A recommendation from my sister who hasn’t even read this series yet, but she was told by my cousin that it is really good. And I have to say, the first volume of Locke & Key is a solid and intriguing start to this somewhat spooky and supernatural comic book series. Collecting the first 6 issues, volume 1 is entitled Welcome to Lovecraft and is written by Joe Hill, with engaging artwork by Gabriel Rodriguez: the artwork has a clean style that isn’t too flashy, […]
There will be blood… and angst.
The Vampire Academy series is as follows: 1. Vampire Academy (CBR5 review) 2. Frostbite 3. Shadow Kiss 4. Blood Promise 5. Spirit Bound 6. Last Sacrifice These are pretty mediocre books. I read the whole series because I’m a completist (sadist?) and at this point I’d be hard-pressed to describe exactly where in the overall plot each book began and ended. The whole story goes something like this — and I’ll be as vague as I can to avoid specific spoilers — Rose is a half-vampire who […]
This Book is Brilliantly Bonkers
Pros: An amazing main character and two very excellent supporting characters. I want to be friends with these people. A completely insane story that makes me want to write clichés about rollercoasters. (Nonstop thrill ride! Hold on tight! Etc.!) Funny stuff. Gross stuff. Surprisingly thought-provoking stuff. A palpable sense of dread during the appropriate suspensey parts, and an urge to stomp around heroically during the ‘frak yeah!’ parts. An ending that manages to not tie up everything in a neat little bow, but still be […]
14 – The Apartment Too Good To Be True
“14” What a great fun book! Couldn’t put it down Our hero, Nate is a slacker SoCal loser dude. Down on his luck, no girlfriend, needs new apartment and – Bam! – he stumbles into the best deal ever on a cool vintage apartment in downtown LA. The Kavach Building. Ok – so, sure there are some rules, strange rules, kind of an odd super…but whatever right? It’s cheap, it’s nice, the power is free! the neighbors are nice. Oh, wait – […]
Cold War Espionage and Djinn
What do the Cold War, Mt Ararat, Lawrence of Arabia, Rudyard Kipling, the lost city of Ubar, ankhs, MI6, the French Resistance, Kim Philby, the collapse of the Soviet Union and Djinn all have in common? “Declare” by Tim Powers. “Supernatural suspense thriller” – yes – that does describe it, but it’s so much more. Layers upon layers. Secret hidden histories under secret societies and secret government organizations. You need to read this one carefully – there are nuances and layers and ….well you […]
… or Ladies and Lizards
Dragons and Warrior Daughters – Ed. Jessica Yates , a collection of short stories all featuring prominent female characters or protagonists, some of which have dragons. I picked this book up for two reasons. It has a story from Robin McKinley, one of my most beloved authors, and I am trying to populate my daughter’s bookshelf with positive stories about women and girls. Read the rest on my blog fireandsonic.com