Archive for Vampire Book Review
Reviewed by Debbie
Turncoat is the 11th book in the Dresden Files series but for this reviewer it was the first. I had never read any of the books but I have watched the television show and absolutely loved it. Usually, if I come across a book based on a TV show I only read it after I’ve first watched it on TV. I am officially breaking my usual routine because I am going to read every book in the Dresden Files series even though it’s not on TV any more. Also, you should know that although I’ve not read the first 10 books in the series, I perfectly understood what was happening in this story.
The book opens with Dresden answering a knock at his front door finding his worst enemy, the Warden Morgan, injured and begging for help. The most fun was reading the thoughts that popped into Dresden’s head because I would have been thinking the same things had I been in his situation. In the end, his constant need to do what is right takes over and he decides to give the guy a chance to explain himself. Once his enemy has recovered enough to talk, he tells Dresden that he has been falsely accused of murder and he needs Dresden to investigate what is going on. Dresden decides to help, for now…
Dresden knows this case is going to be tough but, when he is attacked by a Native American skin walker that no one can defeat, he knows that he has bitten off more that he can chew. He barely escapes from this attack and loses some very good friends in the process. But, he knows that the Warden is innocent now and he will do whatever it takes to keep an innocent man from being executed – even if that same innocent man tried to have him executed years earlier for a crime he did not commit. There is a traitor on the Wizard White Council and Dresden has to find out who it is to clear Warden Morgan and prevent a war between the councils that could turn everything they know upside down.
The author did an excellent job of keeping the reader informed of who people were and how they fit into the overall picture, which is why I was able to completely understand the story as I read. I had seen the television show based on the books but there is absolutely no comparison between the two. The books are much better than the show ever was so, as I mentioned earlier, I am quite glad that I finally read one of the books. I can now read the other 10 books in the series and I’m happy in the knowledge that the author, Jim Butcher, has mentioned the possibility of over twenty books in this series before he is done. Nice to know that my reading pleasure will continue for some time to come.
It seems that Sasha Trudeau never gets tired and the same is true in the latest book ‘Never Cry Wolf’ by L.A. Banks, the latest in her supernatural series, Crimson Moon. Sasha, a shadow wolf, had most recently stopped a war between wolf packs in the author’s last book, Undead on Arrival. You would think after all that adventure, she might go on a romantic vacation with her mate, Max, but it is not meant to be. After all, she is a soldier and duty comes first. So, after dealing with all the trouble in New Orleans, she and her team go back to her unit, the PCU (paranormal containment unit), for debriefing. They are sent to Colorado immediately to be questioned because they feel Sasha and her team were negligent in their duties since humans were killed in the process of stopping the wolf pack war. Sasha defends her team and her methods but she is still saddled with a second team commanded by a Colonel Madison who just happens to be a supernatural-phobe. He hates all things supernatural – and this especially includes Sasha and her team.
This new team becomes a real problem when an enemy from the past returns, Jung Suk, who is determined to punish everyone who has ever defied her. She hopes to succeed in her task by allying herself with Vlad the Elder of the vampires. Dead bodies begin to turn up after the unholy alliance is formed and both teams, Sasha and Colonel Madison’s, are sent to investigate. Sasha knows that this new Colonel is going to lead them into a death trap because he has no idea what he is getting into and he does not want to know – he won’t listen to reason. Sasha has to try and stop the killers from continuing their murder spree while also trying to keep the Colonel on a short leash.
If anyone is up to the task, Sasha is.
This latest novel by L.A. Banks was a good read but, more than that, it alleviated some of the issues I had with Sasha and Shogun from previous novels. Finally, it looks like Shogun is going to find someone new and the form that new love interest takes is very interesting indeed. I did not see it coming and I totally liked how the author handled it. I have always wondered, as I was reading the series, how Shogun was ever going to get over Sasha. I always felt sorry for him. Now, I can relax and enjoy the ride in the next book without having to feel sorry for poor Shogun. There is nothing worse than unrequited love.
It might seem to a new reader of L. A. Banks that picking up this book in the middle of the series would be difficult, but the author is good about filling in the back story, so, do not let the fact that you might be starting in the middle of the series put you off – it is still a fun book to read. ‘Never Cry Werewolf’ is an excellent urban fantasy – it’s the perfect example of what keeps you going from book to book in this series, just waiting for the next installment. Banks is especially adept at making the supernatural seem plausible by using the military as a back story to the crazy fantasy stuff going on throughout the book. This seems to make it a more interesting fantasy story than usual. The Crimson Moon series was a great read that I think you’ll enjoy.
“Bite: A Vampire Handbook” by Kevin Jackson is the perfect book for anyone who wants to be a vampire. Even if your aspirations do not hit that lofty goal, this book is still perfect for the person who wants to know everything there is to know about vampire folklore. Kevin Jackson has written the perfect vampire handbook.
The book is a nonfiction work that covers vampire folklore from the earliest writings available. There has been some mention of a monster like a vampire in cultures all over the world. It begins by explaining the vampire in folklore and then concentrates on the modern vampire in film today. The book also explains many of the myths surrounding vampires. For example, the German vampire can be killed by having an apple put into its mouth while inside the coffin. The German vampire also likes to clutch its thumb while resting in the coffin.
The book also discusses ways to become a vampire. If you commit suicide or die before being baptized, you will become a vampire but, since a good portion of the world’s population is not Christian, I think vampires would have run out of food by now. According to the vampire handbook, in Albania, if you commit a crime and get away with it your entire life, you will become a vampire. That seems like a very interesting way to prevent crime. In cultures from Russia to China, it is believed that if a cat or other animal walks over your corpse, you will become a vampire. It is even believed by dream interpreters that people who dream about vampires are feeling overwhelmed in their lives. These and many more interesting facts about vampires from all cultures are included in the handbook.
The book tries to explain how a creature that once was used to terrify children has become a mainstream phenomenon. There are accounts of “real vampires” as well as biographies of famous people related to vampire culture. Bite is full of excerpts from famous books as well as movies, screen plays, and documents. Bite also revises some very interesting facts about the vampires of the world and throughout history. The book traces the history of the undead down the ages as well as offering a plethora of information about vampire trivia, and believe it or not, vampire tourism. Jackson also mentions the best songs you might listen to about vampires.
But of course, the most important information in the handbook deal with the different ways to kill a vampire – just in case!
I enjoyed reading Kevin Jackson’s Bite and found it very enlightening and well written. This handbook is a ‘must-have’ for any vampire aficionado. It’s suitable for teens and adults alike and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about vampires and their origins.
So, you’re out looking for something new to read and you come across the title ‘Xoe: or Vampires, and Werewolves, and Demons, Oh My!’ and your first thought might be that this book is for teenagers only. Yes, this first book in the new Xoe Meyers fantasy series by Sara C. Roethle focuses on teenagers but it’s got solid crossover potential.
The story centers around a teenage girl named Xoe, who’s your typical teenager: she’s not the happiest kid on the block, she’s loyal to her friends and she finds many people annoying and irritating. Come on, that’s a typical teenager for sure!
Life seems pretty dull hanging out with her friends until a new boy moves to the area named Dan. Although he’s handsome she immediately takes a disliking to him however all of her friends are clamoring to get to know him better. Xoe doesn’t have a logical reason to tell them to leave him alone; she just senses something odd about him. Since her best friend, Lucy, finds him fascinating and Dan seems to feel the same way about her, she decides to keep her feelings to herself.
The first time Xoe and her friends go to the movies with Dan, he grabs Xoe, telling her that he knows she’s different and demands that she explain who she is. Speechless, Xoe doesn’t know what to say or how to respond. At the end of the movie, she reluctantly leaves Lucy and Dan to finish their date. Fast forward to later that night and we find Lucy at Zoe’s house crying in pain. She explains that for some inexplicable reason, Dan scratched her arm and then ran off. Xoe knows something is terribly wrong but is unable to figure out what to do.
But it doesn’t take long for Xoe to figure out that Dan is a werewolf that wants to claim Lucy as his mate. Things seem pretty desperate when suddenly, another new boy arrives in town. He’s also a supernatural creature but unlike Dan, he’s one of the good guys. He’s there to put a stop to the harm Dan’s trying to cause.
As the story progresses we learn that the city of Shelby, Oregon is a regular hotbed of supernatural activity and Xoe is about to learn more than she ever wanted to know. Not just about her friends, but about herself as well.
As stated earlier, although this book was written for the teenage reader adults will enjoy it as well. Filled with emotion and attitude, I found this book to be fun and engaging. The author seems to have a real knack for understanding how teenagers feel, showing it in Xoe’s character and how she relates to the world. Roethe sucks the reader right into a new supernatural world and when you are finished, you’re ready for the next installment in Xoe’s adventures. This is an entertaining story that centers on the relationships between teens, the importance of friendship and how to develop and maintain trust.
Life lessons we can all use.
The final book in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, called Breaking Dawn, is different in the fact that it’s divided into three parts. The first part of the vampire book begins with the long anticipated and awaited marriage of Edward and Bella. The happy couple go off on a romantic honeymoon to a very private and secluded island on the Brazilian coast. Of course, nothing ever happens like Bella and Edward expect. Two weeks after their nuptials, Bella figures out that she’s pregnant. Not only that, but the baby is developing faster than any normal baby would. Carlisle is contacted, confirms the pregnancy, and the couple head back to Forks, where Edward wants Bella to abort the child because he’s afraid she’s in danger. Bella, feeling a strong connection with the baby, refuses to do it and goes ahead with the pregnancy.
Part Two of Breaking Dawn is written from the point of view of Jacob Black. The news has gotten around that Bella is pregnant and that the baby is not exactly normal, since the pregnancy is progressing rapidly. His wolf pack decides that they need to kill both the child and Bella and get rid of any risk that it may pose. Jacob, despite the fact that he hates that she married Edward, decides he doesn’t like this idea and forms his own pack with Seth and Leah Clearwater. When Bella gives birth, the baby injures her badly, breaking bones and causing her to lose a lot of blood, since she is still human. Edward knows that the only thing he can do is to change her, so he injects the venom right into her heart and makes her a vampire. Complicating things further, Jacob is there when the baby is born and imprints on her immediately, meaning that Renesmee is his soul mate.
Part Three of Breaking Dawn goes back to Bella’s point of view. She’s very busy now, considering she’s a new mom with a super baby and a vampire to boot. Things get worse when Renesmee is thought to be a child who was turned into a vampire, which is something that is frowned upon by the Volturi. After a meddling vampire named Irina tells the Volturi this, they decide that both Renesmee and the whole Cullen clan need to be destroyed. Facing certain doom unless they do something, the Cullens rally other vampire clans from around the globe and ask them to witness for Renesmee. After confronted with evidence that Renesmee isn’t a human child that was turned into a vampire, the Volturi carry out the immediate execution of Irina. They would have killed Renesmee as well if it hadn’t been for Jasper and Alice, who had located another vampire just like her. The Volturi back off and the happy little family is able to live happily ever after, a great ending to an enthralling series.
I predict that the Twilight Saga will become a classic vampire book, especially among the young adult crowd. Get Breaking Dawn, the last book in the vampire series.
The third of the Twilight books in the series, Eclipse is a book that pretty much picks up where New Moon ended. Bella is facing the end of her high school years and graduation, and the fact that she is going to be leaving the town of Forks for good. The story that everyone is hearing is that she’s going to college, when the truth is that she plans to become immortal like Edward.
If you are someone who loves the drama and angst of love triangles, you are going to absolutely love Eclipse, because Bella is town between two men that would do just about anything for her.
First, there’s Jacob – her friend, her confidant, and a guy who she only thought of as the cute little boy next door until he turned into a big fluffy fur ball who sprouted mega muscles along with fur and fangs. Jacob worships her and would do just about anything for her, and in a perfect world they probably would have been together.
Then there’s Edward, the man of her dreams. He’s gorgeous, he’s hot, and he’s never going to grow old. How perfect is that? As soon as he gives her the ultimate love bite they can stay teenagers and live happily ever after.
Making this love triangle more complicated than it already is is the fact that Edward and Jacob hate one another. And we’re not just talking about the fact that they are both hot for her bod. We’re talking about an ancient war that has been going on for centuries. You see, werewolves and vampires are mortal enemies, and usually they try and kill one another.
So what is it that makes these mortal enemies not exactly kiss and make up but simply put aside their differences? Nothing more than the fact that there’s another big bad bloodsucker on the horizon that made a bunch of new vampires to terrorize Forks. You guessed it. Victoria’s back with a vengeance and she is not happy. So these two creatures that everyone thought didn’t exist decide to join forces to rid Forks of these unspeakable horrors. Unfortunately, while the battle ensues and Bella, Edward, and Jacob hide out, Jacob accidentally overhears that Bella and Edward are engaged and that she’s going to become a vampire. He throws a fit, threatens to join the fight and get himself killed(hmm, kind of sounds like Edward going to the Volturi, doesn’t it?), and to appease him, Bella kisses him. She then realizes that she loves him as well. After a few more complications, the battle ends and the result is that poor Jacob goes running off with his tail between his legs.
Despite all the teenage angst and the love triangle, this was really a good book with a good plot. It moved along well and it holds the reader’s attention like the other two Twilight books. It’s definitely one of the Twilight books that is worth reading and one that keeps you guessing til the end. It’s one of the Twilight books that a lot of teenagers can identify with.
Eclipse is now ON SALE at Amazon for less than 6 dollars!
New Moon picks up where the Twilight movie left off. It’s Bella’s birthday, and much to her chagrin, both her dad and her absentee mother have gone out and bought gifts that she had told them not to. Not only that, but the whole Cullen clan decide to throw her this elaborate birthday party with much too expensive gifts, and, the best surprise gift of all, almost getting killed. Danger prone Bella cuts her finger on the wrapping paper, causing it to bleed, and igniting the blood lust in Jasper. While his siblings calm Jasper and stop him from killing Bella, Carlisle tends to Bella’s arm, which she cut when she fell.
Fast forward a couple of days and it finds Edward telling Bella that the clan is leaving because it’s much too dangerous for them to be there. Edward walks away, Bella lays down on the ground and basically waits for death to come. Death doesn’t come but Sam, one of the guys from La Push, finds her and brings her home.
After finding out that Edward and the other Cullens are gone for good, Bella falls into a deep depression. She simply exists and her father decides it’s time to send her back to her mother. That snaps her out of it, and after an experience with a biker guy she finds that she can actually see and hear(or so she thinks) Edward when she’s in danger, she decides that she needs to start being adventurous so that she can see the love of her life all the time.
So during the next few months, Bella has a really full schedule. She reignites her relationship with Jacob and stands by his side while he rebuilds a couple of motorcycles that were destined for the junkyard, she learns to ride one of them, and finds out that not only are there vampires in the area but there are also werewolves. In fact, her friend Jacob, who is looking better and better now that Edward isn’t here, is one. She also discovers that there is a vampire who is seriously ticked off and wants her dead because Edward killed mate. Since Edward is stuck on Bella, Victoria figures its only fair that she get to kill Bella. Laurent, who is also a part of Victoria’s clan, almost finishes her off but the werewolves from La Push do him in first.
While the wolves are out tracking down Victoria, Bella decides she wants to see her love again and decides that cliff diving is the way to do it. She takes a flying leap off the cliff, almost drowns but Jacob rescues her, and everything should be fine.
But thanks to another person’s death, a ill timed phone call, and a mixed up message that got to the wrong person, Edward is under the impression that Bella is dead and decides to do the only sensible thing – head for Italy to royally tick off the Volturi, a group of vampires that stick to the old ways and don’t want any human to know they exist.
Alice comes to find Bella, they race to Italy in time to stop Edward from making a serious mistake, and the Volturi let them go on the condition that Bella is made a vampire.
This Twilight movie was much better than the first Twilight movie in my opinion. The CGI effects were great, as was the action and the horror. By now you can probably watch the movie at one of those dollar theaters which is a good deal since movies are so expensive!
Here are the new vampire books that have a March publication date. I’m really excited about these books because they include some great entries from some of my favorite authors like Chris Marie Green, Mario Acevedo and L.A. Banks.
Here we go!
Deep In The Woods by Chris Marie Green
With the female master of the London Underground in her hands, stuntwoman-turnedvampire hunter Dawn Madison must fight off her followers, a vicious pack of undead teenage girls who put the vamps Dawn had to deal with in Los Angeles to shame . . .
Werewolf Smackdown by Mario Acevedo
A sure-to-be-bloody civil war is brewing between rival werewolf factions, and private investigator Felix Gomez will do anything he can to make sure it doesn’t explode into a vicious battle that engulfs all creatures, living and dead. Between that, the sudden reappearance of an ex-girlfriend, and a gang of other vampires trying to take off his head, this is one rumble that Gomez, a fanged detective extraordinaire, may find hard to handle.
and Falling, Fly by Skyler White
In a dark and seedy underground of burned-out rock stars and angels-turned- vampires, a revolutionary neuroscientist and a fallen angel must put medicine against mythology in an attempt to erase their tortured pasts…but at what price?
Olivia, vampire and fallen angel of desire, is hopeless…and damned. Since the fall from Eden, she has hungered for love, but fed only on desire. Dominic O’Shaughnessy is a neuroscientist plagued by impossible visions. When his research and her despair collide at L’Otel Mathillide-a subterranean hell of beauty, demons, and dreams-rationalist and angel unite in a clash of desire and damnation that threatens to destroy them both.
Key To Justice by Talia Gryphon
Psychologist to the paranormal Gillian Key has a new patient. He is a vampire who calls himself Csangal, but he is also a creature hiding his true motives-and his true identity: Dracula.
Death Blows by D.D. Barant
FBI profiler Jace Valchek was pulled into this parallel realm to hunt for Aristotle Stoker, a human serial killer who preys on vampires and werewolves. Now she works for the National Security Agency of the Unnatural States of America – and her boss is a vampire.
At a bizarre crime scene, Jace finds a bloodsucker murdered by magic, fried to the bone and dressed in the costume of the comic book hero the Flash – a character who isn’t supposed to exist here. Comic books have been outlawed for their powers, including crossover spells like the one that transported Jace to this world. Soon, she’s following a trail of dead bodies into the sinister underworld of black-market comics – where a deranged madman gives new meaning to the term “super-villain” . . .
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
When Abraham Lincoln was nine years old, his mother died from an ailment called the “milk sickness.” Only later did he learn that his mother’s deadly affliction was actually the work of a local vampire, seeking to collect on Abe’s father’s unfortunate debts.
Using The Journal of Abraham Lincoln as a guide, the true life story of our great president is reconstructed for the first time—all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War, and uncovering the massive role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.
Never Cry Werewolf by L.A. Banks
The last fight between the werewolf clans spilled onto the streets of New Orleans—and now the whole city’s on red alert. Martial law has gone into effect. Mediums, ghost hunters, and other supernatural pundits have taken over the media, swarming the Big Easy to expose the hard truth about lycanthropes. And to make matters worse, a beastly killer is clawing up humans…
Secret government operative Sasha Trudeau doesn’t like what she’s seeing—a series of brutal and bloody slayings that appear to be wolf-like attacks. It might be the work of a copy cat killer – a vampire or fae. But while Sasha races to find suspects and motives, the panic level is rising—and the city’s human population is clamoring for an all-out wolf hunt . . .
