Regal Literary is offering another amazing book giveaway. This one is for The Kings and Queens of Roam by Daniel Wallace, author of Big Fish. For a chance to win your free copy of this folklore fantasy, click here and enter your information on the contest page.
Best of luck!
Ever After, Kim Harrison’s eleventh installment in the Hollows series, reunites magical bounty hunter Rachel Morgan and elf businessman Trent Kalamack on more equal footing. To the delight of many Harrison fans, their former enmity continues to evolve into a steady alliance with the promise of more on the horizon. Having once again unwittingly plunged herself into a world of trouble, this time by causing a tear that begins to deteriorate the demon home world known as the Ever After, Rachel puts on her big girl boots (the finest vampire-made black leather boots, of course) and takes responsibility for fixing the problem and once again saving the world.
During her latest adventures, Rachel manages to serve as the glue that unites multiple factions of sworn enemies – elves and demons, pixies and fairies – into a tenuous cooperation. It is this underlying theme of Rachel bringing together paranormal species and humans from dramatically disparate cultures and backgrounds, woven throughout the Hollows series, that is one of my favorite aspects of this alternate universe. Another is that the definitions of good and evil are much more ambiguously grey than simple black-and-white.
Trent gracefully turned to look down the hall as if wanting to leave. He was tired, but it was only because he was letting his guard down that I could tell. “Anyone can piece it together — now that it’s common knowledge what you are.” His gaze came back to me, an empty regret in them. “The sole survivor of Rosewood syndrome happens to be a demon? Perhaps we were lucky it took this long. That an enzyme can keep them alive, though?” His lips pressed together. “A handful know that, and most of them work for me.”
Some Harrison fans might be disappointed that vampire main character Ivy Tamwood is almost nonexistent in this latest story. While Rachel’s personal story arc evolves, I hope it doesn’t leave her almost family-like bonds with her old friends in the dust. This particular book did make strides in developing the gargoyle characters and their intriguing history. Clearly, there are more adventures yet to come in the world of the Hollows, and I, for one, can’t wait for book number twelve.
To learn more about Kim Harrison and the Hollows series, click here to read my interview with this New York Times bestselling author.
I enjoyed reading the Beautiful Creatures series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. However, the movie left me sagging in disappointment as I walked out of the theater. While the books created multi-dimensional characters with interesting powers and an air of intrigue, the movie seemed to focus almost solely on immature teenage angst romance. Perhaps this is what the movie producers thought would appeal most to their target audience, but I think they were underestimating the intelligence and age range of potential viewers.
The worst part was that it had such potential with an ideally suited cast of talented actors. With Jeremy Irons playing Macon Ravenwood, Viola Davis as Amma, and Emma Thompson as Sarafine, those imaginative characters should have leapt off the screen and left us breathless. I even didn’t mind most of the screenplay liberties with plot changes, such as combining the characters of Amma and Marian. I thought it worked. However, the movie allowed very little spotlight for these three captivating characters and brilliant actors to shine. Their screen time was whittled down to shreds, leaving very little opportunity for them to have the kind of impact in the story that they should have had.
Surprisingly, I also thought the main teenage characters were well cast, with the almost unknown Alden Ehrenreich as Ethan Waite and Alice Englert as Lena Duchannes. They held promise, but their scenes and dialogue were so ridden with sappy, emotionally unrealistic melodrama that it left me wanting to pull my hair out by the roots. I’m surprised that fans of Garcia and Stohl’s books weren’t throwing things at the screen by the end of the film. While in the books, there was an underlying romance woven throughout the story, it was not the main cataclysmic focus of every chapter. It added strength to the characters rather than made them seem weaker and less mature, as was the case in the movie.
If the sequels are also made into movies, please let them focus more on the depth of the characters and less on the constant irrational angst found in this first movie… “You’re literally the person of my dreams. I love you. You jerk! Get away from me! Bitch. I can’t live without you. Who are you again? I’ll sacrifice my future to be with you, but I might not speak to you tomorrow.”
Whenever one of my favorite books is made into a movie, I am always hopeful yet pessimistic about seeing it. I so want the film to do the book justice, to perfectly translate the story and characters into a visual format that (in a perfect world) goes beyond the already specific images I’ve already created of every detail and nuance found throughout the book. I love books, and I love movies, and when the two are blended well to complement each other, my heart soars with exhilaration. However, when it’s done poorly, it can be such a let down.
I am pleased to say that the film version of Warm Bodies met my highest expectations. It kept true to the spirit of the book, changing just enough to enhance the story for film, but retaining all the intelligence and humor found in the original written format. It was well cast, well acted, and exquisitely directed.
At first, when I discovered Teresa Palmer had been cast as R’s love interest, Julie, I was a bit skeptical. She was great in I Am Number Four, but she didn’t fit the exact visual I had already developed for Julie. Frankly, I pictured Analeigh Tipton, who played Julie’s best friend, Nora, in the film as a better match for the image I had created in my mind of who Julie should be. However, I happily admit that Palmer owned the role. By the end of the film, I accepted her as the definitive Julie, and Tipton portrayed a rocking Nora.
The main character, R, the zombie tackling the existential question of what it is that makes us all “human,” could not have been better cast. Nicholas Hoult has risen through the ranks of Hollywood’s elite from his days as a child actor in About a Boy to the more recent portrayal of a young Beast in X-Men: First Class and Kenny in A Single Man. Honestly, everything this young actor touches is golden. He has not been typecast in any one genre, and he has transitioned from dramatically different roles with an effortless grace that makes me eagerly look forward to what else his future acting career holds in store. R’s best friend, M, played by the always hilarious Rob Corddry was also a treat to watch on the big screen. Who ever knew zombies could be so charming and funny?
Alas, I give both the book and the movie, Warm Bodies, my highest recommendation. Click here to read my review of the book, and keep an eye out for my upcoming review of the prequel to Warm Bodies, The New Hunger.
The movie “Warm Bodies” was just released in theaters, based on Isaac Marion’s existential zombie romance novel by the same title. I can’t wait to see it! Click here to read my review of the book.
In conjunction with the movie release, a novella titled The New Hunger by Isaac Marion can be downloaded as an eBook for just $4.99 from Zola Books. I was sent a review copy and hope to read it soon, so check back for my upcoming review.
The young adult fantasy Archon by Sabrina Benulis has just been released in trade paperback. Click here for my review of this first book in “The Books of Raziel” series.
Filed under Books
From Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, there is a definite trend towards incorporating historical characters and classic literary figures with the supernatural set. In fact, Jane Austen’s characters and the author herself seem to have found themselves in the forefront of this emerging genre. Janet Mullany’s Jane Austen: Blood Persuasion is a sequel to Jane and the Damned. I regret that I didn’t read the first book in the series when I was sent this second for review, for I fear it has tainted my perception a bit.
From the beginning of the book, I could tell that the characters were already acquainted with each other, and I wanted to know more about their background. Deep relationships and history were implied, but I had a difficult time bonding with the characters and buying into their bonds with each other, having missed the details that made them so close. I gather that the depth of the characters was established in the first book, and although I found them interesting and entertaining on many levels in Blood Persuasion, I definitely wanted to be “shown” not “told” about the qualities that established their relationships with each other.
The story takes place in 1810, while Jane Austen is consumed with writing what later becomes known as her classic masterpieces. She is content living as a spinster in her small country village with her mother and sister, having turned away from her former life as a formidable blood-sucking vampire. Her tranquility is soon disrupted though, when vampires begin to move out to the country, having fallen out of favor among London society.
Being both a Jane Austen fan and an avid reader of paranormal fiction, I delighted in this combination of the two. Yes, imagining Jane Austen as a vampire is utterly absurd, but that’s what makes it so ironic and funny. Mullany did an admirable job staying true to Austen’s own dry wit and subtle humor in her writing, poking fun at the British ton, the small country society, and the vampires themselves.
Jane clapped a hand to her mouth as pain surged through her canines. Horrified, she fought to regain control. William gave her a concerned look.
“Why, what is the matter, Jane?” Mrs. Austen asked.
“Toothache,” Jane muttered from behind her hand.
My main recommendation would be to start with the first book, Jane and the Damned, before reading Jane Austen: Blood Persuasion.
Alex Adams’ debut novel, White Horse, shows us that dystopian futuristic tales can hold more than just violence, terror and the degradation of humanity. Most importantly, they can define what it is to hope. In White Horse, the main character, Zoe, struggles to cling to her humanity at all costs, even when the very definitions of humanity change. When a plague alters human DNA, the few who survive are grotesquely rearranged into something other than human. Some become monsters, while others may pass for normal. Even those who manage to avoid the plague are forced to survive in a newly hostile world amongst the ruthless breakdown of society.
Written in chapters that alternate between past and present, the story of Zoe opening her own version of Pandora’s box unfolds. In this post-apocalyptic world, she suffers greatly while managing to still pursue hope and love. She fights to fiercely protect those she loves, yet struggles with how far to go to achieve her goals.
The title and cover of the book, though beautiful, might be misleading, were you not to read the description on the back cover. This is no youth romance about a knight on a white horse. It is gritty and powerful, emotionally intense, and at times a nail-biting thriller. Adams’ writing creates a hauntingly picturesque vision of her characters, the backdrop of scenery, and the fragmented society left behind in the wake of devastation.
“We’re standing in the farmhouse’s yard, encapsulated in a constant damp mist. Plush moss springs from pale stones that make up the house’s exterior walls. My bicycle is leaning against a long-abandoned water pump. Somewhere along the way, the owners had resources enough to reroute the plumbing and enter the twentieth century, but they left the pump for charm or lack of caring. The bicycle is blue and not originally mine. No money exchanged hands. It was purchased for the paltry sum of a kiss outside Aeroporto Leonardo da Vinci di Fiumicino. No tongue. Just the surprising taste of tenderness from a Norwegian man who didn’t want to die without one last embrace.”
This book is the first in a post-apocalyptic themed trilogy. Keep an eye out for Red Horse and Pale Horse galloping into stores.
V is for Vampire: An Illustrated Alphabet of the Undead by Adam-Troy Castro provides a humorous description of everyone’s favorite blood-sucking creature. A complete compendium from A to Z, each page offers characteristics and cautionary clues that shed light on our fascination with vampires. Beautifully illustrated by Johnny Atomic, each white on black (with just a hint of red) page captures an image of the undead with a touch of horror and tongue-in-cheek comic reflection.
Beginning with “A is for Arterial Spray,” Castro points out:
“Some ladies adore the vampire when he’s posing in the moonlight, or going on about the children of the night, or even when he’s inserting those fangs of his into the soft expanse of their throat. But the vampire has the most affection for you when you’re hemorrhaging. That’s why he chooses the throat. There’s a major artery there; punctured, the spray achieves some stellar distance.”
If you’re looking for a gift for the vampire-lover in your life, this book might be just the thing. Other books by Adam-Troy Castro include Z is for Zombie, as well as numerous award-winning science fiction and horror titles, such as Emissaries from the Dead and The Third Claw of God. He has also written several novels starring the Marvel Comics favorite, Spider-Man.
Illustrator Johnny Atomic has created and illustrated comic books, including the popular Choose Your Doom interactive story series and the comic book series featuring Simon Vector.
In follow up to my recent post, congratulations are once again in order for my friend and fellow writer, Amy Gail Hansen. Her debut novel, The Butterfly Sister, will soon be published by HarperCollins, whose label includes so many of my favorite authors, such as Neil Gaiman, Michael Chabon, Joe Hill, Meg Cabot, Christopher Moore, Kim Harrison, Ray Bradbury, and Wally Lamb, just to name a few. The Butterfly Sister will be part of the William Morrow collection, an imprint of HarperCollins, and the foreign rights are already being optioned by other well-known publishers across Europe.
From the moment I first reviewed the initial rough draft, I knew Amy’s book would be a hit. The story is not only a page-turner, but Amy’s writing talent is evident throughout every chapter. Rarely do I have the pleasure of reading such a strong and fluent voice and writing style in a debut novel. Amy’s success is well deserved, and it absolutely couldn’t happen to a nicer person!
I’ll post details as the book hits bookstore shelves.
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