While looking through the new arrivals in the hardcover fiction section at Northtown Books, I was drawn by a book that was more square than usual. While it's not enough to make me buy a book, books with unusual dimensions, formats, titles, etc. do catch my eye on the shelf. Sometimes (read House of Leaves by Danielewski or most anything by Eggers) such oddities can show a creative thinker--or at least one able to convince the publisher to spring the extra $$ for off-standard volumes. Looking further, I was enticed by the cover blurb of praise by Cory Doctrow, and on the back cover, I encountered further laudations from Kim Harrison, Charlaine Harris, Charles de Lint, and William Gibson--all authors I know and love, in ascending order. Come to find out, as the subtitle of that book in my hands indicated, that it is the fourth in the Sandman Slim supernatural fiction series. So, I wandered down to the paperbook fiction and quickly selected the first in the series, appropriately named Sandman Slim.
Not quite as quickly--but fast nonetheless--I galloped through this action-packed, violent, and funny novel depicting your average guy who has just been spewed out of hell after 11 years of living there (he never did die, you see, but was sent there by a pack of evil magicians). One minute he's in the underworld, and the next James Stark (aka Sandman Slim) is in an L.A. cemetery, getting acclimated to daylight and plotting to kill the band of magicians who sent him Downtown--and killed his girlfriend. It's not a simple task, and one that includes encounters with angels, Hellions, magicians, fallen angels, jades (vampires), and the Kissi (a type of forgotten celestial splinter off of god's original creation, set on wreaking havoc on earth. The first book was creative, had some interesting good vs. evil themes, and makes me look forward to heading back to Northtown and picking up the rest of the series soon.
I've been on a Joe Hill kick lately--reading all three of his novels in the last month. Horn's is his second novel, and it's actually my favorite of the bunch. It tells the story of Iggy Perrish, a young man who is the prime suspect in the murder/rape of his girlfriend. Without enough evidence to find him guilty, he is released to live his life under suspicion. One morning, however, he wakes up with the power to touch people and know about their past transgressions--and folks are compelled to share their darkest secrets with him. The results are both enlightening and horrifying, leading Iggy to the truth about what happened to his love. It's a compelling read, and one that kept me up reading well past my bed time.
I'm a huge King fan, so I enjoyed this crime thriller. Harkening back to pulp crime fiction, the novel is set in the 1980s and combines a love story and a cold-case crime, overlaid with just enough of the supernatural to maintain the King flavor.
I'm a huge fan of Joe Hill's Locke and Key comics, so I picked up his latest novel. Like his father (Stephen King), Hill is a remarkable storyteller--even of stories that are hard to engage in at first contact. I struggled to connect in the first 50 pages, but after that I couldn't stop: creepy but compelling, with great characters and surreal plot. (I'm
catching up on my neglected blog, so these are short entries. Post a comment if
you read the book--or are interested in doing so--and I'll share more!)
This book is the sequel to The Passage, which was published in 2010. I had originally planned to link to my entry for that book and tell you that it would fill in the early story, but as it turns out, I don't have an entry for that book. I must have started the blog after reading it--or simply forgot to write about it afterward. It happens.
So, if you want the details for the first book, you'll have to look elsewhere. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed The Passage enough that I was pretty excited to see The Twelve on the shelve of my local bookstore. It stars PostApocalyptic vampires, so what's not to like? As in most vampire books, there's a special twist here, and in this case a mutated strain of a bat virus infects the human poulation and turns them into horrific killing machines. Even better, the virus was purposely mutated by military scientists and tested on (Twelve) serial killers and likewise stellar citizens. Who could have foreseen that plan going awry?
Based on this premise, the first book explores the world post-virus--cosisting of human enclaves huddled in highly reinforced walled cities shining bright lights out into the desolate surroundings. (Vampires hate light, if you were unaware of this fact.) A small group of people eventually leave one of these enclaves in search of the origin of the problem, and book one follows their journey. In book two, we go both back and forward in time to see more about how these situation developed, increase the cast of characters (necessary when folks keep getting killed off), and build hope that the human race will survive. The ending is appropriately ambiguous to allow for what will surely be the third novel in a trilogy.
While the sequel wasn't quite as riveting as its predecessor, it's worth reading if you liked The Passage. And, I enjoyed it enough that I will keep my eyes peeled for volume three.
The latest in the series starring Shadowhunter Clary, her Shadowhunter society, nemesis (brother), and love interest (who she once thought was her brother), and her vampire (former love interest) and werewolf friends. Okay, so it sounds a bit cliche, but this is a decent teen series with just enough interesting non-romantic developments to keep me reading. Click on "Clare" in my word cloud to the right to get reviews of the Mortal Instruments books--and the prequel Infernal Devices books that start 100 years before Clary shows up.
Downloaded in SFO, read on way back from NYC in March.
I remember being fascinated by the Salem witch trials when I was a teen, but since then I haven't given them much thought. This novel does a nice job of establishing a believable context for a story about a young scholar who discovers a "lost" Salem witch, never recorded in history books. The witch also ends up being her great-great grandmother, and the story's protagonist follows the chain of succession to the modern day, only to find that she herself is a witch--with inherent witchy powers. (The author bio informs the reader that Howe herself is the descendant of two women involved in the Salem trials--one of whom was executed--although it doesn't, alas, state whether she has special powers.) In addition to a good tale, the novel explores the role of "wise" women in pre-American European settlements, provides background on the witch trials in the 1600s, and encourages the reader to consider the ways in which societies can make something "real" for periods of time.
Review coming soon. Tell me what you thought!
Sent to an English boarding school after witnessing the death of her mother under mysterious cicumstances in colonial India, Gemma Doyle gets caught up in the occult. The first in a series, the plot is somewhat interesting, but the overall premise wasn't enough to make me pick up the next volume. Those who enjoy magic and the paranormal may fare better. And, check out Bray's more contemporary novels, Going Bovine and Beauty Queens for some quality satire written for a teen audience.
A teen boy wakes up in the body of another, more popular and wealthy teen boy. He struggles to find what has happened to his own body while also struggling to maintain appearances and play a new role. This is an interesting and well-paced read which will be enjoyed by girls and boys alike.
I've seen these books at the bookstore for some time, and they always catch my attention. It's a gimmick thing, quite honestly: the color of the cover art matches the color of ink the text is printed in throughout the book. However, I also started seeing the series recommended regularly on the Centurions of 2011 Facebook page, so I looked into them. The descriptions sounded a bit like cheesy teen romances, so I posted a question for Centurion members to see what folks want. Several people assured me that the books were much more than cheesy romances, so I decided to try them out.
The House of Mystery exists at a crossroads between worlds, where creatures and characters from all dimensions, story lines, and fables may gather to relax and have a drink. The price of admission for customers? Tell a story to the gathered guests.
For the permanent residents of the House of Mystery, however, things are not so simple. First off, they are trapped--able to go no further than the yard. They face regular visits from murderous entities; mysterious, faceless couples with unknown goals; and an indifferent fathers who is the house's architect. Even worse, some find out that they don't even exist outside the house and face disappearance or reabsorption.
The storytelling nature of this comic series provides the opportunity for a myriad of strange, creepy tales to be intertwined between the lives of the permanent characters: Fig, the heroine; her current love interest/bartender (Harry or Jordan); a saucy female pirate; a tough and sarcastic waitress; brothers Cain and Able, a la Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics; and a homosexual goblin named Tursig. Occasionally one or two stories wanders outside my interest range, but the ongoing plot always draws me back in, or another traveler will tell a particularly compelling, gothic tale, and I'll be hooked again.
The Mortal Instruments series is a strong teen fantasy offering. It follows the story of Clary Fray, a seemingly average teen girl who is suddenly drawn into a parallel world of demons, vampires, werewolves, and the Shadowhunter race that protects humans from these menaces. Ultimately, Clary learns that this world is her legacy, and she becomes embroiled in the battle that rages outside human sight. There is, of course, a need to save the world. And a very cute boy.
Unfortunately, this fourth book in the series (There's also a 5th related book kicking off a prequel series called The Infernal Devices, which was book 7 in my posts.) doesn't quite live up the the preceding ones, in my estimation. It still offers the same struggle between good and evil, a cast of interesting supernatural characters, and plenty of action. Indeed, the battle against Lilith, the biblical Adam's first wife, who would not be subservient and was therefore banished (making her the oldest demon in this version of the myth), is complex and interesting. However, Clary's immersion in the Shadow World lends itself to fewer overlaps with our "real" world in this volume, which is one of the more compelling aspects of the series. The religious aspect of the Shadowhunters, who are essentially the children of angels, becomes more heavy handed in this book as well, making it a bit missionary in parts. (Assuming, of course, your brand of religion would allow for vampires, hydra demons, etc.). Finally, there is a bit too much focus on the romance aspect. Sure, we know Clary and Jace are connected by a bond beyond measure, but enough already. Get a room.
I'd recommend The Mortal Instruments overall, but I warn you it gets teen angsty in City of Fallen Angels. Clare's a great storyteller, though, so I look forward to the next book in the series (which this one so clearly sets up), as well as the continuation of the prequel Infernal Devices series, in hopes it will return to the more interesting aspects of the previous books.
"Purple-haired Goth Madison is adjusting to life at her new high school—and to the fact that she is recently dead. She is the newest dark timekeeper put in charge of reapers of death. Her ideals clash with tradition—she believes in choice over fate: people with the potential to do evil might still be able to change in time to save their souls. Madison and her two reapers, (mostly) light Barnabas and dark Nakita..."
This School Library Journal excerpt I lifted directly off of the Amazon site pretty much clues you in to the fact that this is pure pulp. This is one of those silly supernatural teen books I indulge in on occasion--lacking the weight and depth of the many better teen books out there, yet good for a quick and fun read nonetheless. Harrison's books would never be at the top of my recommendation list, but I have to admit that when I was getting my cover shot for this post and came across the fact that there is a third book in the Madison Avery series coming out at the end of May, I saved it to my Amazon shopping cart. I'm a sucker for reapers and angels and flying and saving souls and teens deceiving their parents. Besides, I need to find out if Madison manages to find her body--hidden by the light timekeeper--so that she can stop using the replica she created until she can find her own.
