Robots and Vamps

Reviewed by Christel

This audio book was purchased by the reviewer.

Audio Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins

Dust Jacket Summary: Things have turned black at the House of Night. Zoey Redbird’s soul has shattered. With everything she’s ever stood for falling apart, and a broken heart making her want to stay in the Otherworld forever, Zoey’s fading fast. It’s seeming more and more doubtful that she will be able pull herself back together in time to rejoin her friends and set the world to rights. As the only living person who can reach her, Stark must find a way to get to her. But how? He will have to die to do so, the Vampire High Council stipulates. And then Zoey will give up for sure. There are only 7 days left…

Enter BFF Stevie Rae. She wants to help Z but she has massive problems of her own. The rogue Red Fledglings are acting up, and this time not even Stevie Rae can protect them from the consequences. Her kinda boyfriend, Dallas, is sweet but too nosy for his own good. The truth is, Stevie Rae’s hiding a secret that might be the key to getting Zoey home but also threatens to explode her whole world.

In the middle of the whole mess is Aphrodite: ex-Fledgling, trust-fund baby, total hag from Hell (and proud of it). She’s always been blessed (if you could call it that) with visions that can reveal the future, but now it seems Nyx has decided to speak through her with the goddess’s own voice, whether she wants it or not. Aphrodite’s loyalty can swing a lot of different ways, but right now Zoey’s fate hangs in the balance.

Three girls… playing with fire… if they don’t watch out, everyone will get Burned.

Thoughts & analysis: In the past I have berated this series. Citing its immature plot paired with mature language and situations. It’s obvious attempt to insert hip language and shameless and dated pop-culture references. To be honest, I haven’t been very positive at all.

This particular series makes me ponder; what exactly does YA mean? What age group comprises YA? Perhaps the authors were genius’ appealing to both teens and twenty some-things. Or perhaps they are writing plot lines that fall below the maturity level of their target readers. Either way, I decided to choose a different format. Reading these novels just wasn’t doing it for me but I have invested so much time that I hate to give them up now. So I chose the audio version.

Much to my surprise, I rather enjoyed the audio version of the new house of night novel, Burned. Caitlin Davies’ tone was spot on. She didn’t have that annoying pitch as narrators of previous books did. She really sold the characters and managed to make me look past the slang and shameless True Blood plugs. The whole thing was quite entertaining.

The story had a darker, more supernatural tone. The kids are faced with major life threatening decisions and they are introduced to the most ancient forces of good and evil. I liked the fact that the story seemed to be plunging forward and seriously affecting the characters. So, a big thumbs up for P.C. and Kristin Cast for stepping out of their comfort zone a bit and making this story about more than a silly girl with an ever growing ego and way too many boyfriends.  This is my favorite book in this series and it is a shame it took until book 7 for me to find one that I liked.

My suggestion for you readers who are less than enamored with this series is, give the audio version a try. You just might find that you like it better than the book itself.

Reviewed By Matt

Disclosure: This novel was purchased by the reviewer’s own hard earned cash.

It is not a well guarded secret that K.E. Mills is actually the pen name for Karen Miller. Ms. Miller is absolutely one of favorite authors and I have read most her novels enjoying each and every one. I am beginning to realize that her strengths are dialogue and characters, with plotting somewhat lagging. The second book in the Rogue Agent series, Witches Incorporated, highlights these strengths and underlines her weaknesses but it is such entertaining novel that in the end is was just a total blast.

Witches Incorporated takes place shortly after the events of the first book, The Accidental Sorcerer. Gerald has become a rookie janitor and is assigned a mission to help in obtaining information about a saboteur. Melissande, Reg and Bibbie have joined together to form Witches Incorporated who specialize in solving magical problems.

The first half of the story it is pretty light and breezy in that does not really involve the main plot. Basically it is to reintroduce the characters, establish new ones and set up the dynamics among the group of friends. Even though not much happens during the first part I really enjoyed the interplay between the characters with several laugh out loud moments.

The second half picks up at a crazy pace as both Gerald’s mission and the Witches Inc.’s paid assignment converge together into a desperate situation that will dire consequences if they can’t work together. As much as I liked the first the second half is even better. The only criticism I would have is that the mystery had a Scooby Doo feeling to it. I keep expecting the bad guy to quip, “And I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for you meddling kids”.

Witches Incorporated is a solid sequel to The Accidental Sorcerer that is less dire but a lot more fun. Ms. Millers’ characterization and dialogue shine through in spades and if this is your cup of tea then you will love this novel as much as I did. I am highly looking forward to the third book, Wizard Squared.

Reviewed by Matt

Disclosure: This novel was purchased by the reviewer’s own hard earned cash.

Narrated by Paula Christensen and Jesse Bernstein
Running time: 15 hours and 6 minutes

Introduction: Feed is the first book in planned trilogy.

Author’s bio: Born and raised in Northern California, Mira Grant (pen for Seanan McGuire) has made a lifelong study of horror movies, horrible viruses, and the inevitable threat of the living dead. In college, she was voted Most Likely to Summon Something Horrible in the Cornfield, and was a founding member of the Horror Movie Sleep-Away Survival Camp, where her record for time survived in the Swamp Cannibals scenario remains unchallenged.

Mira lives in a crumbling farmhouse with an assortment of cats, horror movies, comics, and books about horrible diseases. When not writing, she splits her time between travel, auditing college virology courses, and watching more horror movies than is strictly good for you. Favorite vacation spots include Seattle, London, and a large haunted corn maze just outside of Huntsville, Alabama.

Mira sleeps with a machete under her bed, and highly suggests that you do the same.

Dust jacket summary: In 2014, two experimental viruses—a genetically engineered flu strain designed by Dr. Alexander Kellis, intended to act as a cure for the common cold, and a cancer-killing strain of Marburg, known as “Marburg Amberlee”—escaped the lab and combined to form a single airborne pathogen that swept around the world in a matter of days. It cured cancer. It stopped a thousand cold and flu viruses in their tracks. It raised the dead.

Millions died in the chaos that followed. The summer of 2014 was dubbed “The Rising,” and only the lessons learned from a thousand zombie movies allowed mankind to survive. Even then, the world was changed forever. The mainstream media fell, Internet news acquired an undeniable new legitimacy, and the CDC rose to a new level of power.

Set twenty years after the Rising, the Newsflesh trilogy follows a team of bloggers, led by Georgia and Shaun Mason, as they search for the brutal truths behind the infection. Danger, deceit, and betrayal lurk around every corner, as does the hardest question of them all: When will you rise?

When Senator Peter Ryman of Wisconsin decides to take a team of bloggers along on his run for the White House, Georgia and Shaun Mason are quick to submit their application. They, along with their friend Georgette “Buffy” M. are selected, and view this as the chance to launch their careers to a whole new level…that is, if they can survive the campaign trail.

Thoughts & analysis: Holy shit. Excuse me for a second while I catch my breath and I apologize for the curse words. For a change, I am going to discuss the ending of this novel first. There is an event that occurs at the end of this story that absolutely crushed me and I still can’t believe that Ms. Grant did it. It was truly epic. For spoiler reasons I won’t discuss the plot twist here but I am in total awe of the author for taking this risk in this day and age of safe urban fantasy fiction. I am still in shock. Let’s put it this way, it affected me the whole day at work as I replayed the events in my head. Wow.

Feed starts off as your typical post-apocalyptic zombie novel and then turns into something more. For me, the book is not about the battle against the zombies but is really about the culture of fear. If you transpose the word zombie in this novel with the word terrorist, gangster or banit it would work the same. The people of this future world live in a constant state of fear of being attack and this has lead to overriding personal freedoms for the greater good. What will a society give up to live in safe environment?

The main plot line involves a political thriller that for most part works and sometimes seems a tad unrealistic. Again, the undercutting theme behind the plot is what works best. It shows how far some political figures will go to keep the citizens in line by using fear and that the best tactic against this is a media that has an interest in uncovering the truth.

The really strange thing is that for the majority of the novel I felt as if the characters were really not all that developed. But when the ending hit and it hits hard, I lost all feeling and felt like someone slammed a door in my face. I haven’t been this affected emotionally since reading Stephen King’s The Stand when Larry Underwood is killed.

Again, wow

Final word: Feed is one of the best I have read this year. The story will plod along and then it reaches a point that you become so intertwined that you must continue reading to find out what happens next. What puts this novel head and shoulders above the standard zombie novel is the underlying themes that will give the reader something to think about well after you have finished the story. Finally, as a word of warning, keep tissues near by when are getting towards the end, you will need them.

Author’s website: Miragrant.com

Reviewed by Christel

Disclosure: The reviewer wasted her hard earned money on this novella.

Intro:  When I first hear that Stephenie Meyer was planning to publish this novella, I thought… huh…ok… I guess. Unfortunately after reading it, I still think… huh…. Ok…. I guess.   Twilighters: don’t hate me.  This may get a little rough.

Dust Jacket Summary: Fans of The Twilight Saga will be enthralled by this riveting story of Bree Tanner, a character first introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the newborn vampire world she inhabits. In another irresistible combination of danger, mystery, and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion.

Thoughts and Analysis: I am unsure as to what the point of this novella is.  I mean, I get that the story focuses on the kids who were turned by Victoria to be her own personal army and how they lived in such a poor environment, but I guess I just wasn’t interested in learning more about them.  I have read about fans wanting to know more about Bree and her short life as a vampire, but I have to say I never had any desire to learn more about Bree. Bree was part of Bella’s life for a whopping five minutes, and to me she really didn’t add much to the story.

We learn about how Bree is turned into a vampire, and how she managed to stay alive for as long as she did. This story also provides a bit of insight into Victoria and how she managed to build an army of vampires just to have them attack her enemy, the Cullens. We learn a little about vampires with special talents. What we do not learn is why Bree is so important that she needed to have a whole novella devoted to her story. We already know what happens to Bree, this is just the story of how she got there.  While I found this story mildly entertaining, for the most part it was a non event. There are no chapters or breaks in the prose, leaving the reader to feel like there are no good stopping points.  On the plus side, this also makes it a quick read.

The cover of the book mentions that $1 of the proceeds from this $14 book will be donated to the American Red Cross. Personally, I think more if not all of the proceeds should have been donated as this 178 page YA book was way over priced and kind of left me feeling like I got ripped off. I think the time of Ms. Meyer’s vampires has come to an end. I loved the Twilight series and they will always hold a special place on my book shelf, but this story has run its course with me. Time to move on…

Final Word: Skip it.  Unless you are an all-things-Twilight-collector and you feel that you must have this book in your collection then don’t bother.  It isn’t worth the $14 and if you are looking to make a donation to the Red Cross, just go ahead and hand that 14 bucks over to them.  The book felt like fluff and seems like an attempt to squeeze even more money out of this franchise that has made so much already.

Reviewed by Matt

Disclosure: This novel was purchased by the reviewer’s own hard earned cash.

Introduction: Ship Breaker is Paolo Bacigalupi’s second novel. It follows his highly acclaimed first novel, The Windup Girl which is the winner of 2010 Nebula, of the 2010 Locus Award for Best First Novel and currently nominated for a Hugo. In many respects these novels share many of the same themes and could foreseeably take place in the same universe.

Author’s bio: Paolo Bacigalupi’s writing has appeared in High Country News, Salon.com, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. It has been anthologized in various “Year’s Best” collections of short science fiction and fantasy, nominated for three Nebula and five Hugo Awards, and won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best sf short story of the year.

His debut novel THE WINDUP GIRL was named by TIME Magazine as one of the ten best novels of 2009, and was nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula Award. His short story collection PUMP SIX AND OTHER STORIES was a 2008 LOCUS Award winner for Best Collection and also named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly. His most recent novel, SHIP BREAKER, has just been released from Little, Brown. He currently lives in Western Colorado with his wife and son, where he is working on a new novel.

Dust jacket summary: In America’s Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota–and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it’s worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life. . . .

In this powerful novel, award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi delivers a thrilling, fast-paced adventure set in a vivid and raw, uncertain future.

Thoughts & analysis: Ship Breaker significantly toned down the violence, language,etc. that was predominate though out The Windup Girl. Since the target audience is Young Adult, the story had to be ratcheted back. This doesn’t mean the themes have less of an impact but that are just presented in a different manner. For me, the main topic is the huge difference between the rich and the very poor. In the universe of Ship Breaker, the world’s economy has disintegrated, digital technology has almost faded out, carbon fuel sources have become depleted and environmental disasters abound. People have been reduced the basic element of the haves and the have-nots. There is no real middle class to speak of.  Mr. Bacigalupi does an excellent job of presenting both sides of the argument without getting too preachy.

The novel is in many respects is a fish out water type of story. A rich teenager, Lucky Girl, is dropped into this desperate society and she must learn to survive in order to return home. There are numerous arguments between Nailer and Lucky Girl about how the rich take advantage of the poor and how the poor are used by the rich.  Again, these are handle with forethought and skill so that the story does the story does drown itself in social commentary.

In between the social lessons there are numerous action sequences that will keep young readers entertained. There is even an old fashioned ship to ship battle like in any good pirate movie.

Final word: Even though many of the same themes of The Windup Girl are explored in Ship Breaker, the novel stands on its own. It provides more action sequences that will hold the readers attention but there is underlying social commentary that will give you something to ponder after the novel is finished. Mr. Bacigalupi is two for two in the damn good novel category; I am highly anticipating any future volumes from this author.

Author’s website: Windup Stories

Reviewed by Matt

Disclosure: This novel was purchased by the reviewer’s own hard earned cash.

Introduction: Bitter Seeds is a debut novel by Ian Tregillis and I suspect the first in a planned series.

Author’s bio: Ian attended the University of Minnesota from his sophomore year in high school through the end of graduate school many years later. Eventually the university decided it had seen quite enough of him, so it politely but firmly asked him to leave, grow up, and get a real job. Ian’s parting gift was a doctorate in physics for his research on radio galaxies. In 2002 he joined a research collaboration between Los Alamos National Laboratory and Princeton University. He spent the next year unwisely living in New Mexico and New Jersey simultaneously, and making frequent cross-country trips.

In 2005, Ian attended the Clarion Writers’ Workshop in East Lansing, Michigan. (This was the second-to-last Clarion class in the program’s 35 year run at Michigan State University, before the program moved to its new home at UCSD in 2007.) There he spent six weeks living in a sweltering, slightly creepy, soon-to-be-condemned sorority house with twelve other aspiring writers. Scurvy was a problem. However, in spite of many predictions, cannibalism was not.

After Clarion, he joined Critical Mass, New Mexico’s premier writing critique group. There he strives to make the science-fictional imaginings of Walter Jon Williams, Daniel Abraham, Melinda Snodgrass, S. M. Stirling, and George R. R. Martin bear at least a passing resemblance to real science. In return, they strive to make his prose bear at least a passing resemblance to English.

Nowadays he lives in northern New Mexico, where he consorts with writers, scientists, and other disreputable types.

Dust jacket summary: It’s 1939. The Nazis have supermen, the British have demons, and one perfectly normal man gets caught in between

Raybould Marsh is a British secret agent in the early days of the Second World War, haunted by something strange he saw on a mission during the Spanish Civil War: a German woman with wires going into her head who looked at him as if she knew him.

When the Nazis start running missions with people who have unnatural abilities—a woman who can turn invisible, a man who can walk through walls, and the woman Marsh saw in Spain who can use her knowledge of the future to twist the present—Marsh is the man who has to face them. He rallies the secret warlocks of Britain to hold the impending invasion at bay. But magic always exacts a price. Eventually, the sacrifice necessary to defeat the enemy will be as terrible as outright loss would be.

Alan Furst meets Alan Moore in the opening of an epic of supernatural alternate history, the tale of a twentieth century like ours and also profoundly different.

Thoughts & analysis: Along with being a fan of Sci-Fi / Fantasy fiction, I also am huge history buff that loves anything to do with World War II. I really became thrilled when I read the description of Bitter Seeds and that it involved an alternate history of World War II with supernatural elements thrown in to boot.

The high points of this novel are the ideas that it is built upon. Super powered humans fighting magicians against the backdrop of World War II is just flat out cool. The battle scenes in the novel are very intensive and highly entertaining.

The novel alternates chapters involving the British and the Germans. The Germans, through Dr. von Westarp, have experimented on orphans that lead to the development of super-powered humans. These enhanced humans are discovered by the British during the Spanish Civil War and again, when the British army is massacred at Dunkirk. In response the British turn to quasi-magicians to battle against these super German soliders. The British are not really magicians per se but are more of communicators with beings known as Eidolons. They get the Eidolons to perform supernatural feats but there is a very severe cost every time this has to be done.

In most respects this story comes done to a battle between the British secret agent Raybould Marsh and the German super-powered Gretel, who has the power to see in future and in fact, can see many futures depending on actions that take place in the present. Gretel and Marsh’s paths cross many times in the novel but it is hard to fight someone who can anticipate your every move.

Most of the characters are mildly interesting and at times flat. By far, the most remarkable character for me was Gretel. Gretel has a very distinctive edge to her that makes her more appealing than any other character in this novel. She is always working towards her own agenda and at times these come into conflict with the German High Command war plans. She will only provide advice when it suits her goal but she has to balance providing just enough intel to keep from being executed. Plus, Gretel is also slightly insane but then again anyone who sees the future would be alittle crazy. None of the other super-powered Germans really made much of an impression with me.

Marsh is your standard action hero type that always gets the job done no matter the odds. Marsh goes from one secret mission to the next mostly succeeding in typical James Bond fashion. Mr. Tregillis does attempt to turn Marsh into a damaged and tragic character bent on revenge but falls somewhat short.

Final word: Overall, this debut novel was a mixed bagged as it contained some pretty incredible story ideas but the characters are not as well developed as they should have been and the narrative tends to be flat in potions of the novel.  I suspect if this story continues as a series it will only get stronger.

Author’s website: Ian Tregillis

Disclosure: This book was sent to RaV headquarters from Titan Books.

Introduction: When I was given the opportunity to read a novelization of what is quite possibly one of my favorite TV shows, I was thrilled. Dubious but still thrilled. I haven’t heard great things about novels based on television shows, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Supernatural, The Unholy Cause by Joe Schreiber definitely exceeded my expectations.

Dust Jacket Summary: Twenty-seven years ago, Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. In the years after, their father, John, taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America…and he taught them how to kill it.

Way back in April 1862, Confederate Captain Jubal Beauchamp leads a charge across a Georgia battleground… Fast forward to 2009 and a civil war re-enactment becomes all too real. When Sam and Dean head down south to investigate they find that history has got somewhat out of hand.

Thoughts and Analysis: Sam and Dean are off on another one of their Demon hunting adventures. This time they find themselves in Georgia investigating a mysterious death on the re-enactment battle field. Of course, they quickly get in over their heads.  Castiel is popping in and out as usual providing small amounts of help at just the right times. But Cas has his own mission, he is looking for one of the Witnesses.

Things get crazy real fast and before they can blink Sam and Dean are looking for the cause of all of this madness, the Judas Noose. If that doesn’t sound foreboding enough, they also have to deal with a bunch of civil war re-enactors who are nothing if not authentic.    They even use “natural”  methods to add patina to the buttons on their uniforms. Some re-enactors are given the identities of real soldiers to play out their role in the battle.  One such re-enactor is portraying Jubal Beauchamp.  And I am here to tell you, he was not a nice dude!  But there are some folks who are willing to help the boys stop this evil and save their town.  The boys just aren’t sure who they can trust.

Reading this novel was just like watching an episode of Supernatural. Seriously. The pace was crisp and there were enough twist and turns to hold your interest. I enjoyed the civil war slant as it provided and evil rich in history. Even thought the Judas Noose wasn’t forged during the civil war, we get to see how Jubal Beauchamp used this evil tool to his benefit.

Final Word: I really enjoyed reading this novel. Mr. Schreiber nailed my favorite demon fighting duo right down to the songs they listen to while cruising around in the Impala. Dean was Dean, Sam was classic Sam and Cass was written just as he is in the show. The Author stayed true to the characters while providing us with an entertaining adventure blended with civil war lore. It really felt like I was reading about a missing episode.

The only thing that was missing was the brotherly angst, and that is a good thing! The brotherly angst on the show is getting out of control and it was refreshing to read about one of their adventures without having to listen to their whining!

Fans of the TV series will enjoy this book.  Even those that aren’t fans will enjoy this brotherly battle against the forces of evil.  But seriously, who isn’t a fan of the show?

Author’s website: The Scary Parent

Reviewed by Christel

By Charlaine Harris

Narrated by Johanna Parker

Length 7 hrs and 54 mins

I have made an annual tradition out of listening to the audio version of the next Sookie Stackhouse novel that serves as the basis for the next season of True Blood. Albeit a short tradition in its infant stages of only 2 years, I have enjoyed comparing the last 2 seasons of True Blood with their respective novels. True Blood Season 3 is based upon, or atleast begins with the premise of the 3rd novel in the Southern Vampire Series, Club Dead. I know, the show does not follow the book and I know that Alan Ball takes many liberties with one of may favorite stories. But I enjoy them both in their own right. I don’t compare them to disparage either one, I just like to be able to say “No, Eric’s maker did not meet the sun in the second book.” Or “No, Bill did not propose to Sookie in the books.” I just like having the knowledge of the differences.

So I guess what I am saying is, since most people reading this entry have already read Club Dead ( probably a couple of times as I have) this is not really a book review but more of a plot review.  So that I can remember what happened to our favorite heroine in print and be utterly shocked at what happens on the screen.

I will mention that I really enjoy listening to these audio books and hearing the story from another perspective. It feels as though I am experiencing Sookie’s story from another point of view, even though it isn’t. The story is not unfolding on the pages and inside my imagination, but it is unfolding right before my ears. Johanna Parker does a great job narrating the story from Sookie’s point of view, making this version entertaining to listen to.

From here on out, I will be rehashing plot, so please beware of spoilers if for some strange reason, you still haven’t read or listened to these books.

In Club Dead we meet Alcide Herveaux, rich boy, surveyor, Werewolf. Who just happens to owe our favorite Viking Vampire a favor. Bill has been kidnapped and Sookie is determined to free him, even if he did leave her high and dry for his maker, Lorena. We also meet Russell Edgington, King of Mississippi. We learn of a supe bar in Jackson named Josephine’s, and we learn if you are human this is probably not the best place to hang out on a Saturday night, especially if there is a full moon.

Sookie is determined to help Bill despite his bad boyfriend behavior, and is starting to think about her other options. Alcide is looking pretty good and rugged. And they are staying in the same apartment. He is on the rebound from his ex girlfriend Debbie Pelt who seems to pop up all the time these days. Sookie is more than willing to play the part of Alcide’s fake girlgfriend.

Eric keeps showing up in Jackson to check on the progress of locating his underling, Bill Compton. But I would have to say he is checking up on Sookie too. Keeping her at arms length from Alcide’s advances, since he wants her for himself. I am telling you what, everyone seems to want themselves a piece of Sookie. (you will all find out why later…) So Sookie and Eric manage to infiltrate Russell Edgington’s compound after Sookie is seriously wounded in an altercation at Josephine’s. She is staked by a member of the Fellowship of the Sun. But as usual, all the vampires who love her  heal her and she is able to find and free Bill while the sun is up. Only to be repaid by getting shoved into the trunk by spurned ex-girlfriend Debbie Pelt to await her fate, which is now in the hands of a very hungry sleeping vampire, Bill Compton. Bill wakes up in a tremendous hunger and doesn’t know what he is doing. When sated, in more ways than one, he realizes he has hurt poor Sookie in his blood lust. This pretty much puts the lid on any hopes that their relationship would be mended and Sookie rides home with Eric. But wait… There’s more!

Alcide and Sookie previously found the body of a dead Were in Alcide’s closet. It seemed as though, whoever put him there tried to frame Sookie or Alcide for the kill. But instead it was an error in judgement on Bubba’s behalf.  Unfortunately, it still seemed as though they were guilty. While driving home, Eric and Sookie stop for gas, only to find themselves in the middle of an ambush. A couple of rednecks, hired by the local Were pack attack Eric with silver and look for Sookie next. With a little help from the clerk, Sookie escapes the convenience store, finds Eric and frees him. They both return to the store to kick some serious human butt!

There was less sex in Club Dead, but more action. Don’t worry, we still get some smoldering Viking Vampire scenes . We learn that Sookie can only take so much disrespect from a man, we learn that Elvis…. er Bubba is popular with everyone including the undead, and we learn that ex-girlfriends are just down right nasty! I am excited to see how these events differ in Alan Ball’s interpretation. I have already read the Josephine’s is called Lou Pine’s Bar and I have heard that we will be surprised to find out just who  Bill’s kidnapper is. I can’t wait to find out.

Reviewed by Matt

Disclosure: The Audio version of these novels was purchased by the reviewer’s own hard earned cash.

Narrated by Jessica Almasy

Blood Engines Audio Length: 10 hours and 24 minutes
Poison Sleep Audio Length: 9 hours and 41 minutes
Dead Reign Audio Length: 9 hours and 47 minutes
Spell Games Audio Length: 9 hours and 10 minutes

Introduction: Marla Mason is a four book series written by Tim Pratt under the pen name T.A. Pratt. Unfortunately the publisher decided to cancel this wonderful series in 2009 after releasing Spell Games.  I assume that is why the audio book price dropped so quickly because as of this writing each novel can be downloaded off iTunes for only $6.95 per book or $27.80 for the whole series. If you have never experienced an audio presentation this would be a great chance to give it a try for a minimal investment.

In addition, since this is such a beloved series, Mr. Pratt is writing the fifth novel, Broken Mirrors, as a reader-funded serial novel. If you have enjoyed this series please click here and contribute. Maybe, the whole e-book revolution will help keep this series alive.

Author’s bio: Tim Pratt lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife, Heather Shaw and their son River. His fiction and poetry have appeared in The Best American Short Stories, The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Strange Horizons, Realms of Fantasy, Asimov’s, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Subterranean, and Tor.com, among many other places.

In October 2007 he began publishing a series of urban fantasies featuring ass-kicking sorcerer Marla Mason. The first was Blood Engines, followed by Poison Sleep (April 2008), Dead Reign (November 2008), and Spell Games (April 2009). He serialized a prequel, Bone Shop, online in 2009. The fifth book, Broken Mirrors, is currently being serialized and will appear in print in late 2010.

He won a Hugo Award (for “Impossible Dreams” in 2007), and has been nominated for a Nebula Award, Stoker Award, Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, a couple of Gaylactic Spectrum Awards, and a Seiun Award. In 2004 he was a finalist for the Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

Dust jacket summary:

Blood Engines: Sorcerer Marla Mason, small-time guardian of the city of Felport, has a big problem. A rival is preparing a powerful spell that could end Marla’s life–and, even worse, wreck her city. Marla’s only chance of survival is to boost her powers with the Cornerstone, a magical artifact hidden somewhere in San Francisco. But when she arrives there, Marla finds that the quest isn’t going to be quite as cut-and-dried as she expected…and that some of the people she needs to talk to are dead. It seems that San Francisco’s top sorcerers are having troubles of their own–a mysterious assailant has the city’s magical community in a panic, and the local talent is being (gruesomely) picked off one by one.

With her partner-in-crime, Rondeau, Marla is soon racing against time through San Francisco’s alien streets, dodging poisonous frogs, murderous hummingbirds, cannibals, and a nasty vibe from the local witchery, who suspect that Marla herself may be behind the recent murders. And if Marla doesn’t figure out who is killing the city’s finest in time, she’ll be in danger of becoming a magical statistic herself.…

Poison Sleep: Someone wants Marla Mason dead. Usually that’s not news. As chief sorcerer of Felport, someone always wants her dead. But this time she’s the target of a renegade assassin who specializes in killing his victims over days, months, or even years. Not to mention a mysterious knife-wielding killer in black who pops up in the most unexpected places. To make matters worse, an inmate has broken out of the Blackwing Institute for criminally insane sorcerers—a troubled psychic who can literally reweave the fabric of reality to match her own traumatic past.

With her wisecracking partner Rondeau reluctantly in tow, Marla teams up with a “love-talker” whose dangerous erotic spells not even she can resist. Together they’re searching the rapidly transforming streets of Felport for a woman who’s become the Typhoid Mary of nightmares, infecting everything—and everyone—she touches with a chaos worse than death itself.

Dead Reign: Death has come calling, and one woman has what he wants most of all…

As chief sorcerer of Felport, Marla Mason thought she’d faced every kind of evil the magical world had to offer. But she’s never faced a killer like this. He’s dark, glib, handsome as the devil—and exactly who he says he is. Death—in the flesh. He’s arrived in Felport with a posse composed of a half-insane necromancer and the reanimated corpse of John Wilkes Booth, and he isn’t leaving until he gets what he came for. Only Marla is crazy enough to tell Death to go back to Hell.

With the Founders’ Ball just around the bend, drawing together the brightest, meanest, and most dangerous of Felport’s magical elite, the last thing Marla needs is all-out war with the King of the Underworld, but that’s exactly what she’s got. As the battle lines are drawn, she can count on her hedonistic, body-hopping partner Rondeau…but how many of her old allies will stand by her side when facing the ultimate adversary? To save her city, Marla will have to find a way to cheat Death…literally.

Spell Games: Brain-eating fungi, wannabe sorcerers, long-lost relations–does even a hard-core witch stand a chance?

Mad sorcerers, psychic vampires, an army of vengeful demons, Marla Mason would rather face them all than a flesh-and-blood ghost from her dysfunctional family past: her con artist brother, Jason. As Felport’s chief sorcerer, Marla would ordinarily consider it her duty to protect her town from such an unscrupulous ne’er-do-well. As his sister, things are a lot…trickier. Now, as Marla attempts to train an apprentice oracle whose magical wires have gotten crossed, Jason is setting up an elaborate sting and drawing her ever-so-corruptible partner Rondeau into the ruse.

Their patsy is a filthy-rich wannabe mage and their bait is something so valuable, so dangerous, so sought after, it probably doesn’t exist. But now word’s gotten out that the Borrichius spores do exist and instead of a sucker Jason and Rondeau have a much bigger–and much deadlier–fish on their line: a reclusive sorcerer whose devotion to the mushroom god and command of vegetal magic could bring a fungal apocalypse to Felport. It’ll be the mother of all bad trips unless Marla can pull off the ultimate magical switcheroo…and somehow live to tell about it.

Thoughts & analysis: I began listening to these novels with much trepidation. I knew that the series had been canceled and there would not likely be any more future volumes. So I decided to give the first novel, Blood Engines, a listen and if I hated it then I would just stop there. Needless to say, I ripped through all four books with much glee and when the final book ended my first thought was damn, I am really going to miss Marla Mason.

The strongest qualities to Mr. Pratt’s writing are the plots to his stories. Each story is unique and contains a well thought out plot which is surprising in a genre that has a bad habit of rehashing well worn ideas. For example, in Poison Sleep Marla is sporadically sucked into a fantasy world created by another magician, Genevieve. For spoiler reasons I don’t want to give away too much about how this “alternate” world was created and how the bad guy came into existence is pure genius and something the reader will not expect.

The characters are the other factor that make this series is so entertaining. The main protagonist, Marla Mason, is sorta of a mob boss with a soft side. Mr. Pratt attempts to make a Marla into a bad ass like Tony Soprano but I don’t think his heart was committed into making her a heartless goon. Marla will usually do the right thing in the end even though it may go against her nature.

But for me, the characters that surrounded Marla where much more interesting. Rondeau is Marla’s sidekick but is a “spectral” being stuck inside human’s body and has no knowledge of his past. Rondeau plays a significant part in Spell Games and the ending to that novel is absolutely brutal. Mainly because it affects my other favorite character Bradley Bowman, or just B, who is a seer. In addition, there are numerous other magicians who inhabit this world and all are unique in their descriptions and powers. Mr. Pratt does not rely on cardboard cut-out archetypes to create his characters.

By the way, as a word of warning, do not get too attached to any of the characters as Mr. Pratt does not hesitate to kill anyone of them off. I still miss Ted from Poison Sleep; he didn’t deserve the ending that he got.

Final verdict: For me, Marla Mason will go in the annals of Firefly, Space: Above and Beyond and Carnivàle as a series that was highly entertaining and canceled well ahead of it’s time. It was truly one of the best urban fantasy series’ on the market and it is a shame that publisher did not give it more of a chance to survive. This series just kept getting stronger with each passing novel and was building towards something very special before it was prematurely cut off at the knees.   Mr. Pratt is an excellent author and I will be reading anything that he produces in the future.

My advice, give it a try as I did and you will not be sorry.

Link to the reader-funded fifth Marla Mason book and other stories: Marla Mason

Author’s website: Tropism (LJ Annex)

Reviewed by Christel

Disclosure: The reviewer purchased this novel from her friendly neighborhood bookstore.

Introduction: The Phoenix Chronicles are written under the guise of good vs. evil. Heaven fighting the legions of Hell. Light vs. Dark. But as one reads this series, we discover that good and evil are not as black and white as they appear. As a matter of fact, there are all sorts of shades of gray.

Chaos Bites is the 4th book in the Phoenix Chronicles series.

Dust Jacket Summary: HER DREAM LIFE

It’s not the end of the world—yet. But Doomsday once again lies in wait for demon-slayer Elizabeth Phoenix. Several weeks ago she had no choice but to kill a man she loved. Sawyer was a witch and shape-shifter, a sorcerer of incredible strength. And now he’s started to invade her dreams…in the most dangerous and sensuous ways imaginable.

HAS BECOME A LIVING NIGHTMARE

Through her nighttime visits with Sawyer, Liz has acquired a new set of paranormal powers. She has also received a special new gift in the form of Sawyer’s baby. Now nothing is as it seems as Liz combs through the chaos of her new life while trying to outrun death at every turn. She’s going to need all the help she can get—even if that means dealing with her embittered ex-lover Jimmy Sanducci. He may be the only one left she can trust…since every other demon on earth is hell-bent on her destruction.

Thoughts and analysis: Ms. Handeland always keeps her readers on their toes. Putting poor Liz through the paces just for our entertainment. She has done things she isn’t proud of and will continue to do such things for the greater good. She continually has to put her own feelings aside in order to effectively lead her followers in their war against the Nephilim. As the leader of the light, Liz is responsible for those under her charge and she will do anything to ensure their safety.

Unfortunately, liz is a sexual empath. The author’s use of this particular talent provides us with some sexy scenes, but also makes us think about how far one would go to save the people they love. Liz has been treading pretty close to having to have sex with someone she doesn’t particularly wish to. Up through book 3 she has been lucky, but a time will come when she must do what is necessary in order to gain their power, and save her friends. A tough decision will have to be made.

Liz manages to get herself in just as much trouble as ever. With a new mission, her own personal demon residing just beneath the surface and a new baby, Liz’s quest is more important than ever. In the last installment Ms. Handeland shocked us by killing off my favorite character, Sawyer. But alas, he is not gone from these pages forever. In fact, he makes many steamy appearances in Chaos Bites. I am glad he is still around because in my opinion it just wouldn’t be a good story without him.

All of the usual suspects are still part of the story plus one. A baby, evidently it is Sawyer’s shape-shifting baby. With no warning this baby grabs hold of Liz’s heart and Liz must add her to the ever growing list of people she cares about. This adds an element to the story that wasn’t there before. The love for a helpless child is different from the love one feels towards a friend, teammate or lover. Even thought the child is not hers, Liz feels a strong attachment to this baby named Faith. In someways, it is all she has left of Sawyer, besides his appearances in her dreams.  As a kid who grew up in the foster system, Liz has finally seemed to piece together a family, dysfunctional as it may be.

Final Thoughts: In Chaos Bites, Liz encounters love, angst, suspense and a strong sense of loyalty. Not to mention the action, magic and camaraderie of her supernatural friends both in this realm and beyond. I enjoy reading these books because Ms. Handeland writes with such imagery that I can see the story unfold in my mind. I can see New Orleans at night as a large phoenix flies over head. I can see Sawyer as he visits Liz in her dreams. I can see Jimmy, Summer and Luther. I can see Faith shape shift into a tiny kitten.  One of my criteria for a good read is how vividly I can see the story in my imagination and these books fit the bill. I am not sure if this was the best book in this series, but it was definitely an entertaining read with a cliff hanger ending.  I am ready to find out what happens in the next installment.

Author’s website: Lori Handeland