Review: Hard Day's Knight by John G. Hartness (& Post of the Author!)

Hard Day's Knight by John G. Hartness

(Black Knight Chronicles, #1)

4 out of 5 stars

Has anyone noticed that vampires are always sexy? In contemporary fiction you can tell someone is a vampire when: he sparkles/has enough sex drive to feel the need to hit on anything or anyone that crosses his path/is so damn gorgeous you can't resist him. Now, lets throw that image overboard. You're about to meet the dorkiest vampires in fiction.

When Mr. Hartness was talking about his book on a forum on Goodreads, I knew I had to read this book. The concept of two fanged creatures that have super strength and yet not the perfect physique and countenance we are used to seemed perfect to get a break from all those vampire books out there. He has also been so very kind to tell a bit more about his extraordinary characters in a post below, check that out too!

Jimmy and Greg have been best friends since well, about forever. So logically, when they both are turned into creatures of the night, they rent a basement and live together as private detectives. When a lot of mysterious disappearances start to happen they end up in a mess they had never expected. I won't spoil the plot too much, but it involves zombies in trunks, unreliable witches, fighting some demons from hell and a conversation with God.

I really liked the bantering between our two "heroes". They both seem so.. human. At the end of a long night of doing detective work, they like to kick off their shoes, get a bag of blood and game a bit. They're not super brave and do get scared at times. There even was a tiny bit of romance in the book, which I though was extremely cute and I liked how that turned out.

There's a lot going on in Hard Day's Knight, making this book nicely paced. Action scenes are alternated with talking and other bits and pieces that tell us more about the background of the boys. The sometimes a bit heavy side of the book is brightened by the completely inappropriate commentary of Jimmy. Some of his sarcastic remarks really made my day.

The only critique I would like to point out is that this book is too short. I wanted to know more, hear more background, be more sucked into this story. I really liked these guys, but I wish I could connect to them more. It could be a case of minor FBISD (First-Book-In-Series-Disease), and this problem will disappear in the next book of the Black Knight Chronicles, Back in Black. I would definitely read another book by this author.

Blurb

In the first volume of The Black Knight Chronicles, detectives Jimmy Black and Greg Knightwood investigate a series of mysterious disappearances with the help of the friend, Father Mike. The investigation is hampered by interference from the police, a dozen marauding zombies, a middle-aged necromancer, and the fact that our heroes can only look for clues by night. Because they're vampires. Vampire detectives kicking zombie butt all over town, what could be better?

Where did these guys come from?
Character development by John G. Hartness

I read a lot of vampire novels. And I really, really love the genre. I love the Anne Rice books before they got to be all about witches. I love the rip-your-throat-out fierceness of the Brian Lumley series. I love the kick-ass sexiness of the Anita Blake stuff, although I’ll admit to losing interest when she started getting laid more than me, but that could just be jealousy talking.

But I’m also a raving smartass, and that has the tendency to show up in all my writing. So when I was reading through a bunch of Anita Blake books back to back, one thought kept leaping to my mind - why are all the vampires hot?

I mean seriously, don’t these undead ever bite any fat people? Or any dorky people? With the exception of one dude on a couple episodes of True Blood Season 1, I couldn’t come up with any geek vampires. And since I’m a comic book geek from way back, I decided to write a vampire series for my people - the geeks.

I built Jimmy and Greg as a classic Laurel and Hardy comedic duo - the tall skinny funny guy and the short fat straight man. Then I laid a bunch of my own characteristics on top of them - love of comics, love of science fiction movies, love of cheap beer and video games, that kind of thing. So by the time I was finished, I had a
couple of regular guys who graduated from a state university in South Carolina, got turned into vampires, and decided to live out their Batman fantasies on the mean streets of Charlotte.

I wanted them to be the counterpoint to all the sexy, brooding vampires that seem to fill the bookshelves today. The boys might not be crazy about everything in their life, but for the most part they’re okay with staying up all night, playing video games and reading comic books. And solving the occasional crime to help pay the rent.

Jimmy is the smartass of the duo, while Greg is the more sincere, heartfelt guy. But Greg is certainly the smarter of the two, while Jimmy gets by on wit and wisecracks. I enjoy writing their dialogue, and the supporting cast is a lot of fun, too. Hopefully you’ll all enjoy reading the books as much as I enjoy writing them, and stick around for the ride for a long time!

Reviews you might also be interested in

• The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles, #2)
• The Killing Dance by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake, #6)
• Bloody Bones by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake, #7)

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.

I'd like to start with the books I've won from Book Lovers Inc. (Yay, I finally won something!)

Then a book I received for review; I'm quite curious whether I will like it, science-fiction is always a hit or miss for me.

And some more titles for review, gained through NetGalley:

I'm really looking forward to read all these books. Comment below and tell me what you've gotten in your mailbox this week!

Review: The Struggle by L.J. Smith

The Struggle by L.J. Smith

(Vampire Diaries, #2)

2 out of 5 stars

When I finished The Awakening, the first part of this series, I thought the book had a severe case of First-Book-In-Series-Disease. All the symptoms for FBISD were there; there is a lot of getting to know each other going on, the plot is rather weak, the whole mission of the book is us getting to know the world and the context. In the next books, the series pick up and the real story-line starts.

Yet it seems I have diagnosed the Vampire Diaries incorrectly. The Struggle picks off where The Awakening stops. And then it continues at exactly the same pace. It took me three-quarter of the book to discover the real story arch. To me, the plot seemed to go nowhere. Elena is still one of the spoiled and pettiest characters I have ever met. She puts on a big "oh I can't trust anyone" fuss and constantly keeps secrets from the great love of her life. That she has a hard time keeping his vampirism from people she knows, I can absolutely understand. But that she can't even tell her boyfriend that someone has stolen her diary is completely beyond me.

There is nothing wrong with the overall concept behind the story or the writing on itself, but the main characters annoy me. (You know something is wrong when you start hoping the girl dumps her boyfriend and ends up with the big bad guy that kills people. At least he has something interesting to do.) The main issue I have with this book is the message it gives. If you have to believe Elena, using people at your desire, even though you're hurting them while doing it, is perfectly fine. You needed them, right? Not being the queen of the entire school is absolutely horrific too. Not having everyone say hi to you when you walk through corridors is disastrous. Sucks to be normal, huh.

In one scene, she almost had my sympathy. When she thinks she has out-smarted said big bad guy, he does the completely logical thing to do as proper villain; go after your family. His target: the little innocent sister. Elena between them as a proper heroine should. Yet her sole thought while protecting her little sister is that she must help her, because she's still a baby! Apparently, it's completely normal to let an older sister fight off the murderer you've send upon them, yet it's unacceptable when the fight is unfair. And there was I hoping for a redeeming quality.

This is not a "bad" book. The writing on itself is pretty good, clear and polished with a smooth dialogue flow. Even the story is not that bad. If only Ms Smith would concentrate on things that do matter. The high-school part of the book was in complete unbalance with the vampire part. It feels like she thought one day "hey, this is just another book about the popular girl at school, lets throw in vampires so it's more interesting!". I wish there was more vampire and less high school. I think I would like the book a lot better then.

Blurb

A Love Triangle of Unspeakable Horror...

Damon: Determined to make Elena his queen of darkness, he'd kill his own brother to possess her.

Stefan: Desperate for the power to destroy Damon, he succumbs to his thirst for human blood.

Elena: Irresistibly drawn to both brothers, her choice will decide their fate.

The terrifying story of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.
 

Reviews you might also be interested in

• The Awakening by L.J. Smith (Vampire Diaries, #1)
• Torment by Lauren Kate (Fallen, #2)

Book Tour: Tami Jackson (Ravena & The Resurrected)

Today I would like to introduce the wonderful Tami Jackson, author of Ravana & The Resurrected! She will talk about the physical abilities of the vampires in her novel compared to those of other books. Enjoy (:

(She made an image especially for NBR! How cool is that.)

Tami Jackson, Author of "Ravena & The Resurrected," [SunTigerMOJO.com] writes from South of Seattle, WA (USA)

First of all, I just like to thank Celine for offering me the opportunity to post here in the Netherlands at nyxbookreviews.blogspot.com. Because this blog focuses on many different kinds of great books, I thought it would be fun to discuss how vampires in my book, "Ravena & The Resurrected," compare to vampires in popular fiction - physically. To learn how they compare to vampires, socially, see the article that was posted here, http://1000plusbookstoread.blogspot.com, on February 20th.

Climb Walls (Literally)

Anne Rice's Vampire Lestat mastered the ability to climb walls better than any rock climber. While that's not a natural ability for all vampires in R&R, some can climb and it's not just because of what's shared in today's comic (their roommate is driving them nuts, emotionally). Some dark stalkers, after they commit a heinous crime and practice vampire cannibalism, learn to climb walls instantly and can even fly. Ravena does not have this talent when she first becomes vampire but she hopes to acquire it, even if it takes a really long time to learn how.

Extra Seeing and Smelling

This natural ability comes from turning vampire, not just in R&R but with most vampires in mythology. Maybe with exception to some vampires in European folklore, most all immortals have this kind of extra sensory power.

Fangs (Retractable)

All vampires in R&R have retractable fangs, just like the vampires in the "Sookie Stackhouse Series," and "Buffy The Vampire Slayer Series." That's also true of "Vampire Diaries" (on television). The retractable-fang-vampire was also made popular by Barnabas Collins, from "Dark Shadows," a soap opera that ran through the 1960s.

Healing

Ravena has a lot in common with "Dracula." Two abilities that he has, which she does not, are the ability to shape-shift and to heal others. While most mythological portrayals of vampires (including modern television series) give vampires extra healing capabilities, Ravena has not noticed any healing gifts of her own. Not yet anyway.

Mind Control
In Ravena & The Resurrected, vampires can mesmerize people and animals alike, but it takes practice to develop this skill. Vampires in the Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood series have this ability, except for when it applies to Sookie, who is fey and therefore immune. Dracula could also use mind control to mesmerize his targeted audience.

Strength

Most vampires from most dark fiction books have extra powerful strength. Vampires are no different in R&R.

Swimming

Unlike vampires of old who could be drowned or burned with water (e.g., Bram Stoker's "Dracula," "Blade," European folklore) Ravena Doomlah learns that she can swim and it feels like she's breathing under water, at least she feels at home there. In one scene, she attempts to escape her advancing, highly motivated enemy, the Assassins, by diving into Puget Sound. Other vampires from popular fiction who can tolerate the water include those from Twilight, Vampire Chronicles and Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

Speed

This is a natural ability that comes from being vampire in R&R. I think most popular vampires have adapted this extra-human ability to move at amazing speed.

Thank you again, Celine, for allowing me to visit your blog today. If any of your subscribers would like to follow along during this author tour, the calendar provides hyperlinks to this blog and others, where I introduce more R&R characters, present original artwork, and share much more: SunTigerMOJO.com/book-tour-author-tami-jackson-blogs.html. Anyone who wants to contact me may search "Vamchoir" on-line or visit the publisher's website: SunTigerMOJO.com

Teaser Tuesday #16

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• Make sure you do not include spoilers
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Teaser Tuesday #16: Neverwhere

There are four simple ways for the observant to tell Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar apart: first, Mr. Vandemar is two and a half heads taller than Mr. Croup; second, Mr. Croup has eyes of a faded china blue, while Mr. Vandemar's eyes are brown; third, while Mr. Vandemar fashioned the rings he wears on his right hand out of the skulls of four ravens, Mr. Croup has no obvious jewelery; fourth, Mr. Croup likes words, while Mr. Vandemar is always hungry. Also, they look nothing at all alike.
 
Taken from the first chapter of the author's preferred text version of Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. First book I've read from this author, I'm enjoying his writing quite a lot.

Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare 

(The Infernal Devices, #1)

4 out of 5 stars

Note: This is the first book I've read by this author. I have no idea how it relates to her other series, The Moral Instruments. The review is solely concentrated on this book. For more information, see Discussion below.

Clockwork Angel is my first venture into the unknown steampunk-territory. In this alternate world, you have the whole supernatural bunch (vampires, werewolves, warlocks, some nephelim thrown in for good measure) living together with the normals in a Victorian-like age. In a time where skirts that show the ankles are considered extremely inappropriate, Tessa travels from New-York to London to go live with her brother. But instead of finding her brother at the pier she is abducted by two lady-warlocks.

After this the book follows Tessa trying to find and rescue her brother that has gotten himself in a whole lot of trouble. In order to do so, she has the help of the Shadowhunters, the warriors that protect the humans and keep the Downworlders from braking the Law.

I really enjoyed this, mostly because of the setting. I love the ambiance of Victorian London and I think Ms. Clare did extremely well portraying this. You can see she has taken the time to research her book and she implements characteristic parts of society effortless. The saying of one's Christian name is a big deal and I especially loved the shock of our properly bred Tessa when she hears a servant talking freely to one of the Shadowhunters.

As for Tessa as a heroine, I'm not so sure what to say of her. She's not really a weak damsel-in-distress kind of girl but you can't call her kick-ass with a straight face either. She's loyal to her brother and slightly protective, but not so much of a sensitive girl that looks after everyone. As main character she's (I'm almost afraid to use this word) a bit dull. I didn't feel that compassionate towards her. The only parts I enjoyed her character where those wherein she interacts with the young Shadowhunter Will. Enter the mysterious love-interest of the book.

Will is the typical mysterious guy almost every young-adult novel has. The sarcastic bad boy shell with a troubled sweet soul somewhere hidden deep inside him, that only the heroine can reach. We've seen it before countless times, in one form or the other. Yet I still like this one. It seems that a lot of people found Will's behaviour offensive or rude but I don't really see why anyone would take offence in his conduct. He cares for his friend-like-a-brother Jem and he does nothing that shocked me with rudeness. Maybe just because I thought his remarks were rather funny. Don't tell anyone though.

The plot was engaging, yet not that surprising. The major oh-my-gosh moment was hinted at so many times that when it finally came it was a bit disappointing. It was fast-paced though and I read the book in about two sittings. There were enough sidelines that keep you interested throughout the story, even though a lot of questions are left unanswered at the end of the book.

I liked this book. I will definitely check out Clockwork Prince, the second part of this series, due summer this year.

Blurb

Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Discussion

When I was searching some sites for background info on this book, I came across something that rather surprised me. Apparently author Cassandra Clare (formerly known as Cassandra Claire) has been accused of using inappropriate amounts of quotes from other works in her fan-fiction series featuring Draco Malfoy. Some might say that the writing of fan-fic on its self is plagiarism, yet some take this a little further. There seems to be a whole hate-team that accuses her of using the same characters she has written for Draco in her books over and over again. I can't take either side in this discussion, as I have not read any of these works, or her Mortal Instrument books. If you want to know more about this, check out these posts:

• The Cassandra Claire Plagiarism Debacle on Journalfen
• Kat's review of Clockwork Angel (contains spoilers!)

Other reviews you might be interested in

• Torment by Lauren Kate (Fallen #2)
• Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush #2)
• Rampant by Diana Peterfreund (Killer Unicorns #1)

Nyx Book Reviews Networking

After being advised countless times to create a Twitter account, I finally gave in. Why, I really don't know. I'm not sure why I need it. Anyway, I have no idea how it works so it will take a little while to get used to. I've already put it to use though, tweeting about Carmel's massive giveaway!

Feel free to follow me on nyxbookreviews. Don't be mad at me if I don't react on your tweets, I haven't figured out the world of followers and retweets just yet (:

I've also joined Book Blogs, as an experiment. And I found out these people are incredibly nice! You can find my profile over here, I've already joined some groups, and overall I'm having a lot of fun connecting with other book bloggers. Send me a message if you're also a member!

Follow Friday #13

   Hosted by Parajunkee This week's feature: Aaron @ Dreaming About Other Worlds

Weekly Question:

If you are a fan of Science Fiction what is your favorite book? If you haven't read Science Fiction before...any inkling to? Anything catch your eye?

You know that feeling when someone asks you a question you weren't expecting and you just can't think of an appropriate answer? That's exactly how I feel now. I like science fiction, and I have read enough SF books that I absolutely love, but I can't seem to think of one.

Books that I still want to read though, I've got enough of those. Especially the Otherland series by Tad Williams (starting with City of Golden Shadow) is high on my list. I'm not sure if you can categorise The Stand by Stephen King as science-fiction, but I desperately want to read it nevertheless (:

Leave a comment so I can return the visit!

Review: The Good, The Bad, and The Undead

The Good, The Bad, and The Undead by Kim Harrison

4.5 out of 5 stars

This the 2nd book in a series. May contain spoilers for previous instalments.

In honour of the release of Pale Demon, the ninth book in the Hollows series, on the 22rd this month I'm rereading the whole series.

When I first read these book I didn't even know the "urban fantasy" was a genre and I devoured these books, enjoying every bit of them. They introduced me to this wonderful world where humans, vampires, werewolves and witches all live together in a contemporary world. Every detail about this world was new for me, never having read anything like it.

And even though my innocent fascination is gone after reading my share of urban fantasy, this series is in my opinion one of the best out there. It has the right mix of fast-paced action, suspense, true friendships, drama, character development and even some romance to keep the story interesting.

In this book the FIB (the investigation bureau for non-Inderlanders, also known as those boring human beings) contracts white earth witch Rachel to help find something or someone that's killing ley line witches one after the other. The trail leads to extremely rich and attractive young bachelor Trent Kalamack, that also runs most of Cincinatti's underground. But as always, nothing is what it seems...

Rachel is flawed, but that makes her so much easier to relate to. She doesn't always make the right decisions and is extremely stubborn at times which makes me love her even more. She cares about her family and her close friends/business partners and she tries to make the best out of everything. Throughout the series we see her struggling with her morals. What is the line between good and bad? In this book she starts to realise not everything is black and white. Even though she has sworn never to deal with demons (as people who are stupid enough to do that usually end up dead or worse) the smut on her soul is only increasing. And what to do about that demon-summoning boyfriend?

These books are quite long (about 450 pages in paperback) you read through them at an incredible speed. I like reading about how Rachel deals with her blood-craving living vampire roommate, her delicate relation with the FIB, the investigation part of the story. Kim Harrison's writing is clear and adds to the story, describing the witch spells and other magic in detail.

I would also like to give Ms. Harrison credit of her incredible cast of secondary characters. They all have their distinct personalities, and I love them all for that. Especially the mysterious Trent is awesome, and the tongue-in-cheek pixy Jenks is hilarious.

Even if you've already know where the story is going these books are extremely engrossing. I would recommend them to everyone interested in paranormal stories. Even if the books take some time to get into at the start, they are totally worth it.

Blurb

It's a tough life for witch Rachel Morgan, sexy, independent bounty hunter, prowling the darkest shadows of downtown Cincinnati for criminal creatures of the night.
She can handle the leather-clad vamps and even tangle with a cunning demon or two. But a serial killer who feeds on the experts in the most dangerous kind of black magic is definitely pressing the limits.
Confronting an ancient, implacable evil is more than just child's play -- and this time, Rachel will be lucky to escape with her very soul.

Other reviews you might be interested in

• Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison (The Hollows #1)
• Once Dead, Twice Shy by Kim Harrison (Madison Avery #1)
• Early to Death, Early to Rise by Kim Harrison (Madison Avery #2)

Teaser Tuesday #15: Invasion

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• Make sure you do not include spoilers
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Teaser Tuesday #15: Invasion

In the front of the room, standing on a small stage, was a monster at least seven feet tall.
"Is that a... I mean..."
"Technically he's a Tharik from the planet Nemus," Romero said, "but yeah. It's Bigfoot."

Taken from the second chapter of the ARC of Invasion by J.S. Lewis. Not sure what I think about this book yet, it's a bit hard to get into. Little quotes like this sound promising though (:

Book Trailer: Clockwork Angel

I'm currently reading this book and I'm totally loving it. The alternate version of Victorian London makes me really happy. I like that the trailer focuses on the clockwork angel, at first I didn't really know how I should imagine it.

This is the first book I've read by Cassandra Clare and I have a feeling that if you have read her other series, The Mortal Instruments, you will get a lot more out of this story.

The heroine has a passion for books. How can any booklover not be affected by that?

Blurb

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Follow Friday #12

   Hosted by Parajunkee This week's feature: Ruby @ Ruby Reads

Weekly Question:

What is your favourite romance hero-type? Stereotype wise. Do you like the strong silent type or the brute macho man?

That's a hard one. It depends on how he matches with the heroine. Overall I like a more introvert hero better, big egos are a big turn-off for me.

Leave a comment so I can return the visit!

Challenge Updates (January)

This year I've started to participate in reading challenges for the first time, and I didn't start by joining just one, no, I had to start by joining five. I've been rather lazy in updating the lists of these challenges (some don't even have a page), so here is a summarizing post of what I've read since the beginning of this year!

The Wordsworth Classics Reading Challenge

• Oh boy... I haven't even read a classic this year. Definitely not a good start.

Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

• The Killing Dance by Laurell K. Hamilton
• A Treasure Worth Seeking by Sandra Brown
• Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
• Sleepy Hollow Dreams by Taryn Kincaid
• Slawter by Darren Shan
• House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo

Horror & Urban Fantasy Reading Challenge

• Slawter by Darren Shan

Vampire Challenge

• The Killing Dance by Laurell K. Hamilton

Shifter Challenge

• I guess The Killing Dance features shifters.. But that would be cheating. No shifters yet!

The list looks rather sad. I hope February will be a more productive month!

Review: Slawter by Darren Shan

Slawter by Darren Shan

4 out of 5 stars

This is the 3rd book of the Demonata series. May contain spoilers for previous books in this series.

My literature teacher said to class once: a writer that writes countless books, writes the same story over and over again. And I think there is a core of truth in this.

Darren Shan writes an insane amount of books in such a short time period. He publishes two books every single year. And what most people forget is that he actually is still fairly young; according to his Goodreads page he isn't even forty yet. By the time he's too old to write he will have written enough for the library to dedicate a whole cabinet just to fit in his books.

That makes you wonder though. Are all these books still unique? Or is it the same story told over and over again, only slightly different every time?

I don't know what the future may hold for Darren, but I do know that he still has enough creativity to keep us entertained and on the edge of our chairs. Slawter is slightly different from the previous parts in this series regarding the pacing. Darren's other books contain a lot of fighting off horrible demons and keeping them from ripping you apart. There is a lot of action in those books and they're lighter on the plot side. Slawter on the contrary doesn't have that much action going on. Looking back on the book, there is only really one big fight at the end of the book. Instead of a constant stream of blood and intestines, we now have a book that is more subtle, with more intrigue and plot twists. I liked to see this other side of Darren's writing in the Demonata series.

As the books in this series don't all follow the same persons, you need some kind of connecting factor to keep this series together. I love the way the author has managed to do this so skilfully subtle. He makes sure his readers see and recognise details from the other books, but keeps his characters in the dark, like they should be. They never know things they shouldn't and I really appreciate he took an effort to stay true of his storyline, and not to take the easy way out.

It was great to see Grubbs from Lord Loss (see below) back. He is scared, yet responsible. I like that he is so human, yet still a hero. While he is noble and saving everyone's ass, he would rather run away. He doesn't seek out the danger, he tries to avoid it. But when time comes he has the guts to fight back.

I'm really enjoying this series. This book was like seeing old friends. I'm curious to see where Darren Shan is taking us with these books. Will the terrifying Lord Loss ever be defeated?

Blurb

Lights. Camera. Slawter! Grubbs Grady and his half-brother Bill-E are thrilled to join their uncle Dervish as onset consultants for the newest movie by cult horror producer David A Haym. Shot in a deserted town renamed Slawter, the demon-themed movie is to be Haym's masterpiece. But as strange incidents disrupt the set, Grubbs begins to wonder whether more than filming is afoot.

Other reviews you might be interested in

• Lord Loss by Darren Shan (Demonata #1)
• Demon Thief by Darren Shan (Demonata #2)

Teaser Tuesday #14: The Good, The Bad, and The Undead

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• Make sure you do not include spoilers
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Teaser Tuesday #14: The Good, The Bad, and The Undead

"Hey Rache," Jenks said, dropping down from who knew where. "Your back is clear. And what is Plan B?"
My eyebrows rose and I looked askance at him as he flew alongside, matching my pace exactly. 
"Grab the fish and run like hell."

From the second book of the Hollows series by Kim Harrison. This is the second time I'm reading the series, and it's still awesome!

Short Review: House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo

House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo

3 out of 5 stars

This book was quite al right, exactly what you would expect from this kind of book, and in that maybe slightly predictable. The characters weren't as worked out as they could be, but it has enough potential for growth in later books, as this is part of a series. The fifteen year old protagonist acts a little bit below his age, I would expect a little bit more responsibility from him, especially concerning his younger brother, that gets into trouble quite a lot. The book mostly consists of a lot of action scenes, and that is the strenght of it. Other than those there wasn't that much of a strong story line going on. This book will probably appeal to younger boys quite a lot, there is enough adventure to keep 'em happy for a few hours. This book isn't suitable for a too young audience though, some scenes are quite gruesome.

Plot: 2/5
Characters: 2/5
Pacing: 4/5
Action: 4/5

Blurb

When the Kings move from L.A. to a secluded small town, fifteen-year-old Xander is beyond disappointed. He and his friends loved to create amateur films . . . but the tiny town of Pinedale is the last place a movie buff and future filmmaker wants to land.
But he, David, and Toria are captivated by the many rooms in the old Victorian fixer-upper they moved into--as well as the heavy woods surrounding the house.
They soon discover there's something odd about the house. Sounds come from the wrong directions. Prints of giant, bare feet appear in the dust. And when David tries to hide in the linen closet, he winds up in locker 119 at his new school.
Then the really weird stuff kicks in: they find a hidden hallway with portals leading off to far-off places--in long-ago times. Xander is starting to wonder if this kind of travel is a teen's dream come true . . . or his worst nightmare.

Covers: The Green Eye

Inspired by other blogs that compare covers that use the same image, I came across these similar pictures!

Rising Shadow by Jacquelyn Wheeler 

VS

12.21.12 by Killian McRae

I don't know what Rising Shadow is about, so I'm going to talk about these books purely coverwise.

The thing I like best about the Rising Shadow book is the way the green eye stands out in a rather darkened face. The title colours complement the eye beautifully, and I like the font chosen. The girl looks like she can look through you, know everything you're thinking. At the same time you don't know if you want this girl to know all your secrets. In a way she looks a bit feline, ready to pounce on you when you least expect it. The rather dark impression the picture gives me corresponds with the title this book is given. Overall I think this is a pretty good cover, it makes me curious to know more about this book.

The things I don't like about this cover are only a few small aesthetic annoyances. Why is her hair wet? That doesn't seem to have anything to do with the rest. Is it symbolical for something? To me she looks like she's just come out of the shower. I'm not really sure what we're supposed to read into that. Another thing that makes me frown a bit is the sparkly half moon underneath her eyes. Is she just extremely sweaty? Or did she put on glittery make up after the shower? I think this cover had been better off if they had refrained from putting that much make up on the model. She would have looked more fierce if she had only worn the black eyeliner.

Then we have the other cover featuring a green eye staring at us, 12.21.12. In this cover the green of the eye stands out because the rest of the cover is in general in dark earthy tones, and I think this contrast gives it a piercing look. The concentric tattoos that surround her eye give it even more attention. I like the placing of the title, giving us an unobstructed view of the girl. Just like the girl from Rising Shadow, she looks feral in a way, especially with the disarrayed strings of hair surrounding her face. This book is more mysterious, the title doesn't give away much and the drawings make you wonder. I like the mystery surrounding this book, and it definitely makes me want to pick it up.

There is something that's really weird and I don't think that it was the artists intention. The girl has no nose. It just doesn't seem to be there. Above her lips we can see a slight discolouring indicating that there is some way this girl can fill her lungs with oxygen, but to me the lack of some sort of bump in the middle of her face seems unnatural. The problem is most probably the lighting with which this picture is taken. It makes the cover a bit unnerving to watch once you've noticed it. And maybe it's just me, but she doesn't seem to be a lip gloss kind of girl. It doesn't really correlate with the earthiness of the rest of her countenance.

What do you think about these covers? Feel free to leave a message below (:

Note: 12.21.12 will be featured on NBR in a blog tour in March. 

They Keep Following Me!

Nyx Book Reviews is now the proud owner of ONE HUNDRED FOLLOWERS! That's right. I'm very proud to have made this goal, that seemed so impossible to reach when I first started blogging.

I'm one very happy blogger at the moment (:
Thank you all, every single one of you!

The extremely cute monster up there is drawn by someone that calls himself Mightyjosh

Teaser Tuesday #13: Clockwork Angel

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• Make sure you do not include spoilers
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Teaser Tuesday #13: Clockwork Angel

"London, April 1878.

The demon exploded into a shower of ichor and guts. William Herondale jerked back the dagger he was holding, but it was too late. The viscous acid of the demon's blood had already begun to eat away at the shining blade. He swore and tossed the weapon aside; it landed in a filthy puddle and commenced smoldering like a doused match."

More demon goodness! Taken from the prologue. This book sounds very promising (: