The Radleys is a vampire novel that isn’t a vampire novel. The family are vampires, to be sure, but vampirism here is a metaphor for identity in general. The novel, then, explores the consequences of denying one’s true self; the facade erected by the Radleys alienates the family members from each other, and the family unit from society at large, ironically, as the facade is constructed for the single purpose of fitting in. The Radley parents, Peter and Helen, are abstaining vampires — they don’t […]
So continues my quest for the perfect vampire novel…
Hmmm….everything about this book makes me want to like it. The premise, the satire, the author, and a lot of reviews I skimmed on Goodreads. But I just can’t bring myself to the level of enthusiasm of these other reviewers. Dark Moonlighting is the first of a four novel series. It’s about Nick, a 600 year old vampire doctor-lawyer-police officer (needing only 2 hours of sleep a night, Nick has plenty of time to work) . No, Nick isn’t sexy, he doesn’t glow in the […]
Fewer demons, more elves in this one
This book is book 12 and the penultimate in The Hollows series, with several story lines that have been building throughout the series. It’s absolutely NOT the place to start. If you haven’t read these, start with Dead Witch Walking. Frankly, if you don’t know the series, you’d probably be best just skipping this review. Rachel is working security for Trent while Quen is on the West Coast. Despite her many former misgivings about working for and with the billionaire, she’s been enjoying herself, possibly a bit too […]
Vampires in Maine
If you grew up in a small town, there are probably a number of fairly inoffensive words that come to mind to describe it—at best, you might say “peaceful”, “prosaic” or “familiar”. If you didn’t like your small town, it was probably “boring”, “insular”, or “depressing.” A lot of small towns I can think of, including the one where I lived some of my childhood, do not inspire strong feelings one way or the other – perhaps above all, they just don’t register as very […]
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 […]
The one where Harry tries to catch a serial killer and fights a lot of ghouls
Chicago wizard and now a Warden of the White Council, Harry Dresden, gets called in by his friend Sgt. Karrin Murphy (she got demoted after helping Harry out in the last book) to look into a series of mysterious deaths. A lot of women have been found dead around Chicago, in what appears at first glance to be suicides, but Murphy and her team at Special Investigations can tell something is off, and Harry finds magically hidden writing that suggests the women have been killed […]