'Superpowers' by David J. Schwartz

ISBN: 0307394409
Format: Paperback, 384pp
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Pub. Date: June 2008
Price: $14.95

(Note: this cover is the UK one. I just like it better)

The big question with this one is: Do you have to be a comics fan to get it? Easy answer: No you don’t. But it helps. Reading this novel you can tell the author is a huge fan. Big names like The Hulk, Spider Man, and Batman are dropped pretty early on and a conversation with a comic book store clerk confirms the fandom. But even if you aren’t into the graphic side of life there’s a good chance you’ll find something to like about David J. Schwartz's Superpowers.

“It all started with a party, which is damn convenient if you ask me, and if this weren’t a true story I wouldn’t expect you to believe it.” Marcus Hatch, an ex-reporter for his college paper with a bent toward conspiracy theories, writes in his introduction. He’s the one who recounts the tale of five collage students who suddenly find life holds more than they thought it could. In Wisconsin, on a street called Mifflin, a group of average collage kids get together to celebrate the end of term. The five settle into their home brewed beers never expecting that they will wake up the next morning and everything will have changed.

All five wake up with a superpower. Jack, a farm kid going to school full time and working, brewed the beer and wakes up with speed. Charlie, who has a crush on his neighbor Caroline and always seems to be worrying about something, wakes up with the power of telepathy. Caroline, the flirt that has caught Charlie’s attention, can now fly. Harriet, dedicated to the school paper and her love of music, can now turn invisible at will. Last but not least is Mary Beth who wakes up with super strength, a power that fits her best because out the whole group she could use it the most.

What these five discover is that having superpowers isn’t all fun and games. Each character has hardships and obstacles that they must face and overcome before they can grow and truly understand themselves and the gift they’ve been given. They have to decide if they should keep this to themselves or do some good with it by sharing with the world.

Superpowers will definitely hook you if you’re a 15 and up guy. There’s drinking and some sexual situations so this isn’t a book I’d pass off to anyone younger. And the writing is styled to hit the older market for young adults and beyond. It’s bittersweet, a lesson buried in there if you want to look about morality and responsibility, and if not the story is entertaining and unusual.

We’ve all heard the old adage ‘write what you know’ and to an extent Schwartz has done that. Sure he might not have the superpowers (or does he?) but he lived on Mifflin Street (where the characters live) and spent a lot of time in the area he based his novel around. You can feel that while reading, that this is a real place and real time and that maybe, just maybe, this could really happen.

'Making Money' by Terry Pratchett

ISBN: 0061161640
Format: Hardcover, 384pp
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Price: $25.95

Moist Von Lipwig is the original con man. He’s so good at it that he’s conned the entire city of Ank-Morpork into believing he’s honest and trustworthy. The thing is that they believe in him even though he keeps telling them they shouldn’t! After all, Ank-Morpork loves a good show. In Going Postal Moist took over the dying Ank-Morpork postal service and turned into a jewel of the city. So when the Royal Bank of Ank-Morpork falls on some hard times the obvious choice is the man in the Golden Suit.

Lord Vetinari, in a very Vetinari move, lets Moist maneuver himself into the job; a job that Moist is convinced he doesn’t necessarily want. But lately the Post Office just hasn’t felt the same and Moist is missing that zing from life that lets him know he’s alive. It doesn’t help that his fiancé, Adore Belle Dearheart or Spike for short, is away hunting Golems. With her gone Moist has resorted to Extreme Sneezing and picking all the locks in the Post Office building in the dark to get that zing.

But once Moist takes over the Royal Bank life is crackling again. He’s got a lot of work ahead of him if he’s going to convince the city that paper money is just as good as gold. Especially when the bank vaults turn out to be empty and oh-so-serious Mr. Bent, manger of the bank, decides that Moist isn’t the right kind of man for the job. With Cosmo Lavish, part owner of the bank, dreaming of being Vetinari and a man from Moist’s dark past creeping up from behind, Moist has a lot on his plate.

There are always a few supporting characters that steal the show. I’ve always been partial to the Igors when they show up, in whatever incarnation, and of course the Golems. In Making Money my hands down favorite was Mrs. Lavish. How fantastic is a gin-swilling, silver-cross-bow-toting old woman? Fantastic I tell you! Of course the Chairman was good too. How can you not love a dog that is partial to the kind of goodies kept in a bedside drawer? My one complaint with this whole wonderful book is that I felt Pratchett could have gone into more detail with the Royal Mint and the men who actually make the money, The Men of the Sheds. Instead these aspects were glossed over, mystery hinted at but never uncovered. I hate to complain (says the complainer) but I wanted more damnit! More!

However when I’m feeling a bit down and need a laugh I pick up my well loved paperback copy of (insert title here). You can’t go wrong with any of the Discworld novels. But, like his characters, Prachett is well rounded. He’ll make you laugh and think, possibly even tear up before a book ends. (Usually with laughter) Pratchett uses his humor to comment on the world today and the relevant issues we face. But he’s never preachy about it and he doesn’t let it get in the way of a good story.

If you are going to read Terry Pratchett for the first time I wouldn’t start with Making Money. You’ll get more out of this title if you’ve read Going Postal (especially since both books contain the same set of characters) and you’d get even more out of it if you’ve read the rest of the Discworld series.

'The Somnambulist' by Jonathan Barnes

ISBN: 0061375381
Format: Hardcover, 353pp
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Pub. Date: February 2008
Price: $23.95

Peopled with the odd and the outstanding, The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes is a macabre tale of crime told by an almost nameless narrator. We are warned from the beginning that this book contains no literary value and that we should not become attached to its characters. Of course the narrator does leave it up to us to decide and in the end you can’t help but be engrossed by the characters and tale that is spun like a web across the page.

Edward Moon is a man who once was the toast of this 19th century London; he is a conjuror, an illusionist of the highest order who also has a reputation for solving the unsolvable crimes that baffle the police. A constant companion to Moon is the Somnambulist, a man with no other name, who is completely silent, communicates via a chalk board and has a passion for milk.

But Moon has seen better times; he is past his prime, hair finally starting to thin and clothes which were once the height of fashion now worn. He belongs to an older time, an older London in which there were great criminal cases to occupy his mind and his theater was full every night as he performed his illusions with the Somnambulist. Those times have passed. A new century has begun and it seems as if Edward Moon will fade into the past, something he is loathe to do.

When there is a mysterious murder Detective Merryweather comes to Moon for help. Moon, desperate and bored, jumps at the chance to prove that he still has his edge and with the Somnambulist in tow he jumps into the investigation. But like any good 19th century sensation novel The Somnambulist is a twisty, curvy tale that leads you in many directions as once. While the answer in the end is constant the question throughout the book changes. The murder is just the tip of the iceberg and soon Moon is trying to uncover a conspiracy that could bring London to her knees.

The characters are unique and wonderful by turns as well as sick and depraved. My favorites are the deadly duo, those cheerful bringers of death and destruction, the Prefects. Yes, from the moment they stabbed someone in the heart with an umbrella and opened it they had my heart. These two men, one large and one small, are always dressed in school boy uniforms and both have permanently cheerful demeanors. You can’t do anything but love, or be slightly sickened by this very imaginative, murderous pair. There are also such standouts like The Fly, Mina a bearded prostitute, a man who lives his life backward, a vagrant that carries a sign which reads “Surely I Am Coming Soon. Revelation 22:20” and an albino civil servant with a penchant for arson.

In the final chapters the narrator is revealed and the story which up until this point was more of a period crime novel with elements of the fantastic becomes complete fantasy. It builds slowly so that once this change finally does happen it makes complete sense and you can’t imagine the story taking any other turn. The Somnambulist is a dark and slightly odd tale that is not to be missed whether you’re a fan of… well anything. This is simply a must read.

'Stardust' by Neil Gaiman

Price: $13.95
ISBN: 0061142026
Format: Paperback, 250pp
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

I bought a copy of Stardust a few months before the movie came out in 2007. I told myself firmly that I would not see the movie until after I had read the book. But there always seemed to be something else I needed to be reading or wanted to read so Stardust sat on my shelf as the release date for the movie came and went.

I listened to my friends gush and rave about the movie; how not since The Princess Bride had they loved a fairy tale so much. But as badly as I wanted to go and see it I resisted the temptation, standing firm by my choice to read the book first. In the end, I saw the movie first. I’m a firm believer that no matter what the book is always better. I don’t care what movie or book it is; I don’t care who wrote it or who is directing it. The book is better, hands down. In the case of Stardust I have to admit that they are both equally wonderful.

There are differences between the book and the movie, just enough that I felt as if the two don’t compete against each other for the number one spot in my heart. The movie stays true to the spirit of the book while adding a whole new element to this swashbuckling tale of adventure and true love. In my opinion there just aren’t enough stories like this one, of course if this kind of fairy tale were common place I might not love it as much as I do.

In the town of Wall, named for the wall by which it stands, a young man by the name of Tristran Thorn promises a fallen star to the town beauty in the hopes that it will capture her heart.

Of course the story really starts much earlier than that, with a fair on the borders of faerie where a man falls in love with a girl who is not quite human. The fair, held every nine years, is the only time in which the local villagers of Wall are allowed to cross the wall.

When Tristran wants to cross the wall years later he is permitted, though he does not realize why. Soon he is on his way across the magical lands of Faerie in search of the fallen star. Along the way he meets a strange little man who his father once did a good turn for; the stranger in turn helps Tristran along his way.

Once Tristran finally finds the star, who just happens to be a girl, it isn’t long before he loses her. Of course, he isn’t the only one after the star and in the end becomes the Star’s rescuer as he battles ancient witches and blood thirsty princes.

There are elements of the fantastic, the wonderful and bizarre, and Neil Gaiman touches on the fairy tales we grew up reading. Red caps are mentioned and a unicorn and lion battle it out for a crown; these are scenes from much earlier tales that trigger the part of your brain that truly believes that magic is real and happy endings do come true. As if we could ever really stop believing. Filled with talking trees, princes and princesses, magic and wonder, witches, and of course a wonderful love story, Stardust should not be missed.

There is also the element of humor, which to me smacks of Terry Pratchett who co-wrote Good Omens with Gaiman, but the humor, in the end, is purely Gaiman. An example of this is once the star has fallen to earth and he has spent the better part of a page describing the beautiful star falling, “And there was a voice, a high clear, female voice which said, “Ow,” and then, very quietly, it said “Fuck,” and then it said “Ow,” once more.” I just had to laugh as I read that, I don’t know how you couldn’t.

So read the book and see the movie, in which ever order you like. If you haven’t already read the book but loved the movie I hope it inspires you to dip into Gaiman’s unforgettable fairy tale. I’m not going to say it’s better but just as wonderful in another way.

'Dancing with Werewolves' by Carole Nelson Douglas

ISBN: 0809572036
Format: Paperback, 240pp
Publisher: Juno Books
Pub. Date: October 2007
Price: $6.99

When the millennium came around a few things changed. But it wasn’t the computers that everyone had prepared themselves for. Instead everything that humans thought of as myth or legend revealed themselves to be true; vampires, werewolves, ghouls, witches, ghosts, and everything else that you think of while hiding under the blanket at 3am. They came out of the closet, and from under the bed, and demanded to be included in society.

Delilah Street was named after where she was found abandoned as a baby. She grew up in an orphanage, the center of constant attacks of one kind or another. Delilah is what she refers to as vampire bait. With black hair and pale creamy skin she has every vampire in a 100 mile area putting the moves on her, or at least trying to. But growing up like that taught Delilah how to defend herself. It also gave her a nose for the paranormal.

Now all grown up, Delilah is working at a paranormal reporter for a small town Kansas TV station. She’s happy there, having carved out her own spot and made herself a fixture with the local residents. She does anything and everything relating to the paranormal. But when a date with her vampire co-worker goes bad, Delilah gets frozen out at work. So with her self respect and the clothes on her back she high tails it to Las Vegas.

Once in Vegas she runs into Ric Montoya, a former FBI agent who has a nose for finding dead bodies. When the two connect over a double grave everything that Delilah knows about herself will change. Haunted by strange alien abduction nightmares and coming to terms with the fact that she might not be completely human, Delilah and Ric unravel the mystery of the dead couple.

The big draw for me with this one is the alternate history. I’ve read several paranormal novels that deal with a world in which vampires and werewolves are everyday things. Some authors handle it better than others and while Douglas’ world isn’t the best I’ve found, it is one that I wouldn’t mind spending some time in.

Carole Nelson Douglas’ writing is crisp and edgy. As I read Delilah’s voice came through loud and clear, a perfect mix of hard-nosed reporter and small town girl. She’s a likable character, the kind that you would quickly become a best friends with. Dancing with Werewolves is a wonderful addition to the paranormal genre and I can only hope that we’ll be seeing Delilah again.

'The Innocent Mage' by Karen Miller

ISBN: 0316067806
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 642pp
Publisher: Orbit
Pub. Date: September 2007
Price: $6.99

I don’t read a lot of epic fantasy; I’m intimidated by the large page count and tiny words. Not to say that I haven’t read anything along these lines but when it comes to this genre I tend to prefer Tolkien. But I’d been reading for weeks how good The Innocent Mage was, Karen Miller’s first in her Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duo, and I just had to see what all the fuss was about.

The characters are what really make this book readable. Asher, Matt, Danthe, Prince Gar and the way they all interact is fantastic. I read the first 200 pages of the book in one sitting and just could not put it down.

We first meet Asher, our hero, as he is leaving behind his small fishing village. He’s the youngest of the family and stands to inherit the smallest piece of the family business so he decides to seek his fortune in the city. I know this is a pretty typical beginning, it’s nothing you haven’t read before, but Asher jumps off the page and is larger than life. He is a fantastically real character and makes the cliché work.

Once in the city Asher stops Prince Gar’s horse from bolting. Asher is blunt and upfront and doesn’t particularly care either way for royalty. Because of his honesty, Prince Gar offers him a job working in the Prince’s stables which Asher accepts. This is where he meets Matt and Danthe, two members of a secret Olken circle who live their lives by an ancient prophecy dedicated to saving the world. Everything seems to be going well for Asher; he has a good job and has made friends, except that we know otherwise.

There are two races of people living in the kingdom of Lur, Doranen and Olken. The Doranen race is able to perform magic, the royalty is Doranen and all the higher offices are held by them. The Olken’s are considered the lower race, they keep the harder jobs and while they hold office it is still lower than the Doranen. The Doranen are very protective of their magic as well and it is believed that no Olken has the talent to work the magics that the Doranen’s do.

So with this powder keg of potential unrest waiting to blow we learn that Asher is none other than the Innocent Mage, the very same mage that prophecy has said would come and save the world. Danthe has been waiting for a very long time and with Asher’s coming she knows it signifies the end times. But from what is Asher meant to save the world from and why must he be kept innocent about his potential magic?

The Innocent Mage is full of vibrant characters and a decent plot. Ms. Miller effortlessly weaves each character’s perspective into the story, each voice unique and solid. You spend a lot of time getting to know the players and that only serves to make them more life like. The story continues with The Awakened Mage, the final installment in Asher’s tale. Which you just have to read once you’ve finished this one because of the cliff hanger ending.

'A Gathering of Gargoyles' by Meredith Ann Pierce

ISBN: 0316067253
Format: Paperback, 304pp
Publisher: Little Brown Bks Young Readers
Pub. Date: October 2007
Price: $7.99

A Gathering of Gargoyles was first published in 1984 and is the second book in Meredith Anne Pierce’s Darkangel Trilogy. This series just gets better as it goes along and I have to admit that I enjoyed the second book more than the first.

A Gathering of Gargoyles picks up where The Darkangel left off. Aeriel has broken the spell that Irrylath was under and he is no longer a Darkangel. However the White Witch isn’t giving up on Irrylath that easily and she haunts his dreams, helping to create the distance that separates the two. Though they were married and Aeriel loves him dearly, Irrylath wants nothing to do with her.

When Aeriel learns that her part of the battle against the White Witch has not ended, and realizing that Irrylath does not share her feelings, she leaves the haven of Isternes and travels out into the wide world. Traveling across a sea made of dust she sees many strange wonders; dust whales and shrimp, veins of clear blue colored sand, and eventually islands inhabited by people the likes of which she has never before seen.

Aeriel has learned from the Darkangel’s brides, who have passed on and become stars, that the White Witch is still searching for a way to gain control of the world. Her sons, the vampires known as the Darkangels, still roam the world spreading sickness and death. Aeriel must find the guardians of the world, awaken them and gather them to fight the White Witch before it is too late.

The guardians now are few and far between thanks to the Darkangels; they have been chased off or killed, with only their memories left in the minds of the people. But Aeriel is determined to find them. When the White Witch learns that Aeriel is once again moving out in the world she sends her minions after the girl.

In her adventures Aeriel crosses paths with all kinds of creatures and people. A light house keeper that is more than what he seems, thieves and highwaymen, a nameless man, and the gargoyles that she had come to love and eventually released from the Darkangel’s tower fortress. They will all help or hinder Aeriel in her journey, lighten her load or throw burdens on her back as she does everything she can so save the world she knows.

A Gathering of Gargoyles will not disappoint readers and will only leave you waiting breathlessly for the third and final book, The Pearl of the Soul of the World which will be out in February of 2008. Of course like I’ve said before if you can’t wait for the new covers there is always your local used bookstore. But good luck finding a copy, these are the kinds of books that once bought you never give up.

'Erec Rex: The Dragon Eye' by Kaza Kingsley

ISBN: 0978655567
Format: Hardcover, 360pp
Publisher: Firelight Press, Inc.
Price: $17.99

In the world of young adult fiction there are a lot of reading choices you could make. There is something for everyone out there and one of the books we should all be reading is Erec Rex: The Dragon’s Eye, Kaza Kingsley’s first novel in a new series about an adventurous 12 year old with a glass eye and magical cloudy visions.

Erec Rex is not your average kid, having grown up in a home where slightly odd household items are the norm. Such as an alarm clock that will jump on you if you don’t wake up. But waking up one morning to find a strange babysitter watching over him and his several brothers and sisters and no idea where his mom is doesn’t sit well. When Erec has one of his cloudy visions, a vision that lets him know she could be in trouble, he rushes out to her rescue.

Erec’s vision leads him through a magical door in the sidewalk and down into another world. Bethany, a girl who helped Erec find the door in the first place, goes with him and soon the two are fast friends. Underneath New York a whole different city is bustling and moving along. Strange shops selling silver garments line the street, men and women fly overhead, and doors keep popping in and out of existence.

Unsure of what to do or where to go, Erec and Bethany follow the crowd and end up entering a contest to be the next kings and queens of this strange magical country. Erec discovers where his mom has disappeared to but is unable to help her right away. But since Erec and Bethany are both entered in the contest they decide they might as well stay and try to win. But one bad thing after another is slowing the contests down and it’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt.

There are a ton of mysteries to solve along the way. Who is Erec Rex really? Why was his mom kidnapped and taken to this strange world? Who is behind the mischief in the contests? What do they want?

Great characters people this story and the small touches like a dancing coat rack or a pair of glasses that let you see the person you miss most are icing on the cake. Not to mention the magical remote controls — who wouldn’t want one of those? Also the vivid descriptions of the world are fantastic. Your imagination is given free rein to enjoy all the magical, wacky, wonderful creatures, people, and devices that roam through Ms. Kingsley’s story.

The Dragon’s Eye is a great introduction to a whole new world. This would be a good book to curl up with your little one and read to them or read first yourself and pass it on. The action is constant and just keeps you turning pages as you wonder what could happen next. Erec’s adventures continue with Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness, and I can’t wait to get started.

'Betwixt' by Tara Bray Smith

ISBN: 031606033X
Format: Hardcover, 496pp
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Pub. Date: October 2007
Price: $17.99

In Betwixt, Tara Bray Smith’s young adult debut, the author carefully sets the scene, meticulously building and placing each character in their human environment. But normal teenage things such as parties, parents, and relationships take on new meanings when you realize that these three normal-seeming teenagers are anything but.

Morgan is the perfect girl. Perfect grades and perfect face but underneath the gloss she is cruel and cold-hearted. As you get to know her, as facets of her life are revealed, you realize that she could go either way. The light and the dark are both offering her an option. But Morgan is only out to get as much for herself as possible and in the end she’ll chose the highest bidder.

Nix is something special. Since his childhood he has been able to see a light around a person before they were about to die; depending on the intensity of the light he could tell how long they had left. Because of this he has spent a large portion of his life running from those he cared about. Along the way he has picked up a drug habit to keep the lights at bay and to try to be as normal as possible.

Ondine is a girl that seems to have it all. Not perfect like Morgan, who just happens to be intensely jealous of her, but with her dark skin and violet eyes she is a girl that just seems to have something extraordinary about her. When her parents move away for a year, leaving her in her hometown of Portland to finish out her senior year, Ondine throws a party to end all parties.

There the three that have so little in common come together. What they’ve been feeling for so long, the changes in their bodies and minds, is hinted at. A mysterious boy by the name of Moth tells the three to come to a huge rave, The Ring of Fire, where they will learn the truth about themselves. Nix, who has been running for so long, is told to bring Ondine who is easily lost; while Morgan, headstrong and defiant, finds her own way there.

But the Ring of Fire isn’t what any of them expect. The truths that they learn, the things about themselves that they come to realize are hard for them to swallow. Ondine flat out denies that she could be something other than human. But for Nix, who has been plagued for so long by the rings of light, is relieved that there is an explanation and that maybe, finally he can stop running. Morgan is the only member of the small group to embrace the idea wholeheartedly.

Betwixt is the first in a series, as the author says “The story has just started.” It starts a little slow but builds speed until you are hurtling toward the shocking end and I’m curious to see where Smith will take us next. The idea is solid; she introduces some new ideas and weaves in the old stand bys to create a story that leaves you asking questions. Betwixt is basically a new spin on the classic fairy tales involving changelings and fairies with all the modern trappings of drugs, sex, and rock‘n’roll.

'Unveiling the Sorceress' by Saskia Walker

ISBN: 0809557819
Format: Paperback, 224pp
Publisher: Juno Books
Price: $12.95

Unveiling the Sorceress, Saskia Walker’s second novel published by Juno Books, is lush and exotic. I was pulled into the story, unable to set the book down as the kingdoms of Aleem and Karseedia came to life on the page. With haunting imagery and strong characters the story is filled with intrigue and romance that blossoms on the page and captures the reader's attention.

Amshazar, a skilled magi favored by the gods, is sent by the Council of the Gods to the exotic lands to make sure that rumors of impending war that have been circulating do not come true. With Santo, a spirit guide that is more hindrance than help, Amashazar weaves his way into the court of Karseedia. He soon becomes an advisor to Hanrah, the next Emperor of Karseedia, if he can get out from under the thumb of Mehmet, his vicious mother.

Elishiba is the Empress of Aleem and is about to be married to Hanrah of Karseedia, to ensure that their two rival countries remain in the state of delicate peace. A strong-willed and determined woman, she also has the slumbering gift of sorcery in her veins. The gift is awakened when Amazhazar arrives in Aleem as part of the group that will escort Elishiba back to her new home. The two, though enemies, are soon drawn to each other.

Wanting to secure her people's safety, Elishiba travels to Karseedia. There she meets Hanrah, her husband to be, and Mehmet, her future mother-in-law. The first meeting does not go well, and soon we learn that Mehmet does not plan to let Elishiba live long past her marriage day. But Elishiba’s strong will and her magical talent, not to mention Amshazar himself, all play a part in making sure she comes out alive.

The supporting characters are just as finely drawn as the main characters: Kerr the Karseedia slave that is taken into Elishiba’s private household; the twins Elra and Amra, who welcome him with open arms; Hanrah and his evil mother; each is unique and holds a thread that weaves through this intricate tale of intrigue and magic.

If you are looking for a quick read that will carry you away to somewhere else, Saskia Walker will take you there with Unveiling the Sorceress.

'Blood Magic' by Matthew Cook

ISBN: 0809572001
Format: Paperback, 264pp
Publisher: Juno Books
Price: $6.99

Blood Magic is Matthew Cook’s debut and I have to admit that for a first book I am more than a little impressed. Once I started reading I found myself unable to put the book down as Kirin’s past and present rushed toward each other in a story that simply demands to be read. Not only does Cook tell a strong story, he gives us a strong convincing female protagonist, something not all male writers can pull off.

Blood Magic is divided into two parts, the chapters alternating between Kirin’s present and past. From her childhood and young adult life ruled by her twin sister to the years she spent as a necromancer and then a scout, her tale is full of pain and suffering. Made strong through the choices she was forced to make she becomes something that even she does not fully understand.

When Kirin’s twin is savagely murdered, Kirin avenges her death. In the process she transforms herself from a green-eyed beauty to a black eyed necromancer with powerful blood magic. Kirin runs from the small town she had called home and lives for years in the wilderness before becoming a scout for the Imperial Army. When the Mor, an army of creatures that have lived for generations under the earth, start to attack human settlements once again, Kirin joins the fight against them.

Along the way Kirin meets Lia Cho, a sorceress able to call lightening from the sky. Lia has left her school in the mountains and is headed for her father in the capital city, knowing that he needs her help. A priest by the name of Ato travels with Lia and knows Kirin for what she is by her black eyes. He tries to warn Lia away, but Lia and Kirin are drawn together. One light and one dark, the characters play off each other perfectly.

While Kirin does come to find love in the form of Lia, this is not your traditional romance. This is the story of Kirin - witch, necromancer, user of dark blood magic and the people who have come into her life, Lia being one of them. Cook also puts a nice spin on the idea of necromancy. Kirin can call souls back to their bodies, but the bodies do not rise whole; instead, what Kirin calls her ‘sweetlings’ are birthed from the cocoon of flesh. Short and made of exposed muscle and tendon, they are lethal warriors she uses to defend herself.

The world is pure fantasy, a medieval-feeling place that lacks all modern technology. There are odd six-legged beasts but other than that it feels like a long lost Earth. I would have liked to know more about the deadly Mor -- why are they attacking the humans after so many years? But since Blood Magic is the first in a trilogy (the second book has a working title of Nights of Sin and a release date is set for July of 2008), I’m sure that all will be revealed in time. The characters are solid, Kirin exceptional, and the story is perfectly balanced between the past and the present.

'The Darkangel' by Meredith Ann Pierce

ISBN: 0316067237
Format: Paperback, 256pp
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Price: $7.99

First published in 1982 The Darkangel by Meredith Ann Pierce is the first in the Darkangel trilogy. The series is being reissued by Little, Brown & Company with gorgeous new covers. I have to admit that the cover is what first caught my eye. But I was lucky that it wasn’t just another pretty face, what I found within the pages is a solid young adult fantasy worth reading more than once.

The Darkangel, once a mortal and not quite a vampire, must have 14 brides before he can come into his full power and immortality. He keeps his wives in his cold castle, wraiths without their souls, which he wears in lead vials around his neck. When the Darkangel steals away Eoduin, Aeriel, her slave and friend, vows to avenge her mistress and waits for the Darkangel to return.

But when the Darkangel comes back to claim Aeriel, she finds that he is too beautiful for her to kill. At first she thinks she too will become one of his brides but he scoffs at the idea, claiming that she is too ugly. Instead he has brought her to his castle as a servant; she is to weave the clothes for his brides and when he chooses his 14th and final bride it will be Aeriel that weaves the bridal gown.

Below the castle, in deep caves, lives a little man by the name of Talb. A magician of sorts, he helps Aeriel survive her first few months there, providing her with food and company when the voices of the wraith brides become too much. Aeriel also makes friends with the Darkangel’s gargoyles, bringing them food and coming to love them. She even becomes close to the Darkangel, sharing stories with him and coming to care for him, although she does not realize it at first.

While the Darkangel is cruel and seems heartless, Aeriel still sees some good in him. But when she realizes that with the Darkangel’s final bride he will not only come into his full power but that he will join others of his kind to take over the world, she takes action. With guidance from Talb, Aeriel escapes the Darkangel and goes on a quest to find an object that will help her save his withered soul.

The Darkangel is not the vampire story you might expect. Written years before a revolution was led by authors everywhere towards bodice-ripping novels that featured blood-sucking hunks, Pierce crafted an original fantasy with a vampire at its heart. More adventure and self-discovery than romance, this is a story of Aerial and her growth. Nevertheless the idea of romance is there; the pale beautiful face, the night black wings, the other worldly power, all elements that have followed the vampire into more modern settings.

But leave whatever vampire expectations you have behind you. The Darkangel is solid, finely wrought fantasy with hints of science fiction thrown in. The second book, A Gathering of Gargoyles, was released with its new cover this month with the third and final volume, The Pearl of the Soul of the World, hitting stores in February 2008. If you can’t wait that long, of course there is always local used bookstores and the used section on Amazon. But I’ve always been a sucker for a pretty cover, so I think I’ll just wait it out.

'Agents of Light and Darkness' by Simon R. Green

ISBN: 0441011136
ISBN-13: 9780441011131
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 233pp
Publisher: Ace /Penguin Group (USA)
Price: $6.99

John Taylor has a new case in Agents of Light and Darkness, the second book in the Nightside series by Simon R. Green. When the Unholy Grail turns up it’s only a matter of time before the people living in the Nightside think of John Taylor and his gift for finding things. But it isn’t only the major and minor players who are looking for this evil object; the forces of light and dark are after it as well. Heaven and Hell will turn the Nightside into a battleground looking for the Unholy Grail unless John can find it first.

Contracted by a mysterious priest by the name of Jude, John sets out to recruit some help. He finds Suzie Shooter vegetating on her couch, her apartment a mess, but when he mentions work she brightens up and suits up in her signature studded black leather. Suzie, by the way, has a poster of Emma Peel on her wall with ‘My Hero’ scrolled in lipstick underneath it. I just love that.

So with Suzie by his side, John sets out to find the Unholy Grail. But things aren’t always what they seem, this is the Nightside after all, and nothing is going to be easy. When it is always 3am and the bad guys don’t have to wait for dark you never know what you might find around the corner. But he’s John Taylor, I mean come on, they know better than to take him on. That doesn’t stop them from trying though.

Besides the gruesome, graphic, utterly wonderful horror, there is a lot of humor here: dark, bitter, twisted smiles that curve the corners of broken lips as the grin-wearing fool wipes blood out of his eyes. I guess the phrase would be darkly comic. Well, Simon R. Green has mastered it and makes it seem effortless.

Razor Eddie, the Punk God of the Straight Razor, is back as well. From John and Suzie to Cathy, The Collector, and the gang at Strangefellows, how can you not love these characters? And with details like The Little Sisters of the Immaculate Chain Saw and Nasty Johnny Starlight, you have something that is so far beyond amazing it borders on insane. Yes, insane.

I read a lot, I think I read more than is good for my brain sometimes, and these books stand out like a decapitated body in a church. Read them.

You can purchase an electronic version of Agents of Light and Darkness straight from the publisher here. While you are at it check out the tribute site to Simon R. Green, Blue Moon Rising.

'Territory' by Emma Bull

ISBN: 0312857357
ISBN-13: 9780312857356
Format: Hardcover, 320pp
Publisher: Tor
Price: $24.95

Like all good westerns Territory, Emma Bull’s latest offering to the world of fantasy, starts with a lone man riding into a small town. Or rather a man who has been shot being carried into town by a stolen horse, which is even better. That this town just happens to be Tombstone and the characters that pop up some of the most famous men in Western history only add to what becomes an unforgettable tale of magic and men.

‘Wyatt Earp. Doc Holliday. Ike Clanton. You think you know the story. You don’t.’ Most people know about the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral, that part of the story doesn’t need to be explained. In a lot of ways the end doesn’t matter because the most fascinating part is how it started, where it all began and who was really involved.

Trouble breaks out for the Earp brothers when a stage coach is almost robbed and two men killed in the attempt. The youngest Earp, Morgan, was involved and even though Doc Holliday tries to keep it quiet, Wyatt finds out. Wyatt is the head of the clan, from his brothers to their wives and families; he is the man that they turn to. There is something special about Wyatt, almost a sixth sense; he is able to find the outlaws that no one else can, it seems as if he is able to read minds. To protect his little brother and his family from the scandal that the truth would cause Wyatt takes matters into his own hands.

Jesse Fox comes into town dusty and footsore, following his stolen horse, and with his arrival trouble follows. He first meets Doc Holliday, disrupting his game of poker, in a saloon. Jesse is just passing through; he never would have come to Tombstone if his horse hadn’t been stolen, and has plans to leave as soon as possible. But when he finds Lung, a friend of his from San Francisco living in Chinatown, he decides to stay on for awhile.

Mildred is a widow living and working in Tombstone. When her husband passed away a year ago she could have moved back east, but she stayed, proving to be made of sterner stuff than most. Working at one of the local papers by day as a typesetter, spending her nights penning serial stories for a sensational magazine, she is content. When Jesse walks into The Nugget to pick up a paper she is caught off guard, but then, so is he.

As the battle for Tombstone whirls around the residents, Jesse with his knack for finding trouble and Mildred with her newspaper eye get to know each other, discovering that there might be a reason they have been drawn together. Wyatt Earp, busy manipulating people, is sure that his way is best. Whatever the means might be they justify the end in his eyes; if he has to use his family and friends to make peace a permanent part of life in Tombstone he plans to do so.

From the main street of Tombstone to the exotic smells of Chinatown you are presented with clear cut images; a dark brush stroke figure against a light sky, a flooded river rolling boulders downstream, a fire licking and eating the buildings as it spreads through Tombstone. As each layer is peeled away, magic slowly blossoming around the characters, dark secrets and hidden truths are revealed. Emma Bull has woven a spell binding story.

Territory has also given us wonderful characters to love. Jesse Fox is brilliant. Mildred with her eccentricity and solid good manners all rolled into one is enchanting. Ms. Bull’s Doc Holliday is truly inspired. The Earp brothers and their wives are by turns human and something so much more. This is everything a good fantasy novel should be and I cannot recommend Territory highly enough.

'Seeing Redd' by Frank Beddor

ISBN: 0803731558
Format: Hardcover, 384pp
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Price: $17.99

All the characters from The Looking Glass Wars are back in Frank Beddor's sequel, Seeing Redd. When we last saw Alyss, Dodge, Hatter, Molly and everyone else, they were all settling in happily to a Wonderland with out the tyranny of Redd, who escaped through the Heart Crystal with her deadly assassin, The Cat.

But all is not well in Wonderland when we return. Even with Redd out of the picture, Alyss has enemies. There will always be a few who prefer Black Imagination over White and those few are making trouble for Alyss. Not to mention King Arch of the Borderlands, who with his masculine superiority, believes that no woman, least of all Alyss, is fit to rule a kingdom.

After a mysterious explosion in the Crystal Continuum, Wonderland's form of transportation, Alyss is informed by King Arch that her bodyguard, Molly, has been taken hostage. King Arch claims to be only an intermediary for the real criminals, but Alyss suspects the truth. Arch explains that Hatter Madigan is to come out and negotiate Molly's release. Despite Alyss' direct order that he is to stay in Wonderland, Hatter makes his way into Borderland intent on freeing Molly.

Meanwhile, Redd and The Cat have made it to Earth through the Heart Crystal where Redd gathers an army made of ex-Wonderland citizens and those few Earthlings that have powerful Black Imagination. There she picks up a few shudder-worthy characters including Alistaere, a mad doctor who performs autopsies on people before they die, Siren, a women who can cripple people with the force of her voice, Sacrenoir, a man able to raise flesh eating skeletons, and Vollrath, a member of the tutor species that took a dark turn. With these and many others in tow Redd makes her way back to Wonderland to reclaim the throne from Alyss.

With all this going on around her, Alyss is desperate to make time for Dodge. Most of the hate and bitterness that colored Dodge's life before is gone and Alyss is determined to protect him from the destructive nature of his emotions. Their romance has blossomed and they are just as in love with each other as they were when they were young. But as determined as Alyss is to protect Dodge, he is just as determined to have his revenge on The Cat for killing his father.

With enemies pouring in from all directions at once Alyss must make a difficult decision, Hatter Madigan must deal with his personal life, Dodge must learn to conquer his emotions, and all Redd wants to do is take over the kingdom. Since this is the second in a trilogy there is a bit of a cliffhanger ending. A sort-of tie is called in the final battle and the fight postponed for a later date. What does the future hold for our favorite and not-so-favorite characters? I guess we will have to wait and see.

Seeing Redd moves just as quickly as The Looking Glass Wars. Constant action and intrigue move the reader forward at a break-neck pace. It is just as bloody and gruesome as the first, if not more so. The fight for Wonderland continues, the game hasn't changed, and the players are all more determined than ever to come out on top.

'The Devil’s Right Hand' by Lilith Saintcrow

ISBN: 0316021423
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 391pp
Publisher: Orbit
Price: $6.99

Dante is back in The Devil’s Right Hand, the third book in the Dante Valentine series by Lilith Saintcrow. After everything Dante has faced, the horrors of Rigger Hall, the death and rebirth of Japhrimel, and the very final passing of Jace Monroe, you would think that things couldn’t get any worse. But you would be wrong.

The Devil isn’t done with Dante. He’s been calling her for a long time and he’s tired of waiting for her answer. Dante has spent time recovering from her final battle in Rigger Hall away from Saint City, Japhrimel never very far away. She’s had time to relax and isn’t walking around with her sword in her hand all the time, an amazing thing for her. But when the Devil calls, you can’t ignore him forever.

The Devil contracts Dante as his new Right Hand. She has seven years to hunt down and kill four demons that have escaped from the bowels of hell. In return Japhrimel is given back his full demon powers and the Devil promises protection for Dante for all eternity. But he isn’t called the Father of Lies for nothing.

As Dante gets her first taste of battle since her near defeat by Mirovitch she realizes that she might be in over her head. She has become a pawn in the Devil’s game and he wasn’t kind enough to share the rules first. But it isn’t like Danny Valentine to back away from a fight and at the end of the day it is still one of the things she does best. With a new blade at her side, the first one lying broken at the bottom of the ocean, Dante wonders if she carries a blade that could kill the Devil.

One of the things that I’ve really enjoyed so far about this series is that with each book you get to see Dante and Japhrimel’s relationship evolve. All along Dante has treated Japhrimel like a human, no different from how she treats everyone else in her life. Dante seems to forget that Japhrimel is not a man but a demon and she receives a grim reminder of this fact.

Dante is also haunted by her past. Jace’s voice echoes through her mind, she sees his ghostly figure in a bar that he never visited in life, and once faced with a grown Eve all Dante can think about is her deceased friend and lover Doreen. It is a hard, hurtful past that she can’t put behind her, something that makes her more human despite the fact that she isn’t quite human anymore.

While you could pick this one up and enjoy it out of sequence with the rest of the novels I would recommend you start with Working for the Devil, the first book in the series. At this point there is just too much story, and while you would be able to pick it up along the way, wouldn’t you rather get to know Dante and Japhrimel from the beginning?

SciFiChick read and reviewed this one as well as Book Fetish

'Something from the Nightside' by Simon R. Green

ISBN: 0441010652
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 230pp
Publisher: Ace
Price: $6.99

Something from the Nightside is the first in Simon R. Green’s Nightside Series, a group of books based around John Taylor, a private detective that has a gift for finding lost things.

John has been living in London for five years when Joanna Barett, a rich business woman, asks him to find her missing daughter Cathy. She has one clue, Nightside. John left the Nightside, swearing never to go back, but he’s a sucker for someone in need and agrees to find the girl for a hefty price. The one condition Joanna has is that she gets to go along.

The Nightside is a square mile in the middle of London, except that it’s bigger than that, and it’s always three in the morning. All kinds live there: myths, monsters, dreams, and a few seemingly normal people just passing through. It’s where you go to find the things that can only live in the dead of night.

John, who’s name is still spoken of in the Nightside, goes back to one of his old haunts to collect some information on the missing girl. In Strangefellows, a bar that has been open since the beginning of time, John runs into one of his old friends, Razor Eddie, the Punk God of the Straight Razor. Except that in the Nightside things are not always what they seem and friends are not always friends. From there, it’s a wild ride through the dark streets in search of Cathy.

Simon R. Green fills the book with characters that really stand out. From Razor Eddie to Suzie Shooter, better known as Shotgun Suzie, and even John himself; these characters are never quite what they seem, just like the Nightside. John’s past is hinted at, but nothing really solid comes through. I’m hoping in the future books you learn more about his past and why his name is remembered, for one reason or another, by everyone in the Nightside.

Something from the Nightside is a quick horrific novel. From insects exploding out of a man’s body to faceless men with hypodermic needles for fingers, this novel is filled with images straight from your darkest nightmares. Throw in a little noir style and dark rich atmosphere, and you have one heck of a read.

'Dead Man Rising' by Lilith Saintcrow

ISBN: 031600314X
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 380pp
Publisher: Orbit
Price: $6.99

When I finished Working for the Devil I immediately picked up Dead Man Rising, the second book in the Dante Valentine series. It picks up with Dante and Jace almost a year after the events of the previous book.

Dante has thrown herself into tracking down bounties with the death of Japhrimel still haunting her. The mark on her shoulder, Japhrimel’s name branded into her skin, has started to burn again after the long period of cold. Jace, who followed her back to Saint City from Nuevo Rio after she finished the Santino case, is working with her and trying to keep her alive. The real reason he is there remains unspoken between them — his love for her, despite the fact that she is still in love with a dead demon.

With the changes made to her body when Japhrimel changed her, Dante isn’t aging like the people around her. She sees the signs in Jace’s eyes with their crow's feet and dark circles, the few strands of grey running through Gabe’s dark hair, and lines around Eddie’s mouth. Dante wonders if once they are gone, once there is no one to remember how she was before, if she will be dead then, too.

When Gabe, one of Dante’s closest friends and a fellow necromancer, contacts her about a case, Dante can’t refuse. She feels honor-bound to help Gabe out despite the fact that she would rather not pick at old wounds. Psions, people with magical ability, are being brutally murdered and the one clue they have to go on leads to a past that Dante doesn’t want to remember.

Rigger Hall, the place of long buried memory, is somehow connected to the recent deaths. Dante grew up in Rigger Hall, an orphanage and school for those gifted with magical ability, which was run by the sadistic headmaster Mirovitch. That was years ago; Rigger Hall is closed and Mirovitch long dead, but deep down Dante knows the past isn’t going to stay buried.

With Jace refusing to leave her side and Japhrimel’s voice echoing in her head, Dante faces the horrors of her past. The Devil makes another appearance and asks a question that sparks hope in Dante, “Can it be you have not resurrected him?” But Dante knows better than to trust the Devil, the Father of Lies, and pushes his question away to concentrate on the killer roaming Saint City.

There is a lot of depth to these books. They aren’t just straight, mindless fantasy; the characters are dark, broken, and then sewn together with pure determination. Dante’s childhood, which she must face, is practically gruesome although there are other characters who have had it worse.

Dead Man Rising is dark, gritty, urban fantasy at its best. But what made it even better is the fact that it is the continuing tale of a character who is unforgettable. If you read these out of order you would completely miss the building momentum, the small things that add up to create a series that is truly fantastic.

'Working for the Devil' by Lilith Saintcrow

ISBN: 0316003131
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 384pp
Publisher: Orbit
Price: $6.99

Working for the Devil is the first in a five book series covering the life and times of Dante Valentine.

Dante, Danny for short, is the kind of character you can really sink your teeth into. A katana-wielding Necromancer, Dante doesn't take crap from anyone. Tough, smart, and deadly, she's built a reputation for herself in Saint City. She's one of the best, maybe even the best, and that is why one rainy day the Devil asks for her help.

The Devil has a job for Dante and he isn't going to let her refuse. A demon has escaped from hell with something very precious - an egg that, if opened, could mean an apocalypse for Earth. For Dante the job is even harder to turn down once she learns that the demon she will be hunting is the same one that almost killed her a few years before. The demon, Santino, had also killed her friend Doreen and Dante feels honor bound to hunt him down. Japhrimel, the Devil's right hand demon and most deadly assassin, is made Dante's familiar and protector.

Driven by a dark past that is only hinted at in Rigger Hall and the brutal murder of Doreen, Dante checks with her contacts in Saint City for any sign of Santino. Japhrimel is always a few steps away and at first Dante is uneasy about having the demon shadowing her. But after awhile the feel of his dark aura and his cinnamon smell become as familiar to her as her own skin.

Dante gets help, whether she wants it or not, from her Necromancer and cop friend Gabriele, Gabe's hedgewitch boyfriend Eddie, and ex-lover Jace who just happens to have ties to the Mob. Not to mention the demon. They follow Santino to Nuevo Rio where the hunters become the hunted.

One of the things that really stood out about this book was the world. The technology is advanced (think Blade Runner) and the mix of floating cars and laser guns with ancient Egyptian gods and swords fit perfectly. It's complicated and not everything is explained in depth. Things are just mention in passing, thrown at you and either you catch it or you don't. But this isn't a problem, it only adds to the feeling of reality, as Dante fights her way toward Santino and the egg.

Based in a world full of advanced technology and ancient magic, Working for the Devil is a dark urban fantasy that reaches out and grabs you by the throat. It is one kick butt start to what I'm sure will turn out to be one of the better series around. If Dante Valentine isn't on your reading list, you're missing out.

SciFiChick read and reviewed this one too...

'The Looking Glass Wars' by Frank Beddor

ISBN: 0803731531
Format: Hardcover, 384pp
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Price: $17.99

The Looking Glass Wars is a twist on Lewis Carroll's classic stories Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. With whimsical elements and a boost of modern technology, and playing on the idea that Wonderland is a real place, the author introduces us to Alyss Heart.

Alyss is the future Queen of Wonderland and is celebrating her seventh birthday when her evil aunt Redd attacks the Wonderland palace. The fight is bloody and soon Redd is in control of the kingdom.

With her mother's bodyguard, Hatter Madigan, Alyss escapes into the Pool of Tears, which takes her to 18th century London. Along the way Alyss and Hatter are separated. Alyss lives on the streets with a group of urchins, then in an orphanage, before finally finding a home with the very proper Liddells.

Along the way Alyss must come to terms with the idea that maybe she never was a princess; maybe Wonderland is a place she dreamed up after all.Alyss grows up and attracts the attention of Prince Leopold, whom she agrees to marry, but on the day of the wedding Queen Redd sends her deadly assassin, The Cat, through the Pool of Tears and into Alyss's new world.

Alyss is saved in the nick of time by her Wonderland childhood love Dodge Anders, and whisked back to Wonderland, only to find it changed under Redd's tyrannical rule. Alyss slips easily back into being a part of this magical world, something she tried so hard to deny in Britain, and is soon leading a band of rebels against the evil queen.

The Looking Glass Wars moves quickly, with almost constant action. From Wonderland to 18th century Britain Alyss faces dangers and one complicated situation after another. It's a hard book to put down, as something new is always happening, and it's original even with its basis in the classic story.

Alyss's adventures in Wonderland continue with Seeing Redd, the second in the series, which just hit shelves.