book is coming out on May 11 and you can win a copy! That's right, You can win a copy of Still Sucks To Be Me, signed by the author. But that's not all.  Kim has put together prize packages containing both of her fantastic books and other cool stuff. See the details and enter the contest on Kim's author website: http://www.kimberlypauley.com/2010/05/03/still-sucks-to-be-me-launch-including-epic-contest/.  Don't forget to come back here and read my review of Still Sucks To Be Me, which I expect to post on Sunday May 9th... but I'm not going to commit to an exact posting time.

Sucks to Be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (maybe)
By Kimberly Pauley
Mirrorstone (26 Aug 2008) Hardcover, 294 pages
Mirrorstone (11 Aug 2009) Paperback, 304 pages
Mirrorstone (26 Jan 2010) Kindle edition
Rated 5 Stars

"...I'll have to say, my only regret is that it had to end... Who would have known that a vampire story doesn't have to be scary?Yes, Sucks to Be Me is a vampire story, but nothing like you've ever read before... so throw all your old notions and pre-conceived ideas about vampires out the window because that's not what you'll find in Kim's new book. What you will find is a barrel of fun... vampire style." Read the rest of my review of Sucks To Be Me

Still Sucks to Be Me: The All-true Confessions of Mina Smith, Teen Vampire
By Kimberly Pauley
Mirrorstone (11 May, 2010), Hardcover, 384 pages

Coming soon... and every bit as good as her first book. Kimberly Pauley has done it again... and yes, I can say that because I'm one of the lucky recipients of an advance copy, which arrived in my possession on May 6 and which I've almost finished reading already. Kimberly writes in a fast, easy-breezy style that will charm you and keep you turning the pages to see what happens next. Aimed at the young adult market, Mrs. Pauley's books also appeal to the teens inside the adults we've become. 

Interesting Confusion

Xenolith
A. Sparrow
Smashwords, (2009)
E-book, (PDF format) 217 pages
Rated 3 stars of 5 possible

Each of several characters is followed for part of the story.  The transitions from one world? to another for unclear reasons assist the reader in becoming more confused as the story progresses. That said, most parts of the story remian interesting enough to complete the reading, however, connecting the sections about Frank, who had been searching for his wife, who has been missing for twenty years and his captor, Tezhay, with the sections about Seor and Canu and their compatriots didn't seem relevant... almost like there are two or even three stories that are interwoven into one but still separated or unclearly joined.

I wanted to like this story and enjoyed reading about Frank's search for his wife, but the parts regarding Seor and Canu and their compatriots interfered with that enjoyment a bit because of my not understanding why those characters were in the book at all. If there is a connection between the plot lines, making such connection more clear to the reader could be a good thing.

Xenolith was given to me free by the author in exchange for this review, which has been posted on Dragonviews and LibraryThing.

Enjoyable Without Being Understood

Utmost Magpie
Richard Marsh
Mazgeen Press, (2009)
E-book, 54 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

Utmost Magpie is a story about magpies who, led by their captain, deliver messages to people. The messages foretell - by the number of magpies seen - what may happen to the people... The events foretold by the magpies are prophetic, but not entirely unavoidable.

I suspect the story is heavily laden with symbolism that I haven't stopped to analyze in it's entirety. The satire goes right over my head too... or at least, mostly it does. Despite that, I can still see the magpies as politicians and their messages as the rhetoric delivered by politicians in an attempt to convince their colleagues to vote for certain measures when the political body is in session.

On another level, Utmost Magpie is an entirely enjoyable fantasy tale about magpies and the "work" they do. Utmost Magpie can be read as "light and fluffy" or studied in depth.  I can recommend this book, even to those who don't normally read satire.

This review has been simultaneously published on Amazon.com, Dragonviews, and LibraryThing.  Utmost Magpie was given to me free in exchange for this review.