Nice Girls Don’t Live Forever
Molly Harper
Pocket, Jan 10 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9781416589440
A drunk thought Jane Jameson was a deer and shot her. As she lay dying, the vampire Gabriel turns her into a creature of the night like he is (see Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs). They forge a unique relationship of sire and fledgling as well as lovers. They are touring Europe, but Jane knows her mate is not having a good time because at each hotel they stop at he receives a letter that he refuses to discuss with her.
In Brussels, Jane finally sees one of letters sent by Jeanine; it reads like a love letter. Tired of the strange calls, the secret letters, and his refusal to explain what is bothering him, she leaves returning to Half Moon Hollow by herself. She opens a new bookstore aimed at vampires as customers. She also tries to find a way to get her friend’s Zeb’s house built as his wife’s family keeps sending the construction crews away. Jane begins receiving threatening letters warning her to stay away from Gabriel or else. With her life in danger, she needs to persuade her sire to tell her the truth.
Molly Harper has written another delightful vampire tale (see Nice Girls don’t Date Dead Men) filled with romance, intrigue and a strong cast. Some family members are in denial refusing to accept Jane’s Undead living condition especially her sister and grandmother who want her booted out the family. This leads to some humorous scenarios that act as a counter to the threat. Although the plot is a bit thin, fans will enjoy this nice girl who has adapted quickly to living forever.
Harriet Klausner
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Hallowed Circle-Linda Robertson
Hallowed Circle
Linda Robertson
Juno (Pocket), Dec 29 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9781439156780
Lydia Whitmore of the Witch Elders Council nominates Persephone Alcmedi to be the next of High Priestess of the Cleveland coven. Instead of euphoria Seph is dismayed for several reasons starting with her being a solitary act belonging to no coven. She is also the guardian of Beverly, whose mother died. Then there is the problem of her wearing the stain of the vampire Menessos, which leads to her being stronger than most mortals.
If the Elders learn she wears a vampire’s stain, she will be Bindspoken, unable to use her power. Finally, she is The Lustrata the walker between two worlds who brings balance preventing wars between species. However in spite of all that and what she knows about what happened to the missing previous coven chief Vivian Diamond, Seph does not believe the other nominee snobby but talented Hunter Hopewell would make a good leader at a time when the Cleveland coven crowd needs one. By the time the competition ends, Seph is bound to the head of the Council, Menessos and Johnny the werewolf but it is as The Lustrata that she must prepare for war as the treaty involving the fairies was broken.
Seph is linked to several diverse groups who are natural enemies, but needs to find her own path to fulfill the role destiny has in store for her. She has the favor of the Goddess but it is through the competition that she sees who she is, what her strengths and what she must do. Linda Robertson has written en enthralling supernatural urban fantasy filled with mystery, romance, and intrigue. Hallowed Circle is loaded with action and a cast who make the paranormal seem normal so much so that readers will believe that they exist. Hallowed Circle, like its predecessor Vicious Circle, is an entertaining heroine driven urban fantasy.
Harriet Klausner
Linda Robertson
Juno (Pocket), Dec 29 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9781439156780
Lydia Whitmore of the Witch Elders Council nominates Persephone Alcmedi to be the next of High Priestess of the Cleveland coven. Instead of euphoria Seph is dismayed for several reasons starting with her being a solitary act belonging to no coven. She is also the guardian of Beverly, whose mother died. Then there is the problem of her wearing the stain of the vampire Menessos, which leads to her being stronger than most mortals.
If the Elders learn she wears a vampire’s stain, she will be Bindspoken, unable to use her power. Finally, she is The Lustrata the walker between two worlds who brings balance preventing wars between species. However in spite of all that and what she knows about what happened to the missing previous coven chief Vivian Diamond, Seph does not believe the other nominee snobby but talented Hunter Hopewell would make a good leader at a time when the Cleveland coven crowd needs one. By the time the competition ends, Seph is bound to the head of the Council, Menessos and Johnny the werewolf but it is as The Lustrata that she must prepare for war as the treaty involving the fairies was broken.
Seph is linked to several diverse groups who are natural enemies, but needs to find her own path to fulfill the role destiny has in store for her. She has the favor of the Goddess but it is through the competition that she sees who she is, what her strengths and what she must do. Linda Robertson has written en enthralling supernatural urban fantasy filled with mystery, romance, and intrigue. Hallowed Circle is loaded with action and a cast who make the paranormal seem normal so much so that readers will believe that they exist. Hallowed Circle, like its predecessor Vicious Circle, is an entertaining heroine driven urban fantasy.
Harriet Klausner
Friday, November 6, 2009
The Blue Umbrella-Mike Mason
The Blue Umbrella
Mike Mason
David C. Cook, Oct 2009, $14.99
ISBN: 9781434765260
Ten years old Zac Sparks has lived with his single mom on a golf course all his life. He loves his mom who raises him with love. Zac's mother dies when she walks the course at night and is struck by a single bolt of lightning. Zac’s two aunts whom he never met attend the funeral.
The Aunties inform him he will live with them in Five Corners, but the moment everyone leaves the trio alone, they turn from friendly to nasty. Not allowed to take anything with him except the clothing he is wearing, at Five Corners, the Aunties are even more abusive to a stunned Zac, who they call Boy and hammer him with canes when they do not lock him in his room for anything and everything. He meets Dada who claims to be the Aunties’ father; Dada demands he steals the blue umbrella from Mr. Sky Porter who runs the general store where Zac works after school or else. Zac refuses to steal the umbrella because Mr. Porter is the only nice and seemingly sane person in Five Corners. His relatives are nasty and others he meets are weird, but he is only beginning to learn that Five Corners is the focus for eerie strangeness
This is an exhilarating unusual middle school fantasy starring a tweener who has the weight of the world collapsing on him when his mom dies. Filled with vivid descriptions starting with extremely tall but extremely thin Auntie and the extremely fat but extremely short other Auntie and never slows down as Zac goes form nurturing maternal love to abuse. Fans will want to join him as he deals with his Aunties, Dada, Butler and others, but especially when though frightened to being almost paralyzed he bravely goes up the staircase to who knows where. This is an inspiration winner with an allegorical nod to biblical Job.
Harriet Klausner
Mike Mason
David C. Cook, Oct 2009, $14.99
ISBN: 9781434765260
Ten years old Zac Sparks has lived with his single mom on a golf course all his life. He loves his mom who raises him with love. Zac's mother dies when she walks the course at night and is struck by a single bolt of lightning. Zac’s two aunts whom he never met attend the funeral.
The Aunties inform him he will live with them in Five Corners, but the moment everyone leaves the trio alone, they turn from friendly to nasty. Not allowed to take anything with him except the clothing he is wearing, at Five Corners, the Aunties are even more abusive to a stunned Zac, who they call Boy and hammer him with canes when they do not lock him in his room for anything and everything. He meets Dada who claims to be the Aunties’ father; Dada demands he steals the blue umbrella from Mr. Sky Porter who runs the general store where Zac works after school or else. Zac refuses to steal the umbrella because Mr. Porter is the only nice and seemingly sane person in Five Corners. His relatives are nasty and others he meets are weird, but he is only beginning to learn that Five Corners is the focus for eerie strangeness
This is an exhilarating unusual middle school fantasy starring a tweener who has the weight of the world collapsing on him when his mom dies. Filled with vivid descriptions starting with extremely tall but extremely thin Auntie and the extremely fat but extremely short other Auntie and never slows down as Zac goes form nurturing maternal love to abuse. Fans will want to join him as he deals with his Aunties, Dada, Butler and others, but especially when though frightened to being almost paralyzed he bravely goes up the staircase to who knows where. This is an inspiration winner with an allegorical nod to biblical Job.
Harriet Klausner
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Diving into the Wreck-Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Diving into the Wreck
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
PYR, Nov 24 2009, $16.00
ISBN 9781591027867
Boss prefers to work alone when diving into a wreck though she works salvage operations with others. She feels she is more ethical than most of her rivals in their search for historical vessels as she always helps those in dire need in outer space though she prefers not to. Some of her unsavory colleagues would wait for a trapped crew to die so they can salvage like scavengers.
For her current quest the recluse uses her single crew ship rather than her larger Nobody’s Business vessel, but what awaits her is a shocker. Her computer claims the derelict is somewhat between 5,000 and 10,000 years old and from old earth; an impossible scenario as that time frame and locale did not have the technology for the faster than light speed to float this far. She searches for historical data as she is curious about this enigmatic anachronism, but fears what she will learn as the misunderstood ancient sciences might prove deadly. Bringing together a special crew of loner divers, Boss and company explore the vessel while she considers following her mom who left her to vanish inside the mysterious Room of Souls.
DIVING INTO THE WRECK is an exhilarating fast-paced yet cerebral science fiction thriller. Filled with action and adventure but purposely with two dimensional characters including Boss who is a bit more philosophical. Kristine Kathryn Rusch uses outer space to have her audience consider ethics and morality re the scientific-government complex and how society looks back at ancient civilizations through a modern day lens while failing to provide a historiographic disclaimer about the background of the anthropologist or archeologist leading the glimpse through time.
Harriet Klausner
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
PYR, Nov 24 2009, $16.00
ISBN 9781591027867
Boss prefers to work alone when diving into a wreck though she works salvage operations with others. She feels she is more ethical than most of her rivals in their search for historical vessels as she always helps those in dire need in outer space though she prefers not to. Some of her unsavory colleagues would wait for a trapped crew to die so they can salvage like scavengers.
For her current quest the recluse uses her single crew ship rather than her larger Nobody’s Business vessel, but what awaits her is a shocker. Her computer claims the derelict is somewhat between 5,000 and 10,000 years old and from old earth; an impossible scenario as that time frame and locale did not have the technology for the faster than light speed to float this far. She searches for historical data as she is curious about this enigmatic anachronism, but fears what she will learn as the misunderstood ancient sciences might prove deadly. Bringing together a special crew of loner divers, Boss and company explore the vessel while she considers following her mom who left her to vanish inside the mysterious Room of Souls.
DIVING INTO THE WRECK is an exhilarating fast-paced yet cerebral science fiction thriller. Filled with action and adventure but purposely with two dimensional characters including Boss who is a bit more philosophical. Kristine Kathryn Rusch uses outer space to have her audience consider ethics and morality re the scientific-government complex and how society looks back at ancient civilizations through a modern day lens while failing to provide a historiographic disclaimer about the background of the anthropologist or archeologist leading the glimpse through time.
Harriet Klausner
Diving into the Wreck-Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Diving into the Wreck
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
PYR, Nov 24 2009, $16.00
ISBN 9781591027867
Boss prefers to work alone when diving into a wreck though she works salvage operations with others. She feels she is more ethical than most of her rivals in their search for historical vessels as she always helps those in dire need in outer space though she prefers not to. Some of her unsavory colleagues would wait for a trapped crew to die so they can salvage like scavengers.
For her current quest the recluse uses her single crew ship rather than her larger Nobody’s Business vessel, but what awaits her is a shocker. Her computer claims the derelict is somewhat between 5,000 and 10,000 years old and from old earth; an impossible scenario as that time frame and locale did not have the technology for the faster than light speed to float this far. She searches for historical data as she is curious about this enigmatic anachronism, but fears what she will learn as the misunderstood ancient sciences might prove deadly. Bringing together a special crew of loner divers, Boss and company explore the vessel while she considers following her mom who left her to vanish inside the mysterious Room of Souls.
DIVING INTO THE WRECK is an exhilarating fast-paced yet cerebral science fiction thriller. Filled with action and adventure but purposely with two dimensional characters including Boss who is a bit more philosophical. Kristine Kathryn Rusch uses outer space to have her audience consider ethics and morality re the scientific-government complex and how society looks back at ancient civilizations through a modern day lens while failing to provide a historiographic disclaimer about the background of the anthropologist or archeologist leading the glimpse through time.
Harriet Klausner
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
PYR, Nov 24 2009, $16.00
ISBN 9781591027867
Boss prefers to work alone when diving into a wreck though she works salvage operations with others. She feels she is more ethical than most of her rivals in their search for historical vessels as she always helps those in dire need in outer space though she prefers not to. Some of her unsavory colleagues would wait for a trapped crew to die so they can salvage like scavengers.
For her current quest the recluse uses her single crew ship rather than her larger Nobody’s Business vessel, but what awaits her is a shocker. Her computer claims the derelict is somewhat between 5,000 and 10,000 years old and from old earth; an impossible scenario as that time frame and locale did not have the technology for the faster than light speed to float this far. She searches for historical data as she is curious about this enigmatic anachronism, but fears what she will learn as the misunderstood ancient sciences might prove deadly. Bringing together a special crew of loner divers, Boss and company explore the vessel while she considers following her mom who left her to vanish inside the mysterious Room of Souls.
DIVING INTO THE WRECK is an exhilarating fast-paced yet cerebral science fiction thriller. Filled with action and adventure but purposely with two dimensional characters including Boss who is a bit more philosophical. Kristine Kathryn Rusch uses outer space to have her audience consider ethics and morality re the scientific-government complex and how society looks back at ancient civilizations through a modern day lens while failing to provide a historiographic disclaimer about the background of the anthropologist or archeologist leading the glimpse through time.
Harriet Klausner
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Rion-Susan Kearney
Rion
Susan Kearney
Forever, Nov 24 2009, $6.99
ISBN: 9780446543323
Humanity has been saved from extinction due to the magic elixir of dragon blood (see Lucan). No longer sterile, mankind still struggles with adjusting to the byproducts like shapeshifting. In demand are telepaths like Marisa Rourke who can keep people calm, which enables the avoidance of panic attacks.
Rion of the Chivalri has come from space because he believes Marisa’s gift can save his people enslaved by the Unari. Having his own paranormal skill, Rion’s precognitive ability warns him time is running out. Not wanting a debate, he kidnaps an outraged Marisa. However, once she understands the plight of the Chivalri and the danger of the Unari to his people and her, she is a willing ally. Falling in love just strengthens their regard.
The second Pendragon legacy continues the search for the Holy Grail with a spin in space to an enslaved planet desperately trying to obtain freedom before extinction. Readers will consider places like colonized Africa as the Tyranizer and the Unari suck out the essence of Chivalri leaving nothing behind except an economy in ruin. Fans will appreciate this enjoyable outer space romantic fantasy.
Harriet Klausner
Susan Kearney
Forever, Nov 24 2009, $6.99
ISBN: 9780446543323
Humanity has been saved from extinction due to the magic elixir of dragon blood (see Lucan). No longer sterile, mankind still struggles with adjusting to the byproducts like shapeshifting. In demand are telepaths like Marisa Rourke who can keep people calm, which enables the avoidance of panic attacks.
Rion of the Chivalri has come from space because he believes Marisa’s gift can save his people enslaved by the Unari. Having his own paranormal skill, Rion’s precognitive ability warns him time is running out. Not wanting a debate, he kidnaps an outraged Marisa. However, once she understands the plight of the Chivalri and the danger of the Unari to his people and her, she is a willing ally. Falling in love just strengthens their regard.
The second Pendragon legacy continues the search for the Holy Grail with a spin in space to an enslaved planet desperately trying to obtain freedom before extinction. Readers will consider places like colonized Africa as the Tyranizer and the Unari suck out the essence of Chivalri leaving nothing behind except an economy in ruin. Fans will appreciate this enjoyable outer space romantic fantasy.
Harriet Klausner
Yellow Moon-Jewell Parker Rhodes
Yellow Moon
Jewell Parker Rhodes
Washington Square (Pocket), Aug 2009, $15.00
ISBN: 9781416537113
In New Orleans, Dr. Marie Laveau works the emergency room at Charity Hospital. The single mom tries to balance her medical charity work in ER with being a single mom raising a child Marie-Claire and a “Kind Dog” with time for herself. She especially enjoys jazz at the clubs. However, she also has a legacy that she would prefer to ignore but her heightened sense of responsibility never allows her to do so. As a blood relative of the legendary Voodoo Queen whose surname she shares, Marie watches out for supernatural evil to prevent tragedies.
Thus she cannot ignore the murders of three seemingly different people; each had their blood drained and their necks contained three teeth like puncture marks. She fears, a wazimamoto African vampire is stalking the city while the victims remain restless wandering the streets. With NOPD Detective Daniel Parks; her Creole boss Dr. Louis DuLac; her daughter and others, Marie knows she must stop the predator before the monster consumes enough blood to look human.
Yellow Moon is an exhilarating gritty urban fantasy that connects African vampirism with jazz and de facto racism. The story line is tense and gripping but especially fresh with a different perspective on the blood suckers, but definitely not a rehash of Blacula. Instead this deep New Orleans thriller is based on the premise of a deadly angry non-western African vampire who reacts to cultural racism, but must be stopped by Marie and her allies.
Harriet Klausner
Jewell Parker Rhodes
Washington Square (Pocket), Aug 2009, $15.00
ISBN: 9781416537113
In New Orleans, Dr. Marie Laveau works the emergency room at Charity Hospital. The single mom tries to balance her medical charity work in ER with being a single mom raising a child Marie-Claire and a “Kind Dog” with time for herself. She especially enjoys jazz at the clubs. However, she also has a legacy that she would prefer to ignore but her heightened sense of responsibility never allows her to do so. As a blood relative of the legendary Voodoo Queen whose surname she shares, Marie watches out for supernatural evil to prevent tragedies.
Thus she cannot ignore the murders of three seemingly different people; each had their blood drained and their necks contained three teeth like puncture marks. She fears, a wazimamoto African vampire is stalking the city while the victims remain restless wandering the streets. With NOPD Detective Daniel Parks; her Creole boss Dr. Louis DuLac; her daughter and others, Marie knows she must stop the predator before the monster consumes enough blood to look human.
Yellow Moon is an exhilarating gritty urban fantasy that connects African vampirism with jazz and de facto racism. The story line is tense and gripping but especially fresh with a different perspective on the blood suckers, but definitely not a rehash of Blacula. Instead this deep New Orleans thriller is based on the premise of a deadly angry non-western African vampire who reacts to cultural racism, but must be stopped by Marie and her allies.
Harriet Klausner
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