Thoughts on: The Kingdom by Amanda Stevens

May 12th, 2012

Book Title: The Kingdom

Ali’s Thoughts

This is the second book in a dark urban fantasy/murder-mystery series by Amanda Stevens about cemetery restorer Amelia Gray, who sees ghosts.

I was incredibly excited to see this book come out after I had stumbled across the first in the series and just couldn’t put it down.

The kingdom picks up where “The Restorer” left off. Although it is possible to read this without having read the first, it will drive you a little spare, as there are many references to events from the first, particularly around the unrequited love with issues, Deviln.

The basic plot is Amelia has been hired by a mysterious donor to restore an old cemetery in a small town, a town so deserted it’s almost a ghost town. Like the any good stereotype, everyone in this town has a secret, and none of them are the nice “secret Santa” style of secret. It seems to fall to Amelia to unravel them, which somehow manages to help her unravel her own secrets… all of this while avoiding the ghosts.

Ahhhh, and what ghosts we have, it seems that the original town cemetery was flooded as part of an expansion…and the graves were never moved. Enter the horde of restless ghosts.

As much as I did enjoy this story, I found it incredibly slow. There is so much focus on build-up and setting up for later twists that it just gets tedious and distracting, to the point where it took me almost a month to finish this book, I just had to read in very small doses. The actual writing style is very easy to read, and the characters are interesting and well developed, which really is the only reason this didn’t go on the DidNotFinish pile. There is a sense on anticipation that builds up right until the last third of the story, then all hell breaks loose.

Amanda Stevens writes FANTASTIC dramatic action. The heart rate speeds up, the mouth dries, the scenes come alive and you can feel what the characters are feeling. Suddenly, the long boring build-up all seems worth it.

Despite the incredibly dramatic last third, somehow I still closed the last page with a feeling of “it that it”. There’s a nice rounding off of this story, some set ups for the next story, but it just feels like it was all over too quickly. Almost like one of those movies that is still winding up the plot as the credits roll.

If you liked the first, definitely get this… If you haven’t started, go get all three at once, book yourself into a nice beach resort for a week, and enjoy. Amanda Stevens has created a great world, with interesting characters that are starting to develop real depth. Despite my complaints about this story, I am still looking forward to the next.

Last note and a potential spoiler, but essential for anyone who has a serious soft spot for animals…the dog is fine, don’t worry, keep reading.

Description

Deep in the shadowy foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains lies a dying town?

My name is Amelia Gray. They call me The Graveyard Queen. I’ve been commissioned to restore an old cemetery in Asher Falls, South Carolina, but I’m coming to think I have another purpose here.

Why is there a cemetery at the bottom of Bell Lake? Why am I drawn time and again to a hidden grave I’ve discovered in the woods? Something is eating away at the soul of this town?this withering kingdom?and it will only be restored if I can uncover the truth.

Where costumes collide – Tansy Rayner Roberts

May 11th, 2012

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about fantasy as costume drama. Probably the most influential cultural properties on me and my shaping pop culture mind when I was a kid, along with Doctor Who, were the BBC costume dramas about fancy people in fancy houses, many years ago. It’s a love I’ve kept and nurtured through the years, and has aided me nobly in my reading of classic literature – or at least, classic literature with frocks in.

The original Upstairs Downstairs, which I must have started watching when I was five or six, embedded itself so deeply in my brain that it’s hard for me to watch those episodes now because I still have such vivid memories of them (and of course they were a bit more exciting and epic inside my head). One of the last uses to which I put my university library before finishing my doctorate was to borrow the entire 1960′s black and white version of the Forsyte Saga and watch it end to end.

So yes, costume drama. It is my genre, as they say. And yet I’ve never been remotely tempted to write straight historical. Instead, I let my adoration for crinolines and drawing room banter infuse into (what else IS there?) the writing of fantasy.

With the Creature Court trilogy, I can track my interest in shape changing, slightly monstrous and pretty young men to my teen reading of Jennifer Roberson’s Cheysuli series. I can track my love of sultry dark fantasy with saucy bits and pretty clothes to my discovery of Anne Bishop and later, Jacqueline Carey. My actual experiences in and studies of the city of Rome had a lot to do with it too, mixed in with all manner of other favourite things.

But the beginnings of Poet’s music hall career came from Pauline Collins as Sarah in Upstairs Downstairs, Isangell’s pushy mother comes indirectly from the Book of Elizabeth Bennet, and Velody’s entire life before the magic and monsters rain down on her is hugely inspired by my teen obsession with the House of Eliot.

This series, created by Jean Marsh who had also been responsible for creating the original Upstairs Downstairs, was about two young women who start a dressmaking business in the 1920′s. Taking it one bespoke order at a time, they eventually end up with something of a fashion empire. I adored this show because it was – well, what’s not to love? Roaring Twenties fashions, banterific romance, and most of all a bunch of women working together to make art and turn it into a business. I was completely hooked.
So as soon as I knew that my heroine Velody was a dressmaker, the 1920′s aspects simply fell into my book. It wasn’t until I was well underway with writing it that I realised how subversive and against-type it is to create a fantasy world where dresses are worn above the knee, and it came with many challenges. Not least of which is the fact that while I love to sew and work with fabric, I am appalling at measuring and thus have never made a dress in my life. (Thank goodness for my beta reader and her mad dressmaking skills or I might have put some appalling gaffes in there)

A recent blog post at Tor.com which compares Downton Abbey with Battlestar Galactica, produces the marvellous and oddly convincing theory that Battlestar Galactica is also a costume drama. I love the bit about how the characters change clothes in both shows to signify character development! It made me think a lot about the fantasy that I write. I’ve always championed Fantasy with Frocks (and its lesser known compatriot Science Fiction With Frocks) but never actually sat down to think about how spec fix writers can learn all sorts of marvellous dramatic tools from the art of the costume drama.

Suddenly I’m so much more delighted that my current work In progress, a steampunk gothic with magical robots and vengeful fairies, takes place in a Country Estate with Servants and Mistresses and occasional pockets of Scandal in Crinolines.

And I’m getting the urge to rewatch Downton Abbey RIGHT NOW…

This post was written by Tansy Rayner Roberts for her
Flappers with Swords Blog Tour.

Tansy’s award-winning Creature Court trilogy:
Power and Majesty, The Shattered City and Reign of Beasts, featuring flappers
with swords, shape changers, half-naked men and bloodthirsty court
politics, have been released worldwide on the Kindle, and should be available soon across other e-book platforms. If you prefer your books solid and papery, they
can also be found in all good Australian and New Zealand bookshops.

You can also check out Tansy’s work through the Hugo-nominated crunchy
feminist science fiction podcast Galactic Suburbia, Tansy’s short story collection Love and Romanpunk (Twelfth Planet Press). You can find her on the internet at her blog, or on Twitter as @tansyrr.

Tags: Australian Author, Creature Court, Flappers with Swords, Guest post, Power and Majesty, Reign of Beasts, Tansy Rayner Roberts, The Shattered City
Posted in Aussie Author, Popular Books | Add a Comment »

Thoughts on: Frost Moon by Anthony Francis

May 8th, 2012

Frost Moon

The Skin Dancer # 1

Author: Anthony Francis

Buy Now | Read More | Frost Moon Excerpt

Ali’s Thoughts

Warning: There are spoilers in this review. (Although if you’ve read other reviews of this title you will be well aware of these).

Frost Moon is a book that defies all efforts to fix it to a single genre. Although it bases itself as an Urban Fantasy, with our main character, Dakota Frost, a magical tattoo artist, living on the edge of a world full of supernatural beings, it quickly stretches beyond that, touching on romance, literary, crime, horror, mystery and turning them all into a unique blend.

The basic premise is Dakota’s dad is a cop, they’re not speaking, but she’s still got ties to the force. She’s a tattoo artist, who is one of the few that does magical tattoos. So when a serial killer is selecting victims by their tattoos, and taking their magical tattoos as trophies, she’s asked to help. Throw in a werewolf on the edge needing a tattoo to control his beast, an ex-girlfriend who’s now the leader of the local vampires, a teenage weretiger with attitude, and a hunky man-in-black.

As the thread that ties the story together, the hunt to a mutilating serial killer lends a rather horrific element to what would otherwise be called a ‘gritty urban fantasy’, but what really allows the story to defy being defined are the relationships. And that the author is a male.

Now, normally I like to think of myself as a relatively open-minded lass, I pay no attention to the gender of my fantasy or crime authors, but have recently learnt a rather horrifying fact about myself, I prejudge, horribly, a romance written by a male author. Now urban fantasy shouldn’t fall under this prejudice, but it seems when the protagonist is female, I tend to read with a different mindset when the author is male. Dakota is very bi-sexual, again, not an uncommon trait in urban fantasy, but I found myself wondering if the author was merely living out his fantasies, even though there was NO reason to think this.

This issue came to a head with the introduction of Cinnamon. Cinnamon is a weretiger who was trying to be staunch and threatening towards Dakota when they first met. Dakota’s reaction was to tell her she’s a sexy little tidbit and she could come play with Dakota any time. Very sexual but presented well.

Until the next chapter, where Dakota wakes up to find Cinnamon pinning her to her bed, and it’s this close up view that causes Dakota to realize just how old Cinnamon is. Not the 25+ year old tidbit. No. She’s barely 13.

Despite the fact that Dakota is horrified, and in no way considers Cinnamon to be anything sexual, there is still part of my social conditioning, knowing that this is a male author, which freaks out and instantly throws pedophile into the mix. And judging from other reviews, I’m not the only one to have this initial reaction. Yet I’m sure if the author was Antonia not Anthony, that wouldn’t be the first thought.

However, this does highlight some of the issues with preconceptions in this book, and the author really does try his best to completely shatter any ideas you may have. From introducing Dakota’s ex-girlfriend, who is now ruling local vampires, is into BDSM, and manages to be a leader, while having a dominatrix mistress who she is submissive to (and a vampire in training who enjoys being a puppy), to the men-in-black type character, who’s showing off his stealth helicopter, because the department is suffering budget cuts and they’re trying to show the police department they really need to buy a few of their own.

There are so many different elements and aspects to Frost Moon that it turns it into a very eclectic story that can get somewhat confusing in parts. It is a, mostly, enjoyable read, but there is the feeling that the author wanted to combine EVERYTHING into one story. It will certainly be interesting to see how his writing style develops as the series continues.

If you’re intrigued, read the expert, this will give you enough of an idea of what you’re getting yourself into to know if you can enjoy the story or not. Frost Moon is certainly not very everyone, there are some dark aspects to it, although I won’t call this ‘dark and gritty’ but it can be very intense. It’s certainly worth a look at for anything urban fantasy fan looking for something original.

Description

In an alternate Atlanta where magic is practiced openly, where witches sip coffee at local cafes, shapeshifters party at urban clubs, vampires rule the southern night like gangsters, and mysterious creatures command dark caverns beneath the city, Dakota Frost’s talents are coveted by all. She’s the best magical tattooist in the southeast, a Skindancer, able to bring her amazing tats to life. When a serial killer begins stalking Atlanta’s tattooed elite, the police and the Feds seek Dakota’s help. Can she find the killer on the dark fringe of the city’s Edgeworld? Among its powerful outcasts and tortured loners, what kind of enemies and allies will she attract? Will they see her as an invader, as a seducer, as an unexpected champion … or as delicious prey?

FROST MOON is Book One of the SKINDANCER fantasy series by debut author Anthony Francis. Filled with unforgettable characters, spine-tingling action, kinky rebellion and edgy love, FROST MOON is classic storytelling at its best, and Dakota Frost is an irresistible new star of fantasy fiction.

Buy Now | Read More | Frost Moon Excerpt

Tags: Ali, Anthony Francis, cop, Dakota Frost, Frost Moon, Review, Skin Dancer, supernatural, tattoo, teenage, werewolf
Posted in Reviews | 1 Comment »

Why is The Hunger Games so Popular?

April 25th, 2012

The phenomenon that is The Hunger Games continues to garner extraordinary success, both from the book trilogy and from the first blockbuster movie in the series.

The movie has earned over US$500m since it was released, Suzanne Collins is Amazon’s best selling Kindle author of all time and there are over 26 million trilogy books in print.

Around the world the books sit victoriously on best seller lists, booksellers increase their orders with glee and readers ignore all else while following Katniss as she battles to survive in a world of violence and oppression.

It’s remarkable! But what is it that had made The Hunger Games so popular?

Marketing has played a huge role in getting the books, and the movie to its superstardom status. Full points to Suzanne Collins and her agent for selling the film rights soon after the book rights. If ever a story was designed for the movies this is it. It’s an amazingly visual story with high drama, suffering, changing alliances, and battles to the death. It also rides high on youth culture with passion, loyalty to friends and family and the pressure of trying to protect those you love, and yourself, in a highly stressful and uncertain world. As Peeta explains it, he doesn’t want to be “just a piece in their games” he wants to remain true to who he is, to “die as himself.”

This is post-GFC Teenage Survivor on steroids!

Elizabeth Banks, who plays Effie Trinket in the movie expresses it well in an interview with Eric Eisenberg on Cinemablend:

Well, first of all, the way she writes the book – they’re just page-turners. You can’t put them down. So there’s that. Rebellious teen at the heart of it, I think a lot of people can relate to that, and there’s a great love story, of course. But most importantly I think it really speaks to our time. There’s just something in the zeitgeist right now about media and using media not just to entertain but to shape our world – oppressive governments, youth revolts. It’s happening around the world right now.

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Elizabeth-Banks-Explains-Why-Hunger-Games-So-Popular-30098.html

Above all this is the story of Katniss, a young woman who puts herself forward in place of her young sister, knowing that this will almost certainly lead to her own death. In a world full of pain and suffering Katniss’ love and protectiveness of her sister shines forth like a small beacon of hope. The powerful intensity of this scene is but the first of many times when you will find tears pouring forth as you place yourself in the role of Katniss and deeply feel the emotion of the moment. Whether when watching the movie or reading the trilogy, the magic of the story is one with embeds you in the action. You feel you are Katniss, you feel her pain and confusion and doubts, you feel her love and her loyalty, you feel the physical agonies she endures from the battles she fights, and you feel her resolute determination to do all she can to survive and go home. You feel.

Part of the reason for this in the books in that they are written in first person present tense so there is an immediacy to the plot and an urgency to the action. Additionally Collins writes in short, snappy sentences so that you are quickly swept along with the plot.

This isn’t to say that these books aren’t without flaws. Oh my, no. There are many and varied flaws.

Book one, The Hunger Games, is the strongest in the trilogy with the clearest plot and best drawn themes, but these both weaken through subsequent books, Catching Fire and Mocking jay. In fact, Mockingjay has many plot problems. Katniss is so emotionally contained that she rarely lets people into her heart and so she lives in a constant state of distrust of those around her. She is quite superficial, going with action over thought, which also makes it quite difficult to get to know her as a person or feel connected to her. The wide cast of characters are quite stereotyped. The plot is obvious with few surprises. Resolution of problems tends to come through manipulating situations rather than making decisions. Oh yes indeed, there are a lot of problems with these books.

But the fascinating thing?

While you’re reading you are so swept up in the story that you flick each page over to get to the next with no time to pause or reflect on if the book is good or bad. You’ll find yourself crying at scenes and neglecting everything around you. You’ll be hooked as the underdog battles the evil system and emerges victorious (no, this isn’t a spoiler…..of COURSE Katniss is eventually victorious!)

It will only be afterwards when you’ll look back and realize that there were problems.

And this is the magic of Suzanne Collins.

These books are so cinematographic that they were obviously perfect to be made into movies where action is the victor over description. And in fact it is through seeing interpretations of the characters that they become more compelling and real than in the books.

It’s no wonder that this is the ‘next big thing.’ We have a strong, ambiguous young woman battling to survive, teenage protagonists, reality TV, battles to the death, victors and the downtrodden as well as the complexity of young love and a passion to make the world a better place. The timing of the books and movie was perfect, resonating with its audience to a remarkable level.

Basically, The Hunger Games ticks all the boxes !

Tags: Books as Movies, dystopian, paranormal romance, Suzanne Collins, Teen Paranormal, The Hunger Games, urban fantasy, young adult
Posted in New Releases, Popular Books, Reviews, Teen Paranormal | Add a Comment »

Thoughts on: Empire of the Undead by Gary Cross

April 11th, 2012

Book Title: Empire of the Undead

The Chronicles of Blood # 2

Author: Gary Cross

Empire of the Undead is a suspenseful, thrilling story with an exciting plot and unpredictable characters. We follow many different people throughout the story with many different, but somehow related, purposes. Lucius, a man out to rid the world of vampires, Axa and her grandfather were out to destroy the vampiri and Morgan and Crowe were after treasure. Everything that they’re after resides in one place, which brings them together in one giant adventure.

I didn’t like how the author changed point-of-views often though. It was annoying and I couldn’t quite follow what was going on. I didn’t know who’s character I was witnessing and whether they were new or not. Aside from that I found that the author was very good at making every person’s view clear; whether it was a thirteen year old girl or a middle aged monk. He knew how to portray every character and make them realistic; he gave them real emotions and real motives. I commend him on that.

The flow was, sadly, horrible. As you read it gave off the feeling of being all over the place. There was so much people and point-of-views and he kept on introducing new characters after you finally got used to the old ones. In the end I gave up for about ten days. It got annoying, but I am happy to say it does get better and it does narrow down. Some people, I thought, didn’t need to be in the story at all. They were a pointless part in a great book.

The ending was another great point in the book. It was exciting and action packed. I was bracing myself for disappointment, as many books are so good at the start that the author can’t make the end as great. But it was nothing what I expected it to be. It wasn’t a huge ‘WOW’, but it did the job.

Other than the rocky flow, it was such an epic book. I would recommend it to people who love reading and enjoy a book with an interesting twist. There’s something about this book that stands out more than the other. I can’t quite pin it, it’s just fantastic.

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Apr
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31

Paranormal Romance:

Urban Fantasy:

Thoughts on: The Kingdom by Amanda Stevens

Book Title: The Kingdom

The Graveyard Queen # 2

Author: Amanda Stevens

Read More | Buy Now | Read an Excerpt

Ali’s Thoughts

Description

Where costumes collide – Tansy Rayner Roberts

Thoughts on: Frost Moon by Anthony Francis

Frost Moon

The Skin Dancer # 1

Author: Anthony Francis

Buy Now | Read More | Frost Moon Excerpt

Ali’s Thoughts

Description

Buy Now | Read More | Frost Moon Excerpt

Why is The Hunger Games so Popular?

Thoughts on: Empire of the Undead by Gary Cross

Book Title: Empire of the Undead

The Chronicles of Blood # 2

Author: Gary Cross

Read More | Buy Empire of the Undead | Read Empire of the Undead Excerpt

Description

Read More | Buy Empire of the Undead | Read Empire of the Undead Excerpt

Blog Index

Meta