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 (: