Some moments from 2009

I have been bullied, guilt tripped, harrassed and finally, tricked into doing exactly what i'd decided to avoid. Gav at Nextread is bookish hellspawn. Now that's said, this is not a best of 2009, this is just 5 books picked off the top of my head to highlight as particular discoveries. I am going to associate these books with 2009 a year when I have read probably more than any year since I finished school and the first full year of Un:Bound.

Silver by Steven Savile - this is a bit of a cheat because it is actually released in Jan but I read the arc so i'm counting it. I reviewed one of Steve's older books, twisted his arm for an interview and have continued to correspond and indeed am reading along with his next novel as he writes. I love everything that I have seen so far but Silver reaches a new level of thriller which completely blots my mixed memories of that other slightly blasphmous thriller from my mind.

Nights of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton - We've all seen the cover, everywhere and it's made it onto plenty of people's lists this year but it really deserves it. This is a wonderfully well written genre bending dying earth story full of unique characters and strange circumstances. It blew me away and I take every hint of interest in genre fiction as an opportunity to push it. I was also delighted to be able to record an interview with Mark who was great fun and really lovely.

Killerbyte by Cat Connor - This is an ebook only at the moment but I read it in one sitting on my laptop. Something I repeated for the sequel Terrorbyte. I laughed out loud and cried for these books. Ellie is a very engaging heroine and I love a good FBI drama, so does Cat judging by the occasional NCIS reference. These are hugely enjoyable and I hope they run and run. She's looking for a series name, we are toying with Death Byte's among others but go read them then email Cat your suggestions.

The Devil You know by Mike Carey - I love this book, I love Felix Castor and I am soo glad there are already lots of books in this series. It was like discovering Dresden for the first time, all over again, but in England and with the snark/dark ratio tilted ever so slightly more to Dark. I am in absolute heaven knowing I still have plenty more to read of these.

I kill giants by Joe Kelly - GeekMonkey did such a great review of this I dashed straight out and got my own copy and loved it just as much. It is definitely my top pick for Graphic Novels this year. Not that I read many but still. The story is fun but also deep and thoughtful and completely absorbing. The art is a perfect fit and I was totally blown away by the whole thing. If you think comics are just for kids go read this now, I defy you not to cry by the end.

I now feel i've been horribly unfair to all the wonderful authors who have delighted and entertained me through the year but blame Gav, he made me do it, he is eeevil. And Liz and MFB should take some blame too.

Hunting Ground - Patricia Briggs

Hunting Ground is the second novel in the Alpha Omega series by the author of the extremely well loved Mercy Thompson books. Once again the series takes place in the same world where the Fae have come out but werewolves have not yet made their existence known. The Marrok is gathering all the Alphas to discuss his decision to come out and give them a chance to raise their concerns. Obviously not everyone is in favour of his decision.

This series is focused on Charles one of the Marrok's son's and his main enforcer and Charles' new mate the timid Omega wolf Anna. The meeting of the two and the rescue of Anna from her pack took place in a short story prior to Cry Wolf and in the first book she is an extremely timid creature. There is a sense by the end of Cry Wolf that Anna is going to be allowed to develop and become a stronger character, which is just as well really.

In the second novel Charles and Anna convince the Marrok that they should hold the meeting in his place and he eventually conceeds and allows the pair to head to seattle. It's not long before Anna is attacked and they find themselves trying to untangle the motivations of various players and figure out where the real threat lies.

Briggs has delivered another excellent book and Anna is really starting to come into her own. The pace and tone is a little different from the Mercy novels, because they are very different characters but as they develop and the series grows I am quickly becoming as attacehd to Charles and Anna as I have always been to Mercy and Adam. There is less snarkiness and humour in the Alpha Omega novels but they are still extremely entertaining. Even if you weren't enamoured of Cry Wolf, but you like Mercy, give this one a shot, as Anna is coming into her own she is humanising Charles and lightening the tone a little.

I would just add that although the UK cover (top) is a gorgeous UF cover I think the US cover (bottom) is prettier and more in keeping with the book. That goes for the Mercy Thompson books two. I love the US artwork much more than the cool style of my own UK versions.

Tempest Rising - Nicole Peeler

Nicole is another member of the league of reluctant adults, which is always a plus in my mind but the real reason I bought the book was that I kept seeing the cover. Reviews of Tempest Rising have popped up all over the place and I absolutely adore this cover art, it's just so cute.

The book itself is a delight. Jane's mother turned up naked, bagged one of the most eligible bachelors in the area, had a baby girl and after six years vanishes as suddenly as she appeared.
Jane has never quite fitted into the small town of Rockabill, adding her own weird behaviour to the sin of looking like her mother, but when a man turns up dead Jane begins to discover why she has always felt different and life gets a lot more interesting.

I had one or two issues with Tempest Rising but they were pet peeves and aside from a little eyerolling at some of the phrases this was a really entertaining novel. Jane is a little bit self pitying and lacks confidence but it's understandable and doesn't often become irritating within the story. She's extremely niaive but again it's mostly fitting to her character and makes way for the protective roll taken by other people in her life. There is romance and although it feels a bit shallow I can't help but think there is something more significant brewing. The big plot twists for Jane were predictable but overall the book doesn't suffer for it and as a series I think it was a good start. Some of Jane's backstory is interesting and adds a new dimension which I hope will continue to contribute to the tension in later volumes. As a character she grows a little during the story and I hope to see that continue too. It has a fairly light feel at most times which made it an extremely easy read. I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes next and it's nice to see some of the less well known fae get a look in.

Zombie Raccons and Killer Bunnies!

Apparently, according to one of the guys who works there, the Highcross Waterstones in Leicester sells more zombie books than any other Waterstones. It certainly has an impressive collection, all the more important given the limited size of the store and therefore the SFF section.
I hope it's true, it pleases me somehow to think of Leicester as being the spiritual home of zombies in the UK (and yes there are several cheap shots you could take here, I would if I were you).

Anyway, it was in this store and over this book that I had the conversation so I thought i'd share. I was soo pleased to see this anthology, having craved it ever since I saw the cover on the League of Reluctant Adults site.

So onto the book. It's a solid anthology, I read it cover to cover which is unusual for me, it has stories by Carrie Vaughn and Anton Strout and normally i'd have gone straight for those. Instead I went though story by story in order and was delighted. There is a real blend of critter related tales, a boy whose pet cats may have been eaten by a god, a cat joining forces with a super squirrel to deal with a crow problem, an
old war between foxes and hunters and killer BunRabs coming from the east.
There's a good balance of horror, fantasy and silliness. You do need to be really ready to suspend disbelief and enjoy but if you can do that it's a quick and easy read.
Also, is that not the most wonderfully ridiculous cover you have ever seen?

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme held by Should Be Reading Teaser Tuesdays go like this:

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser Tuesday comes from Zombie Raccoons and Killer Bunnies an anthology edited by Martin H Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes.

"You don't need to know," Mac said. "Kate is mundane. Normally i'd be telling her she had a fever dream or was hallucinating-"

I'm about halfway through the anthology and enjoying it so much I am reading cover to cover rather than picking out the authors I already know I like. It includes stories by Anton Strout and Carrie Vaughn and titles like "Ninja Rats on Harleys". How can you not love this!!

Death's Daughter - Amber Benson

Calliope Reaper - Jones just wants to be normal, to do her crappy assistants job and enjoy life in New York. Sadly Death has other plans. Her father has been kidnapped and if she doesn't step into Death's place then her whole family will be stripped of it's immortality and no one will investigate his disappearance.

There isn't much about this novel that hasn't either been seen in other (urban) fantasy novels somewhere but that's not neccessarily a critisicm. I'm also not entirely sure whether there is something a little Buffy about the tone or whether it's just that I will always think of Amber Benson as Tara from the show. Regardless this isn't a shining star amongst the genre, but it's pretty well written, entertaining and sets an interesting premise for a series. I hope it will continue and that Amber will get stronger as a writer over the course of the books because it's a world worth revisiting and I like the characters. Callie was starting to develop into someone pretty interesting by the end of the book and some of the other characters, particularly Kali the goddess made for a good dynamic.

This was an extremely easy read, chomped through happily in one evening and is worth picking up for fans of the genre. I did almost cry at one point too so it's not entirely fluffy.

Cirque Du Freak - Darren Shan

Darren is an idiot. There is no way round it, if he hadn't be so determined to go to an illegal freak show with his friend Steve and hadn't continued to make idiotic decisions he'd never have got into this trouble. On the other hand, he's a teenager and although it was a fair while ago now, my memories of that age are that I was an idiot too so maybe it comes with the territory.

Cirque du freak is written for children/teens and the tone of the writing is definitely geared to that age group. It made it harder for me to settle into the book but I got used to it and it didn't prevent me enjoying the story. It was fairly predictable but no worse for that and it's only the first book in the Vampires Assistant trilogy that has recently been made into a film. I am not so enamoured that I will read the other two, but I will be looking forward to seeing the film and I expect one of the reviewers for Young & Un:Bound will thoroughly enjoy this and race through the three books. I don't feel there is quite enough here for adult readers.

Dashing About with Christmas Messages

Hi. Chris/Geek Monkey here. I SWEAR I'm still around and will be back next week with actual bona-fied content!!!!!

Until then, Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate it, and warmest holiday wishes to everyone else. I hope that wherever you are, you're with people who love you, and perhaps a good book or two.

-Chris (who is currently cozying up with his 2666 by Roberto Bolano and A Feast for Crows

by George R.R. Martin)

Christmas Book Recommendation.

It's Christmas Eve and that means over the next few days I will be relaxing, eating, reading and generally enjoying a blissful time. I may even do some social stuff.

I thought I would share a Christmas book recommendation.

The Stupidest Angel by Christohper Moore

This is one of his Pine Cove novels and involves a rather stupid angel, a small child who doesn't want santa to be dead, Christmas parties, zombies and the usual perfect blend of wit and outright nuttiness we have come to expect from Moore. It's good fun for even the most hardened humbugger.

Do you have any suitable recommendations for the holiday season? What will you be reading?

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Comic Book Appreciation Month

The utterly dahlink Harry Markov over at Temple Library Reviews has decided to burst into the new year with a whole month of comics and graphic novels.
Visit Harry's post on the subject and on the 6th of Jan I will be posting on Art vs Story in graphic novels.

Harry has put up some gorgeous images you spread around the place to share the joy.

Escape Pod - Pirate Solutions

I have over this last year rediscovered the simple joy of having a story read to me. Through the Short Fuse performances I have been reminded what a great pleasure it can be to sit and relax and receive a tale. Since then I have also started downloading various short story podcasts, such as Bound off and Escape Pod. This morning I decided that instead of catching a few pages on my way to work I would plug myself into my ipod and enjoy an audio escape.

The story I went for was Pirate Solutions by Katherine Sparrow (Originally published in Fast Ships, Black Sails). It’s a fantastic tale of bone rum, the high seas and computer nerds. The tale moves around in time and brings together some delightful possibilities and plenty of pirate speak. It’s a short story, so this isn’t really a review but I will be buying Fast Ships, Black Sails if this is an example of the quality of story in it and I am definitely a devotee of Escape Pod.

If you can’t remember what it feels like to curl up and enjoy story time then I strongly recommend that you find your favourite comfy place and settle in, in your PJ’s, with a mug of hot chocolate (possibly with bailey’s in given it’s winter) and let the lovely folks at EscapePod or it’s fantasy and horror sister sites wrap you up and carry you away on a tale.

So, now I want to know, what are your favourite pirate stories on film or in books?

Not a 2009 Roundup

I'm not very good at reviewing the year type posts. I am certainly not going back through and working out how many books i've read and how many we've talked about between us on Un:Bound.
Instead this is just a thank you message to everyone who has helped make 2009 a fantastic year of reading and blogging for me.
I've really enjoyed my year and it's you guys who made it fab so a huge seasonal thank you to:
my review team and guest bloggers, with a special mention to Dana for organising the Ravenous crew.

all the authors and other characters who have given up their time for interviews and podcasts, be it in person or online.
all the people who have let me post on their blogs and interacted with me on twitter and the various other social media.
publishers, marketing folks and authors who have sent us books to review and content to post on the site.
everyone at fantasycon for putting on a fab event and making me feel welcome.
and all our visitors here whether you comment or not for your time.
I hope that what's left of this year and 2010 are going to be even more full of bookish joy.

If anyone wants to go back and review 2009 on Un:Bound or even our whole lifespan, we have full archives, interview pages, a short fiction index and all sorts of things to browse on our main page.

Big Kisses my lovelies!!

Christmas Card Blues

The lovely Morgan Mandel, author of Killer Career has sent us a Christmas short story as a special seasonal surprise for all of you.

For more short stories visit out short fiction index.

Enjoy.

Ruth frowned, as she set the box of Christmas cards on the kitchen counter and reached for her pen in the junk drawer. What used to give her joy now filled her with sadness. Once she’d groaned at the money she’d spent on cards and stamps. She wished that were still true.

Time marches on. Many of the people who’d touched her life were gone. Some had moved and left no forwarding addresses, but the majority resided where no mail could reach them.

“I miss you,” she said aloud to the empty kitchen.

A wintry afternoon snow/sleet mix pelted the windows. The wind howled, reinforcing her feelings of abandonment.

Christmastime was supposed to be a happy season, but she couldn’t shake off the melancholy. She should be grateful for those who were left, and she was. Still, she longed for the one’s she’d never see again. Mom and Dad, sis, her niece, Nancy, her good friends, Judy and Maureen, and so many others were not around anymore. At times like this, she regretted not finding someone to share her life. Then again, maybe he’d have gone the way of the others.

She padded on her fuzzy slippers to the wooden table, pulled out the matching chair and began penning notes inside the cards. It was hard to make her stiff fingers move right, with the arthritis taking over, not to mention she was more used to typing than writing in cursive. Forty years as an administrative assistant, first on a typewriter, then a computer, did that to a person. Five years after retirement, she still hardly wrote, choosing to use a keyboard instead.

That reminded her. She hadn’t checked her e-mail and blogs. She’d do it after she finished the cards. Her heart lifted at the thought.

Soon she’d stamped the few cards, placed Christmas seals on their backs, and secured them with a rubber band. She’d mail them tomorrow. For now, she’d switch on the laptop computer on her kitchen desk and see what everybody was up to.

The usual mass of e-mails awaited her from e-groups she’d joined over the years. Also, she hadn’t gone through her blog roll yet today. Smiling, she entered the worlds of her cyber friends, commiserated and/or cheered them, according to what was appropriate. Janet had had a baby girl and both were doing fine, Sue’s dog was eating chair legs, John wanted suggestions for an inexpensive, caring Christmas gift for his girlfriend.

When she started to get hungry, a glance at the computer clock showed two hours had passed. It was time well spent. Though she’d only met one or two of them in person, her online friends were real and important to her. Every day they shared secrets, triumphs and sorrows with each other. Wasn’t that what friendship was about?

She wasn’t alone after all. A feeling of warmth stole over her, kind of like when she drank a cup of hot chocolate on a cold day. Her snail mail list may have diminished, but not her e-mail list.

She was truly blessed. Smile widening, she got up to fix dinner.

Merry Christmas, Cyber Friends!

Have a Nice Day - Mick Foley

by Harbinger

Firstly everyone keep back plague victim coming through. I know Hagelrat loves Zombies, but I certainly look like one. My entire house seems populated by the dead or dying at the moment. So I am currently sitting around wrapped in a quilt, drinking cough medicine by the bucket full and rapidly disappearing underneath a pile of tissues. So I though I would write about something which cheers me up, two blokes smashing heavy objects of each other's heads. Yes of course wrestling! Now that I am on Un: bound it means my long suffering parents can have a rest from my incessant babble on the subject. I can bore you lot with it now MWAHAAAA!

I vaguely remember being introduced to it, as a small child. It always used to be on tv in Britain before the football (soccer) came on. With such greats as Big Daddy and Kendo Nagasaki making appearances, but really by the time I was watching the British wrestling organisations were almost dead and there were only tribute shows on..... I think. Anyhow both my brothers ended up getting me watching the American stuff regularly. Any way the guy who's book I am reviewing, was one of the first American wrestlers I remember watching. He caught my eye right from the off. He looked odd he was no muscle bound freak, he was a slightly overweight guy with mad straggly hair (but who am I to comment on hair?), wearing a horrible Hannibal Lecter esque mask. He also seemed to spend most of the match getting his head kicked in, I guess I felt kind of sorry for him and i was quite annoyed at that arrogant muscle bound git beating him....Bully! I think that bully turned out to be 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin.

Only the second Autobiogrpahy in my entire collection of books is actually one of the best books I have ever read. I seem to remember the book was panned on both sides of the Atlantic by critics who had never even picked it up. I suppose purists made the assumption that some who had spent most of his life falling onto hard surfaces, could not possibly have anything interesting to say and that he would be a bad writer. WRONG!! The man has turned out to be a great writer with great children's books and a serious novel under his belt. The book is very well written and has a remarkable way of putting me in stitches. It begins in 1994 in Germany, during the infamous incident where he lost his ear. He talks about such a serious incident while making light of it. He has the ability to make almost any issue amusing, as he moves through his childhood and first forays into wrestling, training at Dominic DeNucci's gym and sleeping in the back of his car because he could not afford a hotel.

There also elements of seriousness in his writing. Firstly when discussing the deaths of two wrestlers who died during the writing of the book. Brian Hildebrand (wrestler, ref, and formally Mick's manager) and Owen Hart, both of whom died in 1999. He brakes of half-way through a chapter, to discuss Owen Hart's death, so you feel as if it has just been announced again just that second, sad but mesmerising.

Finally, there is an extended version of the book covering Mick's last match before retiring...... However don't be fooled he has had a good few of those, he is just like Terry Funk (a wrestler who is would be considered an Old Age Pensioner over here) in that regard I am not sure he will ever retire. Anyway well worth a read, even for those of you who are not wrestling fans, it is a great view into a very bizarre world and the life of a kind, amusing and slightly mad guy.

TTFN Un:Bound fanatics and HAVE A NICE DAY!!

Romance? Really?

I wrote this for Ooh_Books to post when she takes a few days off, but i'm not sure if or when she will use it so I am posting it here for you guys too.

I've been asked to talk about the appeal of paranormal romance, why I like it and why you should give it a try.

I guess I should admit straight up that a couple of years ago I was firmly in the camp that would greet any admission of romance reading with a snort of derision. I could not really have been less interested in romance of any description. I don't believe in happily ever after and I wanted nothing to do with sappy heroines and stoic men regardless of whether they were vampires, in space or just the old Mill's and Boone style. The covers, frankly are often an embarrassment screaming "hey, I’m a bored housewife whose marriage is disappointing". At least that's how I felt.

When I started the blog I started talking to a lovely lady called Dana Fredsti, or maybe we were already talking, I forget; regardless she had written a very witty noirish novel that I love. We corresponded fairly regularly and shortly after Un:Bound got going, Dana started work on a new novel. This was a bit different, this was a romance called Ripping the Bodice under the pen name Inara LaVey. I am a huge fan of Dana's writing style and so I followed her across in to romance, justifying it because it was just one writer and only because I love her style. It was a fun read, lightly mocking the genre whilst still firmly ticking all the boxes itself. The characters were adorable and the book was laugh out loud funny. I even ended up rooting for the hero and heroine to get it together. Through Dana and the Ravenous Romance crowd I discovered that there is a lot more to the genre than I thought. There are some extremely talented writers, whose prose is witty and whose characters are delightful. There is of course lots of rubbish too, but that could be said of any genre.

At the same time I have been reading a lot of Urban Fantasy. UF is often lumped in with paranormal romance on the shelves since Twilight. Before then it was often in horror and it still sometimes shows up in fantasy. No one quite seems to know what to do with it. Yes there is a point, stick with me. I can't get enough of UF, still I absolutely love it. Of course occasionally I pick up a para romance, it's often hard to tell by the blurb which is which.

There is also a close relationship between paranormal romance and urban fantasy. They share a lot of the same tropes. Both often use kick ass heroines, a vamp/werewolf/other love interest and lots of peril. Ok so in UF the mystery and the battle is at the fore, rather than the romance, but there are many points of commonality. The Jaz Parks series is based around a romance. There isn't much sex and the stories and characters are fabulous but it's in the UF camp by hairs breadth. I love the Jaz Park books. Most urban fantasy has some romance element, especially where there is a female lead. Lillith Saintcrow and Kim Harrison fall firmly into UF but the romances between Danny and the demon Japhrimel or Rachel and the vampire Kist (respectively) are significant factors in the stories. Some authors of course move from UF into erotica within the same series, like Laurell K Hamilton. Fans of LKH's Anita Blake books tend to fall into one of two camps. Some, like me loved when Anita was uncompromising and kick ass in the early books, others love the erotica and think the books get better and better (even now I am converted to romance I am not a fan of the later books in this series). I'm drifting, the point is that romance, whilst not the be all and end all, is often a significant part of urban fantasy. It's an easy step from that into para romance.

I read a lot of YA fantasy too and teen books have always leant towards romance in my experience. It's a more innocent romance, exploratory and often tortured, but still books like Hush Hush, Nevermore, Shiver are all basically romances.

It was really only a matter of time before my resistance eroded completely.

So there we are, that is how and why I came to it, now, why do I love it? Because I am character driven as a reader and a good romance has to be character driven. If you don't care about the characters why would you care whether they hook up? We aren't talking particularly about erotica here, this is for the angst ridden, knight in shining armour romance and you need to care. At its best paranormal romance is strong well written characters that you can fall in love with and root for, set in a decent plot and a paranormal backdrop to throw in some additional obstacles. For most of us now (I would hope) mixed race/religion marriages and same sex partnerships are pretty well accepted, but a young woman falling in love with a were or a vamp, that's still a little dangerous. In fact that's virtually another species on that might eat you, never mind the practical issues.

Its pure escapism in a way that no other genre is, because even if you don't believe in happy ever after isn't it nice to let yourself for a little while every so often?

So where should you start? Well it really depends on what else you like to read. As I say I read a lot of UF & YA so it was just a question of selecting the novel next to the one I came in for that leant a little more to the romance side. I'm still pretty new and finding my way through it. I enjoyed the Sherrilyn Kenyon book and can see why she is so popular but I didn't feel it was as strong as some. Karen Chance is a good start being just over the boundary from UF. If you like zombies and a bit of silliness then the short story anthology Hungry for your Love is pretty strong with various interpretations. It's only an ebook at the moment but I believe it is going to be a paperback. Try some of the YA novels if you want something gentle to break in. Alyxandra Harvey's My Love Lies Bleeding (I think it may be Heart's at Stake in the US?) is a great novel with two romances. Inara's short story Succubusted is fun and an easy read. If you aren't sure about romance generally there are some fantastic blogs out there that specialise in it or cover it a great deal more than I do. Sci Fi Guy (http://www.scifiguy.ca/) picks up a lot of the paranormal romance and erotic horizon (http://erotichorizon.blogspot.com/) is another great blogger for a variety of romance. It's worth finding a blogger whose reading tastes overlap your own and seeing what romance they read as a starting point. When you find something you really like though you can revisit those first love feelings from the comfort of your sofa any time you like and frankly we all need to remember what that feels like sometimes.

Audio interview with Steve Savile

Not one of mine but conducted by Jeff Ayers of Author Magazine and talking about tie in work and the fantastic new novel Silver.
Go listen, enjoy.
http://www.authormagazine.org/interviews/Savile_Interview.mov

Ereaderville.

Ok so I did it. I begged and begged my husband and he relented. Since my birthday and 1st wedding anniversary are both fairly close to Christmas. M agreed to get me the extravagant gift I wanted. So I am now the proud owner of a beautiful silver Sony ereader pocket. I love it. The lack of backlighting may mean we can't read it in the dark but it also means that it doesn't strain the way a computer screen does.
I have loaded some of the eARC's i have recieved on it and dropped the novels I have bought from e publishers on it too. At the moment though I am mostly switching it on and off and stroking it. I know I know, it's a tool not a target for my obsessive behaviour, but it's so shiny and beautiful and I love it.
I wil report back again when I have used it some more but until then enjoy the pic.

This will not reduce the number of physical books I buy.

Pretty Monsters - Kelly Link

I read relatively few short story books. Of those I read I tend to select anthologies, pick out the ones by authors I know I like, read one or two more and then re shelve it. Books of short stories from a single author are therefore even more unusual in my collection, consisting bascically of Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker and Neil Gaiman. Pretty Monsters was a break with tradition.

I picked it up for two reasons, the sensible one is that several authors whose work i adore had recommended her to me. The second reason which I know many of you will concurr with was that the cover was just so damn pretty.

As I understand it (and do correct me if i'm wrong) this is Link's third anthology of short stories and her first for YA readers. Her previous outings have earned her a number of prizes and awards,

It's a selection of fairly creepy and weird tales, with an underlying wit and charm. This is not a book of happy endings and reassuring resolutions. These tales leave the possibiities open for far darker things to happen after. I can't tell you much more than that about the stories themselves without giving away their secrets, which would be a great shame. I have my favourites, you will have yours and no doubt we will differ on some of them but it's a tight collection and delivered tension and delight in equal measure.

I'd recommend the collection to readers of all ages and it would sit well alongside short stories by Neil Gaiman and Chris Priestly.

The Harsh Cry of the Heron - Lian Hearn

by Harbinger

Hello to all my fans! (they are the ones screaming 'Matron!!') I found it hard today to concentrate on the cheerful subject of Nazi terror systems, so I naturally thought of you (all three of you) and decided to write a review.

I picked up Harsh Cry of the Heron, before going on holiday last year. As always I was drawn to the cover, I immediately assumed it was going to be a girly book. Chauvinist and sexist I know, but then again girls have Diamond Car Insurance so I can get away with a bit of sexism. I have never read anything by Lian Hearn before, something which I regret as this is a great story. Also oddly enough my golden rule of not buying a book at the end of a series, did not matter as it could easily have stood alone.

The world that the characters live in is based on Medieval Japan, and the book is very heavily based on the political issues rather than action. (Though never fear there are some nice bloody battles and bit of magic going on) Lord Otori Takeo and his wife Kaede have ruled the 'Three Countries' for many years, and while the land is prosperous and lucky omens are present, trouble is brewing. Takeo success has attracted the covetous eyes of the far of Emperor and his General Saga Hideki, and to make matters worse his daughter Shigeko is in there sights too.

Matters are complicated by Takeo's past, as the once defeated Kikuta tribe have risen again under a new leader and have found allies in Takeo's deceitful brother-in-law and his wife In addition two foreigners (who bear an uncanny resemblance to Mediterranean Europeans) are busy trying to convert Takeo's people. To make matters worse his other two daughters Maya and Miki, have grown wild and developed strange powers that Takeo must keep hidden, as his twins are already believed to be unlucky. Oh yes.... and his Bastard son Hisao is trying to kill him!

If you could not guess, it really about a couple who have worked hard to build something great who suddenly find the superstructure disintegrating around them. The world is very rich and expansive. The story was quite addictive and I read it surprisingly quickly for such a long book. Reading the book was rather like watching a Walsall football match, you know it is going to end badly but you can't stop looking. It generally has everything, tradergy, romance (for you big girls out there!), action, magic, politics, intrigue and a little bit of humour every now and then.

I don't know what else I can say apart form give it a go and any other stories in the Tales of the Otori books.

Enjoy. TFFN Un:Bound loonies.

In case you are wondering?

There is a cute little widget for blogtalkradio on the right hand side. If you are wondering why it's because Phoebe Jordan has a really nice regular podcast with authors and the one up right now is an interview with our own lovely, awesome wednesday hostess Dana Fredsti/ Inara LeVay and if you are wondering how either of those names are pronounced so was Phoebe so you are in good company.
The talk about writing habits, the origin of ideas, dealing with the day job and all sorts of good stuff so go and have a listen.

Born of Night - Sherrilyn Kenyon

Hmmm. Ok this is an odd one. I have lots of grumbles about this book. It was a fairly typical stoic man & pretty girl kind of romance but with assassins and aliens and well stuff. So sci fi romance. The lead characters flip flopped like a couple of thirteen year old girls "ooh he's so mean to me but" "oooh I have to stop thinking about her but(t)" ok, not actual quotes.

AArgh. I wanted to throttle them both and his sulky mate.
On the other hand, I found the book utterly compelling an dlay awake till midnight trying to finish it before I fell asleep.
IT's a bit like those old 80's movied, Dirty Dancing, Cocktail, all that sort of thing. It doesn't matter that the plot is trite (which is inevitably is) or that the dialogue is cheesy. Even as you cringe at Patrick Swayze delivering lines worthy of a teen drama queen you snuggle further into the sofa and fall in love with the movie all over again.

Kenyon knows how to pull you along even if you can't quite identify why.
I shalln't re read these books but even though I know it will frustrate me I will read the rest of them and you know what i'm sort of looking forward to them.

Alyxandra Harvey - Interview

A few days ago I reviewed My Love Lies Bleeding, a YA vamp romance novel by Alyxandra Harvey. I loved the book and immediately pestered Alyxandra's lovely publicist for an interview. Got one. Many thanks to Alyxandra for her time and I am really looking forward to reading more from this series.

HR: Your latest book My Love Lies Bleeding is a YA vamp fantasy, with so many YA Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy style books around what do you feel sets your first Drake book apart from the field?

AH: There’s no denying there’s a glut of vampire novels out there… but I hope that my heroines stand alone. I hope their journeys are such that readers can be entertained but also feel they can overcome whatever it is that might be complicating their own lives as well. And really, is there such a thing as too many cute vampire boys?

You have two heroines sharing the spotlight, Solange who is a vampire and Lucy who is mortal. They are very different characters with strongly individual voices, was it hard to express them both clearly while still maintaining a flow overall and avoiding the jarring that can be a problem with multiple points of view?

There’s definitely the danger of confusing voices and storylines but I really wanted to tell both Solange and Lucy’s story. Not only did I want to explore strong female friendships, but it gave me an opportunity to explore the human part of the story and the vampire part. I also got to move around within the world with more flexibility than if I’d been chained to a single POV. I think a single POV would have been more difficult!

What's next for the Drake's and Lucy?

Adventure! Snarkiness! Secrets! And as the story arc continues, the series will explore different parts of the vampire world, including vampire hunters and the perils of vampire boyfriends. Lucy will also have to find new ways to survive her friendships with such a powerful vampire family.

Your favourite heroines are Maid Marion and Elizabeth Bennett (Robin Hood & Pride and Prejudice) so accepting you aren't into bonnets, what is it about these characters that captures your imagination?

I adore Elizabeth’s cheekiness and wit. And I do love a good cravat.

Maid Marian has interested me since I was 13 years old. I love the Middle Ages and I love a girl that can kick butt and change the world. And she gets to play with swords and archery. I could do without winter in the woods and spiders and the lack of indoor plumbing though.

Does your affection for these particular heroines influence the way you write yours?

I think it must. I want to create heroines that could sit and drink tea with other fictional characters I already love. Come to think of it, I want to create heroines *I* would want to have tea with as well.

Do you carry a notebook and if so what sort of things do you note?

I definitely carry a notebook and always have. At the very least I carry a pen so I can write on myself if I’m out of paper. I tend to note snippets of conversations that pop into my head, or plot problems I’ve hopefully worked out. It’s especially important to have that notebook by my bed.

What is on you MP3/CD player right now?

I’ve been feeling a little nostalgic lately so: The Beautiful South, Concrete Blonde and The Smiths. I should probably get more music from this decade!

So finally and just for fun, excluding Buffy because we all love her, who is your favourite Joss Whedon character (from any series) and why?

What a great question! And a tough one…

I definitely have a soft spot for Captain Mal Reynolds from Firefly. And Spike is yummy, of course. And I happen to be wearing, at this very moment, a “You are not my nemesis” t-shirt from Dr. Horrible.

Okay, that’s more than one.

MC- Dragons, Drugs and what? Romance?

Another week, another book =D

Yey <3

Today boys and girls I’m reviewing a book HagelRat forwarded my way a while back that I never got round to.

Well I did t’other night.

You know those nights where you’re dead tired but just. can’t. sleep. Well I started reading the Dragons of Hazelett and finished it in one sitting =) but unfortunately thats not thanks to the book, it’s because of my insomnia xD

The plot is good, and obviously had a lot of potential but the pacing was slightly weird? It’s difficult to describe.

At times, I was sat waiting for something to happen, and then it was all over all too quickly.

The book follows events around a holiday in a fantasy country (Hazelett). All Fallows Eve is a time of celebration and in Hazelett, it’s a time of sin and debauchery, all described very loosely as it’s a children’s book. (?)

I don’t know if it’s just me, but if things are going to be glossed over so thoroughly, shouldn’t they not be there?

Anyway.

Romana is a princess from another country, summoned to help arrange her uncle’s funeral. Delainey is a magician born to two “Normals” (It took me a while to realise that non magic people are grunt workers and peasants in this book) who advises the king and used to be friends with Romana’s uncle.

From that I assumed Romana was fairly young and Delainey was a tired old man. Delainey acts old and this would be a good way to show his put-upon character if Scott only mentioned his age. I didn’t realise he was young until the end, so I’d thought the entire romance idea a little weird.

The romance which, btw, seemed added as an afterthought in the final chapters. Suddenly everyone was saying “Your precious Romana” and “She obvioously loves him” and I was left like. “...What?”

The Dragons of the title are drugs that the king of Hazelett are addicted to, and there’s a neat little twist involving those but when reading the book they aren’t mentioned nearly enough to justify their mention in the title.

Also, the mention of this horrendous crime of the “Occult” throughout, which much of the story relies on, had me stumped for ages! They’re all magicians! What’s the occult? (Turns out it’s technology as basic as matchboxes... a bit of an anticlimax for me)

The book was enjoyable enough but the authouress withholds too much information for too long, leaving me completely cold.

For once, I’m not sure I’ll be re-reading this book.

And it PAINS ME

haha

I’m really sorry but I’m just not interested in this book.

*Sigh* I feel miserable.

I’d read the Host but I lent it to HagelRat.

That’s it. I’ve been reduced to shopping.

Speaking of which I’ve started my own blog at lifewhatnots.blogspot.com so give that a follow. It’s mostly just updates on my life at university and the Worcester happy-haps but there’s going to be some posts of my animations, screenplays, stories and photos in time too.

Haha... shameless self-promotion.

MangaCat out!

Shelf of Fame: Books 21-25

Part V in an almost finished series of posts examining some of my favorite books. You can check out the other entries by clicking on this handy little link right here. Each entry is run through the yard twice a day, gets regular visits to the computer, and is provided with visitation rights on a bi-weekly basis. Enjoy.

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Sniff...we're almost to the end. It's been an emotional book week for me, as I'm in the process of going through my basement and *gulp* getting rid of the majority of the books I've read. It's time to de-clutter the life a little bit, and wading through the thousands upon thousands of pages down there feels a lot like going through my life Every book marks a event in my life - some happy, some not so much. But each one unique and precious. I know that the chances of me going back and re-reading the vast majority of them (especially when there's so much out there unread) is slim to none, but it doesn't make the process any easier.

Rest assured, though - none of the books listed in this series are going anywhere...as a matter of fact, I'm also in the process of making my virtual Shelf of Fame a literal one, so maybe one day soon I'll have an actual picture to use instead of the random shelf currently acting as my SOF title card.

It's been a great ride so, without further ado, here's Books 21-25:

21. Hunter S. Thompson - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: I was going to say this was an easy pick, similar to On the Road in its draw of life on the seedy side of America where everything is skewered or twisted into shapes almost, but not quite, familiar. But Fear and Loathing barrels its way through to enlightenment with a shotgun and a fistful of pills, a smirk on its face the entire way, and by doing so set the standard for "gonzo" journalism that hasn't been equaled almost 30 years later.

22. John Kennedy Toole - A Confederacy of Dunces: If there is a modern equivalent to Don Quixote, it is the towering slab of indignation that is Ignatius J. Reilly, railing against the modern windmills of our age. A Confederacy of Dunces plays on Cervantes' book in all manner of ways, working as a beautifully realized series of comic misadventures, a satiric eye at the virtues and vices of being intellectual, and the relationships that join or fracture because of it. Toole's tragic suicide and the the subsequent posthumous publication of this novel adds another dimension to an already fascinating story.

23. Kurt Vonnegut - Cat's Cradle: Another one of those "pick any book" authors. Everything Vonnegut does is magical, and this novel maybe best captures all the best things about him. Really, to go on any more would be pointless - just read everything, and that includes Player Piano, which is admittedly merely "very good."

24. David Foster Wallace - Infinite Jest: I've already written about the effect this book, and DFW in general, have had on me after his suicide back in September 2008. This is almost as much a challenge as it is a recommendation. Wade through the 1,000+ pages (over 100 of which are footnotes) of life on the junior tennis circuit, addiction in all its forms, a videotape so funny it kills you after you watch it, and a future where each year has a corporate sponsor (e.g. The Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment). Foster creates a narrative so immense, so labyrinthine (is that even a word?) you happily get lost. Not for the faint of heart or easily tired. This book is B-I-G.

25. Jeanette Winterson - The Passion: True story: I once took a course in college called Feminism in Literature. I can't recall why I took it - most likely to fulfill some requirement or other. There are only two books from that class I can remember: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys and this one. And while I can't remember anything about Wide Sargasso Sea (I think it has something to do with Jane Eyre, which I loved), I recall everything about The Passion. Few authors can weave such exquisite tales of the nature and complication of love like Jeanette Winterson. The Passion is a love story between Napoleon's cook and a pickpocket with webbed feet. Like all her novels, it's rich in its use of meter and imagery and a light breath of air.

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Normally, this would be where I give my tearful farewell to the Shelf of Fame series, as the original plan was to only go to 25. But Fate has a wonderful way of keeping the fun alive, so to speak, and in this particular instance Fate came in the guise of regular Un:Bound commenter K.A. Laity, who wondered where all the old book were (for those not in the "know", K.A. is an award winning author, purveyor of excellent bars, and all-around nice human being who also happens to have a blog right here).

So there will be one more Shelf of Fame, spotlighting some of my favorite works of literature pre-1900. So we'll be back before long (probably not next week, but soon - promise!!) with a proper good-bye to the Shelf and a chance to explore some more fun stuff.

In the meantime, let's talk about books, shall we?

Lazy Ravenous Wednesday

Greetings, all!

I have been down with a head cold (very unglamorous for a succubus, doncha know...) and, as a result, do not have any RR author interviews or pithy posts to offer this week. So I thought I'd just open up the wine cellar and pantry, light a roaring fire in my virtual fireplace, and offer everyone a comfy place to relax, eat and drink, and talk about what we all are currently reading, and what our holiday plans are for the next few weeks.

I'll start by heating up a batch of hot apple cider/whiskey toddies to go with fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and/or cider donuts (if you haven't had a cider donut, trust me when I say they are to die for). As for what I'm reading, a friend turned me onto Andrew Vachss, who writes modern noir. Not particularly romantic, but a girl's gotta get variety!

I finished reading the Contemporary set of Ravenous Romance's Escape to Romance collection on HSN. $25 and free shipping for six books? Sweet! If you have friends who love romance, check out the four sets: Contemporary, Paranormal, Historical and Sampler. My book Ripping the Bodice is in there, which makes me very happy!

As for holiday plans, I am going to try and catch up on my writing and visit family and friends in Los Angeles and San Diego. Christmas Eve will be spent baking cookies and watching movies. I'm hoping for a zombie Christmas Story! Heh.

What about you?

Sherrilyn Kenyon's - The League contest

Ok folks a reminder that St Martin's Press are offering 20 readers e copies of all three of Sherrilyn Kenyon's The League Series.
For more information on this: http://us.macmillan.com/smp/promo/bornofaudio

Also, because we love you, they are letting me giveaway a hardcopy of Born of Night, the first book in the series through Un:Bound. All you have to do is comment on this thread by friday 11th December (in the UK). The contest is open to all although USA entrants are liekly to recieve the book faster and outside the US & UK I may have to get it sent to me and then sent on so if you win please be patient.

I am reading Born of Night myself at the moment and will post a review soon.

For the book trailer and links head oer to our earlier post
http://hagelrat.blogspot.com/2009/12/in-celebration-of-release-of-sherrilyn.html
thanks folks.

Nova War - Gary Gibson

by Harbinger

First things first, I would like to thank Hagelrat, who despite my not entirely fair jibes about her age allowed me to review this book. In all fairness I hope I look that good when I am 90. So I had better get this review finished and leave the country before I am murdered by her!

Now this book does break one of my rules, that I don't read something part the way through a series as generally my tiny mind gets confused. However two things sold me on the book from the first page. Firstly one of the group of aliens in the book, the Shoal are fish! In all the sci-fi books I have ever read I have never encountered fish aliens, with a kind of child like wonder I became enthralled. The second thing was the absolutely ludicrous names many of the aliens have. The best being Trader in the Faecal Matter of Animals, I almost fell out of my chair reading that one. So much more interesting than Zog, Zarchon and Zephod (or any other name with too many Zs in it!).

Dakota Merrick is a woman with implants in her head,which allow her to communicate with and control a ship called the Piri Reis and by extension an ancient powerful derelict vessel that used to belong to a now extinct race, the Magi. She along with her former lover an now rival Lucas Corso are captured by the insectoid Bandati (with equally silly names) who want control of the ship themselves. Meanwhile in the background a war is going on between two hyper advanced races, the Shoal Hegemony (WOOO! For the Fish) against the brutish Emissaries. Neither the Shoal or the Emissaries is beyond committing genocide to achieve their ends and the Shoal in particular seem determined to keep technology, out of the hands of 'lesser' species.

What interests me about this book is the personality element, every one of the main characters has their own separate interests and on occasion are forced to work together reluctantly to achieve something. This gives an extra layer of complexity to the plot, and makes the story more believable as real people seldom have the same motives.

Dakota Merrick is tough, cynical and tired of being used. She has been tortured forced to murder and steal and as such wants to make sure the technology of Magi is kept away from others particularly the Shoal. Feminists (you know who you are!) will love this character as she is no shrinking violet. However like many of the other characters she still remains satisfyingly cerebral. She also has a disturbing liking for life sized robotic sex toys...

Lucas Corso is not really one of life's fighters, survival is what he is best at and what he is most intrested in. He is not above betraying Dakota to ensure his survival, however his personality is not so cut and dried. He can at times act to do what the thinks is right, but he gets very much lost in everyone else's plans.

Trader in the Faecal Matter of Animals (*snigger*). Interested only in protecting the Shoal from the Emissaries and keeping technology out of the hands of lesser species. He is a brilliant foil for Dakota being intelligent, single minded ruthless, and a master liar (does anyone else think he sounds like Lord Mandelson). However his single mindedness and arrogance can make him blind to the consequences of his own actions, and how they might destroy the Shoal.

'Days of Wine and Roses' and 'Scent of Honeydew, Distant Rumble of Summer Storms' (lol I mean come on!!) Two Bandati agents working for rival hives, one aligned with the Shoal and one with the Emissaries. Both trying to gain the technology that the Shoal is concealing from them, and for that they need Dakota. Both of them are loyal to their Queen's and will do what ever it takes to get her co-operation.

Hugh Moss, a dangerous assassin with a mysterious past single minded working to punish Dakota and if he can the Shoal.

Anyway I recommend this book whole hearted, and am now going to get the earlier book, 'Stealing Light' and also when it comes out the final book in the series 'Empire of Light'. Now I am off to South America with a poncho, oversized mustache and a sombrero to live a new life away from Haglerat' wrath.

TTFN Un:bound fans