Comic Review: Memorial by Rich Ellis

Title: Memorial Volume 1
Author: Rich Ellis
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Release Date: 08/28/2012
ISBN: 9781613773543






Rich Ellis has always been one of those artists and authors that I've heard of, but never been that overly familiar with. I'm rather glad to say that this has changed.

Memorial is the story of Em, a young woman who arrives at a hospital in Portland, Oregon, with no memory of her past. A year later, she has rebuilt her life, only to find her existence thrown into turmoil after she inherits a magical shop and is drawn into a supernatural conflict between beings that not only represent, but are, fundamental elements of the universe itself!

The premise of this comic is good. Amnesia is a plot point that always seems to loop me into a series, partially because we're given a main character that knows just as little as we the readers do. That means that our main character of Em is just as likely to feel the same things we will, which helps us empathize and connect with her more. It's a powerful literary tool and Ellis uses it well.

Parts of this reminded me of series such as Fables, which is a good thing since I love those comics. (No worries, it's not a copycat in the slightest.) Just like Fables, we're given glimpses of an expansive and richly developed world that I can't wait to dive into with further issues. I love the idea of the Everlands and while I don't fully understand it, I do like what I see so far.

I also love the character of Em. She's really an "everywoman" type of character and like I said above, easy to connect with. However, I also love that she's prone to curiosity and best of all- isn't some busty and impossibly beautiful female character. (Not that I don't like looking at the impossibly beautiful female characters, but it's nice to see someone who I could see stepping off the page and looking at home in real life.)

For fans of fantasy, this is absolutely a must read.

Four out of five stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Audio Review: Kiss the Dead by Laurell K Hamilton

Title: Kiss the Dead (Anita Blake #21)
Author: Laurell K Hamilton
Narrator: Kimberly Alexis
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Release Date: June 5th, 2012
ISBN: 1611760739






It's been a while since I've really found anything to unequivocally like about the Anita Blake series, but I have to say that  I absolutely adore the narrator for the series, Kimberly Alexis. She's absolutely fabulous and pretty much the only reason I was able to make it through the book as a whole.

Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author Laurell K. Hamilton returns with another exciting, thrilling and addictive adventure for her vampire hunting heroine Anita Blake. I knew without doubt that if any more of the vampires tried to attack us I'd kill them, too, regardless of apparent age, race, sex, or religious affiliations. I was an equal-opportunity executioner; I killed everybody. My name is Anita Blake and I am a vampire hunter and necromancer, as well as a US Marshal. So when a fifteen-year-old girl is abducted by vampires, it's up to me to find her. And when I do, I'm faced with something I've never seen before: a terrifyingly ordinary group of people - kids, grandparents, soccer moms - all recently turned and willing to die to avoid serving their vampire master. And where there's one martyr, I know there will be more...But even vampires have monsters that they're afraid of. And I'm one of them...

One of the biggest problems for the series is that Hamilton is too repetitive, which is also one of the biggest problems for Kiss the Dead. She pelts the reader with description after description of the hair, eyes, and clothes of various characters. Some of this wouldn't be so bad except that Hamilton will re-describe characteristics that she's already described earlier in the book. I felt like screaming every time she beat me over the head with the "natural born tigers have tiger eyes, it's a sign of purity to them" bit, which she re-states over and over and over again. I think I actually screamed "I *got* it, Laurell. I haven't forgotten that!" at one point.

The constant references to Anita as a "guy" was pretty annoying as well. For some reason at least a third to a fourth of the book (if not more) is taken up by Anita and others talking and thinking about how she's presumably one of the only women on earth capable of understanding guys or being able to do "guy code". Women are routinely painted as creatures who must talk about their feelings for a half hour in order to get a point across and men that can't instantly get information from other guys they know are painted up as wimps or lesser. I've ignored this for the most part, but it just seemed a little overly offensive at times in this book. I know that Hamilton doesn't mean for it to come across as such and really only wants to use it to make Anita more special and more tough, but it's really just annoying. Even worse, it's boring. If it was just annoying it could be used to enhance the book, but at this point it's such an over stated and redundant character point that I just felt bored and was tempted to fast forward past this part.

The other downfall of the book was Hamilton's attempts to force the character of Anita into specific situations. I'm guessing that Cynric (now dubbed "Sin") is going to become the latest serious sweetie in a chain of others. Now I'm fully aware of his controversial introduction, but that actually didn't play too much into this. It's just that I can't quite see him as someone Anita is supposedly going to maybe fall in love with. I see Anita liking him and enjoying the sex, but love? Nah. There's actually less romantic tension between them than there is/was with Anita and Jason. I just can't help but get the feeling that Hamilton is trying to push a romance between them and I'm not sure why. There's really no point to it and his character isn't interesting enough (even with the controversy) to where he really needs to be such a central focus.

What makes the above so frustrating is that Hamilton pours over all of this, extending it out for chapters at a time. It made the book tedious, which is a shame: there's some good points to this book that would've really shone if it was about 100 pages shorter. One of the things I enjoyed about Flirt was that it was a novella and as such, cut through all of the nonsense that Hamilton usually tries to fit into her books. We're given some good plot points, such as vampires that want to be "free" of any master, a potential resolution to the Asher drama, and control over the ardeur and new dangers it might hold. It's just that these are mostly and inexplicably moved to the side in favor of dragging out the same tired old relationship dramas, the boring and repetitive praising of Anita, and monotonous sex scenes.

I do have to say that Hamilton does seem to be slowly, very slowly improving, but this isn't enough for me to jump aboard the Anita Blake bandwagon again. However, as long as the marvelous Kimberly Alexis continues to narrate the books, I'll continue to check out the audiobooks from my library. I absolutely love her voice and her reading style. I guess I'll just hope that Hamilton will eventually dig herself out from the rut she's fallen into and will give Alexis a book that will do her voice justice.

Two out of four stars

Guest Post: All The Doors To Hollywood with Anne Strick

Author Anne M. Strick has stopped by today with a guest post!

These two shots of me with Arnold and Wilt were also made on the set of CONAN THE DESTROYER.  The photographer,  the renowned Time Magazine professional Dirck Halstead, had been called in to do some  “special’ photography.

I’d worked with Dirck before, on GREYSTOKE in Cameroon and England,  and on DUNE.  By now we were buddies.  I’d helped carry his equipment through the African rain forest; and we’d  shared innumerable meals and hairy auto rides on dicey roads  in several  countries.  It

 amused him to get me into gag shots with the principals at the end of the day - just to play a bit.

In fact – and in a rare arrangement  - we were filming CONAN THE DESTROYER and DUNE at Churubusco at the same time.  (Raffaella De  Laurentiis was producing both, and Churubuscio made financial  sense.).  So therefore I was wrestling two jobs – Unit Publicist on each -at once.  Not easy.  But enormous fun.       

Author's Links:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUBXAANlByM

Comic Review: Storm Born by Richelle Mead

Title: Dark Swan: Storm Born (Volume 1)
Author: Richelle Mead
Artists: Jennyson Rosero, Dave Hamann, Adam Markiewicz, Nelson Cosentino De Oliveira (colorist)
Publisher: Sea Lion Books
Release Date: January 3, 2012
ISBN: 0982818645








I freaking love this graphic novel. There's my review in a nutshell, so if you're someone who doesn't want to read reviews and just wants to know if this volume is worth it, go for it. It's totally worth the price of admission and well worth the time it takes to read and re-read it.

Eugenie Markham never asked for any of this. Until now, she''s been content with her job as a freelance shaman, battling and banishing Otherworldly creatures. When a prophecy suddenly makes her the Otherworld''s most popular bachelorette, Eugenie finds herself fighting off unwanted supernatural suitors, as well as the evils that begin emerging from her past...

If you're a comic book fan then you're well aware that there's been an increasing amount of comic book adaptations of urban fantasy books and of supernatural themed books in general. Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter has gotten the graphic novel treatment, as has Kim Harrison's Hollows series. (Hers was a prequel, but it's still a graphic novel.) Storm Born is what both of these adaptations really wants to be, but couldn't quite accomplish.

I haven't read the source material (although I now have this book in my possession and in my TBR pile) so I can't comment on how closely the series has been adapted, but I can say that this was easy to get into and follow along with. I didn't have to have read Mead's book in order to understand what I'm reading, although the cliffhanger ending of this volume really does make me burn to read it! (Spoiler alert: this is only the first volume of what I hope will be many based upon Mead's Dark Swan series.) One of the big common flaws of book-to-comic adaptations is the assumption that almost every reader will be familiar with the source material, it's good that Storm Born manages to avoid this for the most part. There's a few scenes that I'm sure were longer in the book, but I didn't feel like I was missing something that impacted my enjoyment.

The other thing I loved about this volume was the artwork. It's gorgeous- especially the covers, which are shown in-between the chapters. There's a nice playful style here that manages to be easy on the eyes while still showing emotion. I was especially grateful that the artists didn't decide to erm... "accentuate" Eugenie's "assets" to super-human proportions. Fans of comics and manga are well aware that it's easy to throw a little extra fan-service in by enlarging the female characters' chests or making their clothing especially scantily clad. (Well, scantily clad in places and scenes where there's no call for it. There are some naked to half-naked scenes in this book, but it's part of the plot and they're tastefully done.)

I was pretty disappointed when I saw that I'd reached the end of my review copy because this meant two things: it meant that I had to wait for the next issue/volume to come out to keep reading the graphic novel version of this story and it meant that this volume went from "probably will buy" to "definitely will buy". (As I speak, I've already located which Barnes & Nobles in my area closest to me has a volume on their shelves.) I need to collect this series. And you, dear reader, need to check it out as well.

EDIT:

OK, so I actually just gave in and bought it from Amazon. I figured I could justify it by saying that I could also buy two cheap paperbacks that I've been wanting to read as well.

Five out of five stars

(Reader copy provided by Sea Lion Books)

Audio Review: Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones

Title: Second Grave on the Left
Author: Darynda Jones
Publisher: MacMillan Audio
Release Date: August 16, 2011
ISBN: 1427212430






Why for the love of all things urban fantasy is Darynda Jones relatively unknown in comparison to some of the others out in the genre? Her books are fantastic and it’s honestly a crying shame that her books on the shelves (electronic or otherwise) of more people.


Charley Davidson, Grim Reaper Extraordinaire, is back in this sexy, suspenseful novel of supernatural shenanigans



When Charley is rudely awakened in the middle of the night by her best friend who tells her to get dressed quickly and tosses clothes out of the closet at her, she can’t help but wonder what Cookie’s up to. Leather scrunch boots with a floral miniskirt? Together? Seriously? Cookie explains that a friend of hers named Mimi disappeared five days earlier and that she just got a text from her setting up a meet at a coffee shop downtown. They show up at the coffee shop, but no Mimi. But Charley finds a message on the bathroom wall. Mimi left a clue, a woman’s name. Mimi’s husband explains that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old friend of hers from high school had been found murdered a couple weeks prior. The same woman Mimi had named in her message.

Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He’s left his body because he’s being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can’t let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they’ll have a portal to heaven. And if they have a portal to heaven…well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty. Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman? Will Cookie ever get a true fashion sense? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel them as they do?

Here is your signpost for the most hilarious read of the summer: Second Grave On The Left.

I really enjoyed First Grave on the Right, but I was in for a treat when I checked out the audiobook from my library. Lorelei King does an excellent job of narrating the story and capturing the various accents, personalities, and tones of the various characters. Her Reyes is to die for. (And Charlie almost does at least a number of times before the end of the book.)

The plot is also excellent. The whodunit in this book is rather well done and left me guessing until the very end. It’s one of many threads in the story, all of which I thought were juggled pretty well for the most part. I admit that the murder mystery of the book occasionally tended to take more of a backseat to the Reyes story line at times, but I have to admit that I preferred that. The Reyes stuff was just too interesting, especially the Internet fan club stuff.

This is an absolute must read for fans of urban fantasy. Unless the author pulls a complete 180 in the next few books or tries to drag this out until 450 books ala Laurell K Hamilton, this will probably be one of my faves.

Four out of Five stars

Book Spotlight: Pantheons: The Game of the Gods

Aghast at the amount of Austen you still have left to read? Chagrined that you're only a third of the way through Chaucer? Wish that you could read a book that mixes Greek mythology with good old fashioned teenage exuberance?

Well, put down those required reads (for now, anyway) and pick up this latest book in the amazing Pantheons series by E. J. Dabel: Pantheons: The Game of the Gods!

A year has passed since Isaiah Marshall’s father, Zeus, severed his left arm with white lightning in the tournament. During this time, the Indestructible Diamond has been training hard under the mysterious old man who saved his life. Despite his focus and determination, Isaiah has been unsuccessful in his development of his usage of blue-white lightning, nor has he tapped into the other more potent colored bolts, which his father has mastered. 

The Powers-That-Be have forced the teen gods to finally take part in the Fourth Great War. But fearing death, as they have been cursed with mortal bodies, they’ve decided to compete for the Dominion in a new, professional sport called Tasselball: The Game of the Gods.


Seriously, what about this doesn't sound like a whole bunch of awesome?

Luckily for you, you can not only get this book, but also the first book in the series on Amazon right now. You don't even have to wait for shipping- you can get them directly beamed to your e-reader or computer through the magic of the Internet. There's a free preview of both books for your viewing pleasure! For you fans of Brian Jacques's Redwall there's Albino, a story of a mouse that must find the courage inside himself to fight against an ultimate evil.

Check them out today!

Albino
Pantheons
Pantheons: The Game of the Gods

Book Review: The Unspoken by Heather Graham

Title: The Unspoken (Krewe of Hunters)
Author: Heather Graham
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Release Date: July 31, 2012
ISBN: 0778313611





If you've read my previous reviews for some of the books in this series, you'll know that I've been rather disappointed overall by the KoH series. Most of them seemed to more fizzle than anything else, but I'm glad to say that this book is a marked improvement over the last few books in this series. It's not an overwhelmingly great "Graham's back" type of book, but it's enough to where I can definitely recommend it to Graham fans.

1898: Bound for Chicago, the freighter Jerry McGuen goes down in Lake Michigan, taking with it every man aboard. But what other fate could befall a vessel carrying the ill-gotten sarcophagus of an Egyptian sorcerer?

Now: A veteran diver and "ghost ship" expert is exploring the legendary wreck for a documentary. He dies inexplicably inside the freighter's main saloon. Then another diver is killed and panicked rumors rise like bubbles from the lake: ancient demons have awakened below!

The expedition's beleaguered financier calls paranormal investigator Katya Sokolov to Chicago to save the film—and perhaps some innocent lives. Along with media forensics guru Will Chan, Kat plumbs the depths of an evil that may date back to the time of the Pharaohs. But some secrets are best drowned in the seas of the past.…

I really believe that part of what makes the book work is that our pairing in this book are two members from the separate Krewe teams. They've had their characters slowly built up in the previous books and because of that, they're more developed than some of the other love interests and you can get more invested in their characters and their romance. The mystery isn't bad either. It's not going to stump Sherlock Holmes anytime soon, but it's enough to keep me reading and the whole "investigating a shipwreck" part was entertaining.

My biggest gripe would've been that Kat and Will's romance goes a little fast at times. One moment they're ready to tear each other's heads off and the next they're totally into each other and friendly enough to where they can leave the door open between their rooms. The interaction between them was so nice that I didn't overly mind, but I'd have liked to see a bit more of the thawing of the ice between them. Their animosity/irritation for one another was so strong at first (without being outright hate) that it just seemed a little to sudden. The whodunit could've been a little better done, but it made sense for the most part and was entertaining, so I can't really get too angry about that.

Overall though, this was a very fun read and one of the better entries in the KoH series so far. There's a very good dollop of adventure here, which will make this a fantastic beach read. I didn't have to struggle as much through this as I did with some of the earlier books in the series and towards the end I couldn't help but want to keep reading. It's still not Graham's best work, but it's one that fans will want to read.

3.5 out of 5 stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)