Book Review: Ever After by Kim Harrison

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.

Movie Review: Beautiful Creatures

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.”

Movie Review: Warm Bodies

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.

Book Review: Jane Austen: Blood Persuasion by Janet Mullany

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.

Book Review: White Horse by Alex Adams

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.

Book Review: V is for Vampire by Adam-Troy Castro

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.

Book Review: Archon: The Books of Raziel by Sabrina Benulis

Sabrina Benulis’ debut novel, Archon: The Books of Raziel, has a an intriguing premise based on angels, prophecies, and the ultimate ruin of the world.  When I was sent this book for review, I found it tempting enough to move it towards the top of my review pile.  Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to my high hopes.

While the concepts were original and some of the dark characters enticing on the surface, the plot was erratic and the multitude of characters didn’t seem fully developed.  There was plenty of potential with which to work, including an intricate hierarchy of angels, demons, jinn, a coven sorority, and a Vatican that had a hand in nurturing or controlling much of this fictional world.  However, when it came right down to it, there didn’t seem to be enough depth to the characters to make me feel invested in them.  There were so many characters (several of whom went by more than one name), that it never clearly focused on any of them quite enough.

The central character, Angela, was released from a mental institution and then entered a university campus run by the Vatican.  She was admitted because she was a “bloodhead,” possessing both fiery red hair and a potential for supernatural abilities.  She dreamed of angels when she slept, and then painted them, as their memories haunted her every waking moment.

“While most of her paintings remained hidden away in their portfolio cases, two of them hung on the walls, portals to either a dream or a nightmare, whichever happened to suit her fancy at the moment. She felt a kinship to both of them, one day aching for perfect beauty, and the next, for a grayness that wiped away her soul.”

Though I had a few criticisms, I still found that I couldn’t put this book down.  It held promise, and I kept holding out hope that it would surprise me in the end.  Sadly enough, it did not, and I still felt slightly let down when I finally read the last page and closed the book.  I’m always fascinated with stories about angels, and Benulis’ interpretation of angels was certainly one I hadn’t yet read.  I expect that the series will improve as it moves on and will keep an open mind when the next installment is published.

Book Review: Dark Prince (Author’s Cut) by Christine Feehan

An author’s cut special edition of Christine Feehan’s first novel in the Carpathian vampire series, Dark Prince, has recently hit bookshelves.  When I received a copy for review, I was looking forward to the opportunity to read it.  I had been familiar with the name of #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan, but I hadn’t to date read any of her many books.  I was eager to see how her fantasy world stacked up against some of the other bestselling authors in the vampire genre, such as Kim Harrison, Stephenie Meyer, and Guillermo del Toro.

The story opens with Mikhail Dubrinsky, Prince of the Carpathians, contemplating suicide after centuries of leading a life without love.  He is intercepted by a human, Raven Whitney, who has used her psychic abilities to help police hunt serial killers.  Raven soon discovers that she may not only serve as Mikhail’s salvation and soul mate, but perhaps the key to the salvation of the entire Carpathian race.

“I have found it to be so, he agreed. He realized he was holding his breath, needing the contact. A human. Who gave a damn? Something–no, someone–had penetrated the depths of his pain and interested him enough to respond. Who could speak telepathically other than one of his own kind? The puzzle made no sense, but it mattered little to him. He was interested. Caught. Intrigued.”

Christine Feehan was one of the first to hit the vampire fiction scene and helped to pave the path for others to follow.  Her interpretation of vampires included both the sensual and romantic version, which she refers to as Carpathians (similar to those made recently popular by Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series), as well as the classic horror version of the vampire as evil predator (such as those written about in Guillermo del Toro’s recent Strain trilogy).  I appreciated the contrast of two distinctly different sets of vampires pitted against each other in a centuries old war.  The Carpathian society that Feehan created behaved by a consistent set of rules that allowed for the story and characters to be easily accepted by the reader, as the layers of the story unfolded.  I found myself drawn to several of the support characters introduced in this book, such as Gregori, Jacques, Byron, and Aidan, and I will likely continue to read other books in the series that focus more on them.

What I had a difficult time with was the copious amount of sex scenes throughout the novel.  The action sequences were gripping, and the characters were intriguing.  However, the main couple seemed to fall into bed about every thirty pages.  Admittedly though, Feehan does have a knack for writing sexy vampires.  For those of you who enjoy spicy vampire love scenes, this is certainly the series for you!

What sets this book apart from the first published version of Dark Prince is the additional 100+ pages that the author had originally intended as part of the story.  Frankly, since I didn’t read the original version, I can’t compare how much this added to the overall experience of reading the book.  I did find a few descriptions to be repetitive, and I imagine this was a result of adding material that had been edited differently in the original book.  For fans of Christine Feehan, you may wish to read this author’s cut to get a better feel for how she intended the series to begin.  For those of you new to Christine Feehan’s work, this is a good place to start.

Book Review: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

When I was offered an advance reading copy of Isaac Marion’s debut novel, Warm Bodies, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  The short description I had been given indicated it was a “zombie romance.”  I can’t recall ever having encountered those two words paired together, and I couldn’t imagine at first if it was intended to be serious fiction or humor.  After reading it, I quickly came to realize that it is both.

This unusual tale about R, a zombie in an alternative dystopian future, turns out to be a surprisingly touching story about a guy facing an existential crises.  When his life takes a turn for the (even more) unexpected, R finds himself getting in tune with his emotions, falling in love, and blundering his way through the awkwardness of wooing a human girl in his run-down zombie shape.  The object of R’s affections, Julie, happens to be the young idealistic daughter of a general heading up the local war on zombies.

Marion manages to maintain levity through the dry humorous writing while creating characters who are remarkably unique, memorable, and likable.

“No one I know has any specific memories.  Just a vague, vestigial knowledge of a world long gone.  Faint impressions of past lives that linger like phantom limbs.  We recognize civilization — buildings, cars, a general overview – but we have no personal role in it.  No history.  We are just here.  We do what we do, time passes, and no one asks questions.  But like I’ve said, it’s not so bad.  We may appear mindless, but we aren’t.  The rusty cogs of cogency still spin, just geared down and down till the outer motion is barely visible.  We grunt and groan, we shrug and nod, and sometimes a few words slip out.  It’s not that different from before.”

When I read the blurbs by authors such as Audrey Niffenegger, Stephanie Meyer, and Josh Bazell, I was eager to delve into the book and see for myself whether it was as intriguing as they made it sound.  I have to say, I was not disappointed.  I found myself engaged in the story straight from the start and caring about the outcome of a zombie in love.  Even though it is only May, I am already certain that this is one that will be included on my “Favorite Books of 2011″ list.  Soon to be a major motion picture, this is one I’ll have to see as soon as it comes out in theaters.

Article first published as Book Review: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion in Blogcritics Magazine.

Book Review: Pale Demon by Kim Harrison

Kim Harrison’s ninth book in the Hollows series, Pale Demon, revisits the original inspiration behind the series: “What would happen if you placed a witch, a vampire, and a pixie in a bar?”  Only in this case, it’s a cross-country road trip rather than a bar.  In addition, an elf, a Witch Council member, and a demon hunter are thrown in for a little extra spice.  Pale Demon heavily features almost every character in the Hollows series, including the witch bounty hunter Rachel Morgan, vampire Ivy, fearless pixie Jenks, powerful businessman and elf Trent Kalamack, and demon Al, just to name a few.

Packed with action and adventure along the way, Rachel and Trent team up to tackle their respective problems in California.  Rachel must either win over the Witch Council or live with demons in the Ever After.  Although the secret ”surprise” ending of Trent’s elf quest came as no surprise when I read it, the charm of the story was mainly about the ride, the adventure, and the realizations they discovered along the way.  Rachel learned more about her powers and what makes her unique, details that she takes in stride like everything else, despite the fact that what makes her special is not a quality she would have chosen for herself.  Trent exhibits his wild elf magic while simultaneously displaying his more gentle ”human” side.  Rachel bonds with Al and her demon kindred in an entirely new way, which added an intriguing twist I’ve not yet encountered in the fantasy fiction genre.

My trial was Sunday night, and I met Jenk’s and Ivy’s eyes. This had all the earmarks of the tip of an iceberg. Trent was in trouble with the biggest elf family on the West Coast. And though he hadn’t blamed me, I might have had some part in it. Guilt licked at my soul. I had a really bad feeling about this.

Kim Harrison once again shows us that she leads the pack among paranormal fantasy fiction authors for creating a world that is both creative and complex, along with characters that are utterly human despite the depth of their supernatural qualities.