Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies
>
Books:
horror
(47)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
my rating |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
![]() |
|
|
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0385740166
| 9780385740166
| 0385740166
| 3.53
| 11,211
| Aug 09, 2011
| Sep 13, 2011
|
did not like it
| I’ll have to decide: join Romeo or let the specter of my soul take me. I know I should be afraid for my future, but all I can think about is Ben.T I’ll have to decide: join Romeo or let the specter of my soul take me. I know I should be afraid for my future, but all I can think about is Ben.This book mocks the original Juliet's weakness, only to have the newly improved Juliet just as fucking dumb as the original. [image] So the original Shakespeare version, Juliet met Romeo, fell in love, and died for love within three days. In this retelling of Juliet's story, before this book starts, Juliet still ran away with Romeo, and then said Romeo stabbed her and ate her like a zombie. Flesh and blood dripping from his mouth and everything. It was pretty neat. Flash forward 700 years in which Juliet is older, wiser, more wary of the perils of insta-love? Fucking nope! One would think a reimagined, powerful, supernatural Juliet would have learned a fucking lesson or two: nope! This book was terrible. Here is why: - A stupid, stupid main character who makes the same mistake as the original Juliet, made worse by the fact that she was KILLED the first time. She's ruled by her passions, there is no reason in her behavior. - Insta-love, a love triangle between the new, improved zombie Romeo and new boy Ben Luna. Ben. Ben. GEE, I WONDER WHO BEN COULD BE?! It's not like he has a character with a similar name in Romeo and Juliet or anything!!!11 - Terrible side characters: basically, the stars of the book are Juliet and Ben. Nobody else need apply. - Poor setting: The whole we're gonna give you renewed life so you can play Cupid? No. - Poor female characters: Her best friend, her "mother," both uncaring, cruel, callous bitches, depicted as inferior to Juliet (insta-love Juliet) in every way. - The premise: weak as Ben and Juliet's insta-love. The idea of a love ambassador is pretty bloody and neat until you take into consideration the fact that it doesn't make any sense at all, and I'm not talking about the suspension of disbelief and the supernatural element. I'm talking about the fact that the reasoning behind the soul mate thing makes no fucking sense. The Summary: He turns and our eyes meet, and that sense of knowing him hits, catching me in my empty gut. For a moment, the sadness and pain in his eyes is my pain, and I desperately want to make it better. I want to reach for him, hold him, whisper into the warm crook of his neck that everything is going to be okay, that I’ll make it that way.(Psst, that's the first time they meet) Day 0.5 (because it takes place when the day's practically over): Juliet is awake! Well, kind of. This ain't Shakespeare's Juliet...well, she's the inspiration for it, but the Shakespearean version was a falsehood, told to the dude by the sneaky, conniving son of a bitch that's Romeo. The real Juliet died at age 14, in 1304 Verona. Killed by the man she loved. And now Romeo is kind of a zombie. He reincarnates from one life to another, living constantly on earth as an immortal Mercenary, whereas Juliet only gets to come back to earth once in awhile, as an Ambassador. Think of her as Cupid, she makes sure that a pair of true lovers end up together, or else they will fall prey to the forces of darkness and one of them will die a horrible death like she did. At the hands of Romeo. Did I say that Romeo is a zombie? He's a total zombie. ...flesh in his teeth, blood dripping down his chin.So now Juliet has been given an assignment, she's given the body of Ariel Dragland, a stunningly beautiful, extremely thin platinum-blonde high school outcast with self-esteem issues and mommy problems. Yeah, an outcast, because she's a little bit scarred from being burned as a child. So here's Juliet/Ariel. On earth. Almost dead from a car accident, and OH CRAP THERE'S ROMEO, now in the body of a boy named Dylan. Juliet/Ariel runs like fuck, Romeo is chasing after her (he's a fast zombie), and OMG YAY A CAR. She runs into the car, and is struck down by insta-love. The rescuer is a high school boy named Ben Luna. The attraction is immediate. I’m suddenly very aware of him, as well, of his front warming my back, his thighs shifting beneath mine. I clear my throat, blushing for the first time in so long the strangeness of hot cheeks makes me blink.Ben is Mexican-American. He likes to uses randomly inserted Spanish words. “Then this really isn’t your lucky night, chica."I almost typed "Mexican words" for a moment before I caught myself. Lol. We all have our brain farts. So crazy zombie Romeo/Dylan is after Ariel/Juliet. They go to the same high school. Hooray! Doesn't matter. What's important is BEN. BEN. She feels such...familiarity with him, she feels an intense longing for him, despite knowing Ben that night for all of 1 hour.She wants to kiss him as he drops her off. I stay and let him come closer, closer, until I can feel the heat of his lips and imagine just how perfect they’ll feel, how perfect he’ll taste, how—She can't stop thinking about him for the rest of the night. I fist the damp wipe in my hand, reining in the part of me that aches for this boy with the big brown eyes.Famous last words. Ben is Mexican. "Dulces sueños, Mermaid.”Day 2: So Juliet's still got a job to do, right? She's got to find the designated couple of soulmates and make them fall in love or else one of them will die a horrible horrible death. Nobody wants that, except for Romeo. Awesome. So where are they? As it turned out, one of the couple is Gemma, Juliet/Ariel's best friend since second grade. The one girl who has befriended Ariel despite the entire class neglecting and making fun of her. There's an aura over her head. Gemma is 1/2 of the soulmate. And then I turn back to Gemma...lost in the rosy glow surrounding her chest.And the other 1/2 of the soulmates? Ben. Something in my gut twists and for a moment I’m dizzy, weightless, as if the floor has been ripped from beneath me, but I don’t know which way to fall.Well, awesome! Best friend in love and designated to be soulmates with the guy who saved her the other night. What could be better? Well, for starters, JULIET CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT BEN. I shake my head. This has to stop. I can’t go to pieces every time I see his face. I have to pull it together, be a good influence, make sure he commits to the love of his life and lives happily ever after.But it doesn't. Juliet can't stop thinking about him. Romeo is on her ass. And Ben is still determined to prove to us that he's Mexican. Ben laughs. “Dios mio. Fine, crazy woman.”Day 3: GEMMA. THAT BITCH. SHE'S SO NOT WORTHY OF BEN. I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE HER TO BEN. Gemma’s thoughtless at best, mean-spirited and selfish at worst, and I want so much better for Ben.What?! Where the fuck did that come from?! Ok, so Juliet's in love with Ben. Romeo's still there declaring his undying (that was a zombie joke) love for Juliet if only she'd give him another chance. And Ben? After three (ok, 2.2?) days of knowing her, this is how he feels. “I’m not doing this right, and I know I sound crazy, but...I love you. I could see myself loving you for a long time.”Well, that escalated quickly. Three days. Three motherfucking days. “I love you. I want to do everything with you. I want to marry you and have kids with you and get old with you. And then I want to die the day before you do, so I never have to live without you.”[image] NOOOOOOOOOOO. WHYYYYYYYYYYYY. Do your fucking job, Juliet. Need I remind you of what would happen if you don't unite the soulmates? These two are my job, and if I don’t do it, one of them will die. Either they commit to each other or one of them commits murder and becomes a Mercenary. That’s the way it goes. Every. Single. Time.Fuck you, Juliet, you stupid bitch. YOU HAD ONE JOB. Ben is still Mexican. “Dios mio,” Ben says.Juliet: How can I think of loving someone again? How have I let this happen? Even if it weren’t forbidden, haven’t I learned my lesson?Apparently not. Juliet is a motherfucking moron. She's techniaclly over 700 years old, but she hasn't spent all that time on Earth. I’ve seen centuries pass, but I died when I was fourteen and have spent less than twenty conscious years on earth.20 years. That's a long time as an adult. Time spent being Cupid, making soulmates meet. She's been betrayed by love. She's seen the harm love can do. She knows the consequences of destined soulmates NOT falling in love, and she doesn't learn a motherfucking thing. She fell into insta-love with Romeo and elopes. He kills her. One would think she would know better not to fall into insta-love again. After THREE MOTHERFUCKING DAYS. She knows that the soulmates who aren't together will end up in a horrible death. SHE IGNORES THAT FOR HER OWN MOTHERFUCKING INSTA-LOVE. Gemma doesn't deserve him, says Juliet, the worst fucking Cupid ever. Not only that, she's determined to destroy the only friendship thar her borrowed body, Ariel, has. Gemma is her only friend. Ariel suffers from crippling shyness. Ariel has no other friends. And yet Juliet as Ariel sees fit to steal away her best friend's soulmate. She and Gemma are so different. It’s amazing they’ve stayed friends for as long as they have.That would be such a fucking cute sentiment if Juliet didn't steal away Ben under poor Gemma's nose. Oh my god, the love. THE LOVE. Juliet is so fucking purple-prosey-lovey-dovey. She can't contain her fucking emotions for Ben, a boy whom, I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but SHE'S KNOWN HIM FOR LESS THAN THREE DAYS. By the end of day 2, she's ready to declare her love. It's pure insta-love. There is no emotion behind it. She feels the familiarity, the desire, that's it. One little word from him is like AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH MOTHERFUCKING CHERUBS SINGING FROM HEAVEN. Juliet is easily impressed. Romeo might have praised my loveliness with lyrical poetry, but he never made me feel as beautiful as Ben did when he said four simple words.Puh-please. Is that all it takes to get her to drop her panties? Be a little better than that. Have more fucking depths than that. Am I to believe that Juliet is a motherfucking Immortal Warrior? Fucking no. The Girl Hate: "You’re the one who messed up when you got pregnant when you were nineteen."Way to be a bitch to your own mother. Well, to Ariel's mother, but it's Ariel who's going to have to live with the consequences. This book hates women. Juliet/Ariel's mother is a careless person. Unfeeling about her daughter's feelings. Terrible at showing her love, even if Juliet acknowledges that she does love her daughter. She means that she cares, no matter how bad she is at showing it.Her best friend Gemma, is also another careless person. The hard light in Gemma’s eyes fades, and for a second I can see that she cares. Or that she wants to care.So none of the female side characters in this book is careing and loving and nice at all. To be fair, none of the guys in this book are any good, either, but the female characters are prominent, and I hate the female hate in this book. Gemma is a bitch. She doesn't deserve the angelic Ben. Gemma is a vindictive, selfish, spoiled girl who doesn’t deserve Ariel and certainly doesn’t deserve Ben’s love.Every attempt is made in this book to paint Gemma in a bad light, including making her the beautiful outcast rich girl, to making her a slutty character who plays around with boys like they were toys (and therefore deserves her heartbreak). Ben! The Abusive Romantic!: “He was only protecting her.”Oh, I'm sorry, did I accidentally read a New Adult novel? Ben is violent. He's beaten up people before. He's gotten arrested for it. But it's ok, because Ben was doing it for the sake of other people. He only beats up the bad guys ~_~ Therefore his violence is TOTALLY justified. Ben flirts with Juliet/Ariel while dating her best friend. I would almost swear that Ben is flirting. With me. Right in front of his soul mate. Which is so bad that bad can’t even begin to describe it.Uh, yah, you took the words right out of my mouth. Ben, who speaks with the eloquence of a thousand John Mayers. “I know you,” he says, with a quiet assurance that threatens to make my tears start all over again. “I know you’re strong and as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside. I know you like to eat and hate Shakespeare—at least the love stories—and would do anything for a friend. I know you’re an artist, and you made a wall of bricks look like it should be hanging in a museum."Ben, who is Mexican. “Olvida la escuela,” he says, anger in his eyes....more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
May 22, 2014
|
May 22, 2014
|
May 22, 2014
|
Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
1606844636
| 9781606844632
| 1606844636
| 3.42
| 1,190
| Sep 09, 2014
| Sep 09, 2014
|
it was ok
|
Actual rating: 2.5 “A story? You are recording your horrors?”Actual rating: 2.5 “A story? You are recording your horrors?”There is nothing bad about this book, but fans of The Madman's Daughter series will find that this series pales in comparison. It is so, so predictable. This book has a beautiful atmosphere, it has an enjoyable main character and narrator. However, the pacing is slow, the plot is easily foreseeable by anyone not mentally deficient, and there was not enough horror to hold my interest. The mysteries, the "hints," the murders...all fell flat. The mystery feels incomplete. This book also takes a considerable amount of liberties with Edgar Allan Poe. Poe Purists will not enjoy this book. This is going to be a very brief review (for me, that is), because there's just not much I can say about this book. I just don't have a whole lot of complaints or praises for this book. It doesn't hurt, but neither is it great. I made a reference to The Madman's Daughter and I meant it. That book is superior to this one in every way. You will find more horror in that book, you will find a better mystery, you will find a character who is not so dishwater-pale. This book is not terrible, but it is just washed out in comparison. The Summary: It seems the stories I have been told were untrue. The streets of America are not paved with gold but with uneven stones.Annabel Lenore Lee has newly arrived in Philadelphia. It is 1826. Annabel has spent the past 10 years living with her beloved mother (now deceased) in Siam (present-day Thailand). Compared to beautiful, colorful, vibrant, sunny Siam, dank, dark, gloomy Philadelphia could not be more different. Her home is beautiful, grand, a majestic mansion. A sense of unease fills my stomach as I stare up at what is to be my new home.But it's all the less welcoming for it. Life in a new country takes getting used to. From knowing "her place" as the young mistress of a house...apparentlyy, a young lady is not expected to help out around the house---as compared to Siam, where there are no class lines among the villagers and missionaries. I hurry out of bed and reach for the bucket. “Let me help you with that.”To dressing, to behaving like a young lady in a culture so completely foreign to her. “Practice makes perfect. It shall certainly take time to prove this with someone of your limited background.”Frankly, life in America sucks. She is a disgrace. Her father is disappointed in her. Annabel is unwanted, a disappointment. A disgrace. Father takes another step closer. Deep lines mark his face. He looks almost as old as Grandpere. “She bowed like a man, for God’s sake. Her manners are sorely lacking, and until they have been improved, I shall not encourage her.”The only bright spot in her life are her beloved grandfather...and a young man. Allan Poe. All is not well in Philadelphia. The headlines of the newspaper scream of murder, death, dismemberment. MURDER AT RITTENHOUSE SQUARE.The streets of Philadelphia aren't the only place that holds secrets and danger. There are mysterious figures walking her gardens at night. There is a strange, nervous, twitchy young man newly hired to watch over the grounds of the mansion. There are hidden rooms in Annabel's new home. Rooms that she should not explore. Every muscle in my body has tightened and my hand shakes when I place it upon the doorknob. I take a deep breath and try to steady my nerves, and just as I am about to turn the knob—And then there's the kindly Allan's cousin. One who terrifies her. One who holds suspicion. “Allan’s always a gentleman, that one,” Cook replies.There are many secrets and mysteries within her house, surrounding her friends, and a man she is coming to love. Annabel must confront these mysteries, as well as come to face with the darkness that may be within her. I did it because I thoughtThe Setting: There is a dark Gothic feel about this book, and it is quite atmospheric. It is to be expected, since the basis of this book is Edgar Allan Poe, after all. All I can make out is a large structure of pale stones, tall doors, and rows of windows gleaming like sharp teeth against the night.There are a ton of rains and thunderstorms, and dreary weather in general. It doesn't hold a candle to the beautiful gaslamp-lit setting in The Madman's Daughter. There are a few grisly scenes in a book, some involving the dissection of an animal. Again, there is no comparison. I was only mildly intrigued. I was never disgusted by any of the very minute gore in this book, and I longed for more blood, more horror. I never got it. The Characters: Bland. All of them. Including Edgar & Allan Poe, which is simply unforgivable. Allan Poe is more romantic lover and brooding poet than a wildly exciting hero...which is rather appropriate to the actual person, I suppose. We see Allan as he struggles to put down his words, to write his story. His attention returns to me. “Have you ever felt a story was inside you, but you could not do it justice? It’s as if there were something standing in your way, blocking you from being able to write the story, and only this other piece of you could understand whatever it was?”As for Annabel, I just don't have much to say. She is likeable, but she is so bland that I feel she has no personality at all. I like her; if we were to meet in the streets as strangers, she is the sort at which I would nod a polite hello, but I would completely forget her by the next street. Annabel is a really nice person. She is truly, genuinely nice. She is smart. She is an aspiring surgeon, which displeases her father to no ends. Annabel truly wants to please her father. She is a people-pleaser, and it upsets her so much that she keeps continuing to be a disappointment. I am saddened that I have already offended Father with my rough manners and poorly chosen gift.She has knowledge of medicinal herbs, and she constantly makes references to Siam, which is appropriate, but I felt like it disrupted the flow of the book quite a bit. Not to mention the discrepancies in the references to Siam. They don't have kimonos in Thailand. Wrong country. The Romance: There is no insta-love, but there is a fair amount of romance. I did not mind the romance. I did not mind that her heart beats quickly at the thought of Allan. It is appropriate for the time, it is expected of a sheltered young woman, with few friends, who seeks the kindness and love and acceptance that she does not receive from her own father. The romance is predictable, and unremarkable, like everything in this book. Quotes taken from an uncorrected proof subject to change in the final edition. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Mar 13, 2014
|
Mar 13, 2014
|
Mar 06, 2014
|
Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
0062241524
| 9780062241528
| 0062241524
| 3.75
| 3,385
| Oct 21, 2014
| Oct 21, 2014
|
really liked it
| “When the swamp took my brother, it sent someone—something else to take his place. I don’t know what Lenora May is, but she’s not my sister.”This “When the swamp took my brother, it sent someone—something else to take his place. I don’t know what Lenora May is, but she’s not my sister.”This book is a dark American fairy tale. In Celtic mythology, we often hear about the changeling in connection with the fae, fairies, whatever you call them. The fae are capricious creatures. They will take what they please, and in some instances, they will take whomever they please. Children, newborn infants, specifically, are particularly vulnerable. The beautiful child will disappear, abducted by the fae, leaving an ugly, wizened, “wrong,” fae child in its place. This book has that similar premise, with a twist. Instead of Ireland or the UK, we have the swamps of the deep South in the US. The “child” being abducted is a young man, about to go to college. What’s different is that all memories of the abducted are erased. The writing is great. The main character is a sympathetic one. There is no insta-love. The atmosphere of the Deep South is well-written, and there is a sense of eeriness and frustration that is pervasive throughout the book. This is one of the better YA paranormal books I have read. The Summary: “The swamp ate my brother.”Sterling Saucier is about to finish her sophomore year of high school when the unthinkable happens: her brother Phineas, in a fit of anger, in an unthinking moment – steps into the swamps behind Sticks, Louisiana. Everyone in town knows not to go into the swamp. It’s dangerous. Once you go in, you never leave. Even the plants know better: stay the fuck out. The swamp stays away from the people. The people stay away from the swamp. It is a tenuous peace. For some reason, the swamp stays firmly on the other side. A few brave plants may reach across the line, but by and large, the swamp keeps as much distance from us as we do of it.Phineas has been gone for hours, and Sterling is frantic. She is panicking, feeling like she will never see her brother again, when out of the swamp steps a girl. Not Phin. A strange girl whom Sterling has never seen before. Her hand extends slowly and she hesitates before finding the fence. Dark hair hangs in her face, wild with curls and lovely in a way mine will never be. She climbs with something less than grace, fumbles with her dress, and nearly falls to the ground in my yard.Everyone tells Sterling that this is her sister. “I want to know who she is, why she’s here, and why you’re all acting like you know her. I watched her climb over the swamp fence, for crying out loud!”The trouble is Sterling knows otherwise. She somehow has memories of this stranger. I can’t remember someone who doesn’t exist. I can’t remember that her favorite color is purple but thinks Chevelles look best in red. I don’t even know her name.But Sterling knows: this is not her sister. Phin is her brother, and he has disappeared. Nobody remembers her but him. Well, not nobody. Someone knows what she’s going through. Somebody believes her. Somebody who has lost someone of his own. “Nathan Payola,” he says. He waits for me to react, but there’s nothing for me to react to. Angrily, he adds, “He was my best friend.”That somebody is Heath. Heath is a boy at her school. He is not unfamiliar to her, in fact, they had a short, brief, flirtation. Heath wasn’t a talker, but when he did talk, the words we shared were sweet and supplemented with notes of the flirting variety.Only that flirtation abruptly stopped…and now she knows why. Heath was struggling with the same thing she was, the loss of a friend, and the knowledge that nobody believes him. And now they’re in the same boat, and as cute as Heath is, as much of a brief history they’ve had together, there are more important things at hand right now, like how to get her brother back. At any other time, I’d be stuck on him admitting he ditched me. But now, all I can think of is Phin.A situation doomed to end in frustration now shows a small ray of hope, because they’re in this together. We can’t fight something we don’t understand. But I remember what Heath said about hope. I’m not going to let the swamp have that, too.And they’re going to cling on to every last vestige of that hope they can. Hope is all they have. The Setting: There are a hundred ways to die all cloaked in the twist of pale trees—gators fast enough to catch a grown man, mosquitoes teeming with disease, stinging plants, hungry black bears, and nasty cottonmouths all filled with spite and patience.Tell people that swamps are a dangerous place, and they’ll give you a “No shit, Sherlock,” stare. But they don’t know about the swamps behind Sticks, Louisiana. But what’s in ours is worse.I love a creepy, small Southern town atmosphere, and this book absolutely delivers. It is filled with local legends, lore, creepiness on its own. This is a dead-end small town in which anyone with aspirations for a better life needs to get the fuck out. There is no future here. Most of the good folk of Sticks consider it’d be faster to throw your money in a fire if you’re that keen on wasting it, but then, most of the good folk of Sticks think the periodic table has something to do with birth control.Much of the population can be described by urban citizens as “white trash.” The point is to get out. Leave it all behind. The swamp itself is a terrifying thing, filled with creatures like the one that wears Phin’s skin. “I’m hungry,” he says, a sound that seems to crawl from his throat. It’s devoid of the warmth Phin’s voice should have, all mud and gravel. He reaches with webbed hands, each finger tipped with a sharp, black claw.There is a tale of horror that lies behind the mystery that held my attention as it unfolded. This is truly a beautifully descriptive, atmospheric book. The Characters: he was gone.I absolutely loved Sterling. Trigger warning: the main character has an eating disorder, brought on by the stress of her beloved brother leaving. I thought the portrayal of said eating disorder was well done, because there is an emphasis in this book that eating disorders are not about being thin. It is a mental disorder, exacerbated by stress, by any number of things. Sterling’s mitigating factor just happened to be her brother. The first time she asked me about this, I’d tried and failed to explain that it wasn’t about wanting to be thin; I couldn’t think of food when the threat of losing Phin to college was so near.So many people in Sterling’s life give her a hard time about her anorexia, and it is impossible for her to explain to them: it is not about being thin. I think this aspect of her character was adequately done. I like the fact that Sterling is a devoted sister. She truly loves her brother. She constantly thinks about him. She always seeks to get him back. She will go to any lengths, overcome her own fears of the swamp in order to attempt to rescue him. The swamp continues to beckon.Her beauty is never mentioned. Not everyone falls in love with her. Sterling is a realistic character with real flaws, real hurts, and is wholly sympathetic because of them. Characters who should be the enemy have depths. They have life. They are filled with spirit. “You’ve been so safe all your life. So safe you might as well be dead. Phin did that, he kept you from living, but I won’t. I promise you, I only want to live as fiercely as I can.”They have stories. They are not mindless monsters, creatures to be feared. They are people. An unknown and nonexistent sister, not a monster, a person who may turn out to be someone who could be admired. Lenora May doesn’t care that she’s in the dirt or that she’ll have to wash her dress three times to get rid of the stubborn smells that follow you home from the track, and not caring makes her both vulnerable and beautiful.The Romance: I feel small and secure in his arms with my hip balanced against his thigh. This is different from the kiss. That felt chaotic and delirious and like something beginning. This is the opposite. Together we are solid and smart and somehow not new at all.Now this is how I like my romance. Sterling and Heath have a small romantic past, but they are above all else, friends and allies. She understands him. He understands her. They have a shared past, and a shared present. He is the only one who understands her pain, having gone through it himself. Heath is a bad boy, but not one as you’d expect. He developed that reputation after having gone through the frustration of losing a friend. Heath is a good kid who started acting out of frustration and anger and pain. He is never, ever an asshole. Hell, he’s actually quite a gentleman. “Sterling Saucier,” he says.Overall: an excellent book. All quotes were taken from an uncorrected proof subject to change in the final edition. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Jun 19, 2014
|
Jun 20, 2014
|
Feb 05, 2014
|
Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
0547822561
| 9780547822563
| 3.92
| 11,034
| Mar 20, 2012
| Mar 20, 2012
|
really liked it
| Lex turned her scythe over in her hands once more, unable to take her eyes off it. “It’s amazing.” Lex turned her scythe over in her hands once more, unable to take her eyes off it. “It’s amazing.”How do you make a different girl, a special girl into a main character that doesn't feel like a Mary Sue? - Make her a juvenile delinquent - Make her angry, but not unreasonable - Make her likeable and sympathetic, despite her attitude - Don't let her hate other girls - Don't make her fall into insta-love - Give her room to grow And, most importantly, give her the hottest Grim Reaper uncle in the whole wide world. Sitting atop a black and purple–streaked motorcycle was, in a startling number of details, the exact type of villain depicted in the Never Talk to Strangers! picture book that had been drilled into Lex as a child: a man six feet tall, in his late thirties, lean but strong, roguishly attractive.Because I have priorities, man! This was a great book, a strong main character, light on the romance, a wonderful and well-built setting. The writing is fantastic. It's filled with humor and love interests who would rather punch and kick each other than make googly eyes over corpses that they're supposed to be Killing. (Not killing, Killing. There's a difference besides the capitalization, I swear!) The Summary: She had begun acting out in every way that a frustrated bundle of pubescence possibly could: she stole things, she swore like a drunken pirate, and she punched people. Nerds, jocks, cheerleaders, goths, gays, straights, blacks, whites, that kid in the wheelchair—no one was safe. Tyrannosaurus Lex, as they called her, was an equal opportunity predator.Lex is an angry, angry 16-year old girl. One could call her a juvenile delinquent. It wasn't always like this, Lex was once a loving twin sister (she still is, actually), a good daughter (not so much anymore), a straight-A student. But then a few years ago...something within her changed. Lex can't even explain it herself. She just felt angry, all the time, at absolutely nothing. And whenever she tried to pinpoint the reason why, no matter how hard she tried, she was never able to come up with a single, solitary explanation.Well, sadly, Lex has bit her last classmate (they don't call her Tyrannosaurus Lex for nothing), because her parents are at the end of their ropes. Their last resort: Sending Lex away to spend a summer with Uncle Mort on his farm. Great. Fantastic. A summer in the middle of fucking nowhere, on a farm. With cows and sheeps and no internet and no phones and away from her parents and beloved twin sister. A summer with old, fat, balding Uncle Mort, right? Well...not exactly. Uncle Mort is hot. He rides a motorcycle, and he looks like someone who's going to kidnap innocent young girls. Peeking out from underneath his sleeves were samplings of what was undoubtedly an impressive array of tattoos, and a red, craggy scar ran from his right earlobe to the corner of whatever sort of eye hid behind his sunglasses. Clearly, this was a man who would waste no time in snapping the neck of anyone who happened to piss him off.Which, actually, he does when Lex doesn't obey him. “You don’t look like family. You look like a freak.”Uncle Mort practically kidnaps Lex and takes her to the town of Croak. Population 78...well, 80 now. But Croak ain't exactly a farm village...and Uncle Mort isn't a normal uncle. He's a Killer (again, not the same thing as a killer), he releases a dying soul from the body. Lex is going to join the family business by becoming a Killer herself, and she's going to have to cut the juvenile delinquent bullshit or else. “You may have gotten away with this childish, petulant bullshit back home, but I assure you, it’s not going to fly here,” he said, letting go of her arm. “So I’ll cut you a deal: you behave like the mature individual that deep down I know you are, and in turn, you will be treated as such. Sound fair?”Being a Killer is a pretty sweet gig, if it weren't for stupid boy Driggs occupying the same house and pissing her off and making fun of her. Lex gets her own scythe, she learns to do an essential job, she makes friends (and quite a few enemies). There are moral dilemmas that Lex is going to have to get the fuck over if she's to do her job. Family or not, Uncle Mort means business. There will be no fucking around here. Lex is going to have to grow up, and fast. His face was inches from hers, his eyes fiery. “Lex, if you’re not just being a smart-ass, if you really do have a problem with all this, now’s the time to say so. If you’re hesitant, you’re a liability, and if you’re a liability, you sure as hell are never going to be a Grim.”It's not as easy as collecting souls, there's something bigger at stake here; Lex and her friends uncover something strange: someone's been killing people...and that someone may be one of them. It's going to be one hell of a summer. She had a job to do, and she sure as shit was going to do it.The Setting: “I told you it wasn’t here, Quoth. Has anyone seen my cravat?” he shouted to no one in particular.AHAHAHAHA. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. The setting is absolutely fabulous. The town of Croak itself is adorable and quaint, with a 50s-style diner that serves food with names like "Mad CowBurger, E. Coli Cola, and the gag-inducing Salmo-Nilla Ice Cream." The town inhabitants fuck with the unfortunate tourists who accidentally wander inside (Uncle Mort is so opportunistic), milking them for money (like $50 for bird-watching fees). It's just delightful. The premise of Killing and Culling itself was very well-done, there's the Killer who don't actually kill: they release the soul from the body. Every Killer works with a Culler, who collects the soul, puts in a Vessel, and then release the soul into the Afterlife. There's a complex system of collecting souls, and levels of hierarchy that was believable, as well as fun. And the Afterlife, Edgar Allan Poe, whom you met up there, is one of the many inhabitants. The system of what happens after death is explained, too, with enough room for ambiguity so that there's no HORRIBLY SERIOUS QUESTIONS about the existence of God. As an atheist and sometimes Buddhist, I am completely unoffended. This book portrays an interesting, sometimes silly, altogether readable system of Death. Lex: "You’re here because you’re special, and you’re special because—well, I don’t like throwing around words like ‘destiny,’ but let’s put it this way: this job chose you. Whether or not you reciprocate is completely your call.”Lex is a special girl that I completely like. She is special, she has special powers, yes, but she doesn't feel like a Mary Sue at all. This is because she is such a tomboyish, angry, belligerent character. I usually don't like angry, immature teenagers, but I found myself loving Lex. This is because the book made me feel like she doesn't really want to be that way, she's hurt, she's acting out for a reason that she doesn't even know. It was as if her psyche had been infected with an insidious pathogen, like the viruses in all those zombie movies that turn otherwise decent human beings into bloodthirsty, unkempt maniacs who are powerless to stop themselves from unleashing their wrath upon the woefully underprepared masses.Lex really is a success story, a believable story of a troubled young woman who just needs a hard hand and enough discipline to get her to walk the straight path. Lex does mature quickly and believably, and I appreciate that. It's all thanks to Uncle Mort. Lex sat, stupefied. Over the past two years the various authority figures in her life had scolded, pleaded, lectured, cajoled, reprimanded, and threatened bodily harm, but none of them had spoken to her with anything resembling respect.The Romance: Ten minutes and two fights over the bathroom later, they slid into their seats at the kitchen table. Uncle Mort took one look at their matching black eyes and nodded.[image] For much of the book, you might be a little confused at the romance because the two people involved, Lex and Driggs, are, well, punching each other's lights out. Lex is an aaaaaaaaangry person. I think we've settled that, and she's more than met her match in the snarky, take-no-prisoner Driggs. She wants to hit him? Well, he can dish that out, too. Equality of the sexes, yo! “You can’t hit a girl,” she said, rubbing her face.Lex and Driggs fight like cats and dogs, until they realize that they actually have to get along in order to do their job. Lex wants to do her job well, she doesn't want her memories erased, and she doesn't want to be sent home. This is where she's meant to be, and she will tolerate Driggs if she must. Driggs doesn't baby Lex, ever. He never underestimate her strength, her intelligence. He respects her, he knows she can take care of herself. Theirs is a relationship built on mutual respect and gradual friendship rather than insta-love, and I ship that completely. And man, they are so adorably AWKWARD at kissing. “Why do you care so much?” she asked.As awkward as my first kiss was, I'm pretty sure that has it beat. BUT MAN, IS IT ADORABLE. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Apr 25, 2014
|
May 2014
|
Jan 08, 2014
|
ebook
| ||||||||||||||||
B00IBYYVJS
| 4.05
| 3,553
| Aug 05, 2014
| Aug 05, 2014
|
it was amazing
|
EDIT: IT'S RELEASED!!!!!! I am not sick, or crazy, or broken.EDIT: IT'S RELEASED!!!!!! I am not sick, or crazy, or broken.It is so rare that a second installment is better than the first, and it has happened. Do you like female demonic assassins who actually kill? Do you like snarky, irreverent humor? Do you like blood and death? Do you hate insta-love and starry-eyed romance? Do you want a character who might seduce her lover one night and then kill him the next morning? Why am I lying? Never say it’s to impress this boy-man-monster? That’s both embarrassing and probably pointless, as I’ll most likely kill him before morning.Well, come on in! To sum it up, this book: - Has a blood-thirsty soul-eating demon girl who kills bad people and eat their souls. - Takes your love triangle and your insta-love and your *sigh* romance and laughs in its face before spitting into said face, stomping on it, and ripping it off (not necessarily in that order) - Has a genuine, complex friendship between two females, furthermore, said female is a disabled and missing a leg, but is far from helpless. - Has a wonderful cast of characters who are not one-dimensional in their purity, evilness, or righteousness. I have to confess, I have a special bias for this book. I love the main character in this series so much that I'm suffering from the mild delusion that the delightful Ms. Crewe based Meda after me. Her real name: Andromeda. Yeah, her fictional parents suck at naming, much like mine after me. See? So much in common already. I mean, it's really not a far stretch of the imagination at all to turn a grown-ass Asian woman who's afraid of clowns, hates any type of physical activity that doesn't start with "stair" and end in "master," with a day job as a suit-clad, pantyhose-wearing analyst, who's searching for love on an internet dating website into a half-demon soul-eater who kills bad guys, leaving them in bloody pieces all over the wall, whose reaction to a hot French-accented demon boy is "Oh, you're pretty hot! Get out of my way NOW, BITCH. Things need to die. You're still cute, though ^_^" See? We're practically the same person. Also, my exes did say that I had a glare that could destroy the soul. I wonder why my relationships never worked... **minor spoilers for the first book** The Summary: Stupid Crusaders with their stupid rules. For a homicidal group, they’re appallingly restrictive.Meda is a half-demon who eats souls for a living, so it's the most fucking ironic thing in the world that she's now with the Crusaders. Yeah, those Crusaders and those Templars, like the red-pointy-cross-wearing descendants of the dudes back in the Middle Ages who went to Jerusalem on a holy journey to find Monty Python's Holy Grail and protect the pilgrims spread Christianity to ALL THE PLACES and ended up going back to England with battle scars with their tails between their legs, cause, well, lol, English dudes don't exactly know their way around a desert, plus, Saladin, that bad-ass motherfucker! Yeah, those dudes. And now the half-demon Meda is one of them. Yay! Not really. More like ugh. But it's not like she has a choice. Meda is a Beacon, and the Crusaders kind of have to protect her, whether she wants them to or not. Meda is sorta, maybe special because she's a Beacon, but it's not for sure, yet. All they know is that Beacons are special somehow, and they have to keep an eye on her, just in case. Most Beacons are duds, so Meda might not be special at all. Her fate is undetermined. But right now, the Crusaders are Meda is not happy about this (no shit). Her group of stick-up-their-ass Crusaders trying to "protect" her are bad enough, but now there's a new group of Crusaders in town, and they have very cryptic ways of proving authenticity to one another. She walks toward our guest, but stops with five feet still separating them. “On Tuesday morning, what did I tell you I would be having for lunch?” she asks him.But yeah, they ain't in town for vacation. Apparently... “War is coming.”As brave and bad-ass Meda is, she kind of craps her pants. This is HELL we're talking about. She can kill bad dudes, but facing down an army of demons who want to kill her? Nuh uh! Meda's not exactly the most liked person in the Crusader compound. Crusaders tend to hate demons -> Meda is half-demon -> Crusaders hate Meda. Logic. With this new shit popping up, Meda REALLY has to keep her demon in check, and kind of blend in, in all sorts of horrifying ways. She shakes her head. “You need to try harder. Try to look…” she fumbles for the word, “cheerful.”And not just pink!! “I’ve always thought you’d look good in yellow. A bright, sunshiny yellow.”Apparently, someone forgot to tell 6-year old Khanh that. Don't I just look so fucking happy and harmless? [image] The new Crusader dudes are here to prepare for a fight, and in order to prepare Meda for the upcoming battle, they're going to cross some unforgiveable boundaries of privacy. Like possess her body without her consent. You don’t have a choice. I hear footsteps close in behind me. You don’t have a choice. We will slip in your mind, take over your body. We will steal your freewill; we could plunder your thoughts, your memories, your every private moment if we wanted.But this is motherfucking Meda we're talking about. She is a half-demon. She is a monster. She constantly suppressed her darker urges every moment of every day, and she's not going to fucking go down without a fight. Despite how much she loves her friends, Meda has a demonic side that won't be suppressed and pounded down. Jo wants me to be someone else. Someone who kisses ass and follows rules – a tamed tiger who sits and purrs until she shouts “attack” at her enemies. But I am not a pet.Will the Crusaders push her too far? Will Meda realize her internal goodness and join the fight against evil, or will she be tempted to the dark side to wreak havoc and destruction by the one person who is capable of understanding who she really is? I’m at a crossroads. One path is a slow, painful, righteous trudge uphill to a place where my nemeses see the light. The other is easy and fun, downhill and dark. Armand takes my hand.Meda: A real monster is too clever for that. A real monster shakes the hands of elderly couples as he invests their life’s savings in his Ponzi scheme; she kisses babies and runs for political office; he waits until she’s in love. A real monster knows that an attack hurts; but a betrayal scars.I fucking love Meda. She's special, but she's not a special snowflake. Yeah, of course she's going to be special. Why would we be reading a book about a character who's completely normal and powerless? But there's a difference between a well-drawn character and a Mary Sue. While both may have special destinies, I don't feel like Meda is a Mary Sue because: 1. She has no fucks to give. Her nature is killing, and it literally pains her to suppress it. She needs food, she eats souls. She kills in the book, and she is unashamed of doing so. I love me an assassin who is willing AND able to kill. 2. Her future is yet undetermined. There are lots of Beacons in the world, she is but one of them. She only has the potential to be awesome, it's not a sure thing yet. Meda's special destiny is not a sure thing, and it's probably not going to save the world. One day I will have the opportunity to do some great good, a good so great as to change the course of human history. But the potential to do good and choosing to actually do it, are two very different things. Apparently a lot Beacons turn out to be duds.Beacons are protected for their potential, but Meda could just as easily save the world just as she could invent a new special sauce for Chicken McNuggets. 3. She doesn't suffer from insta-love, and she doesn't give a fuck about romance. If you've read the first book, you will have been as shocked (and pleased) as I was. Meda wants her freedom. 4. She still has a conscience and a deep sense of friendship and loyalty. 5. She is not perfect. She is contrary, she is often bitchy, she has major trust issues, and she sometimes can't see anyone's point of view but her own. “You treat living here like a joke.” She hasn’t turned back to me. “You float along, barely civil, and act like they owe you. You act like they should be grateful the Great Meda Melange didn’t kill them today. You want them to treat you like a Crusader?” Now she does look at me. “Then stop acting like a demon.”I understand her frustration, because Meda tries to behave, but the Crusaders are unwilling to trust a half-demon. Gee, I wonder why they can't trust someone who kills people and eats their souls. I really wonder. The Romance: I allow myself a sway in his direction, an inhale of spicy boy scent, a minute in demon dark eyes.This book has a hint of romance, I would hesitate to call it "romance," because it's more of a "the couple that slays together stays together" kind of case. The boy is a demon. Meda is a demon. She's stuck in a compound full of people who are: 1. Scared of her 2. Hates her guts 3. Wants to kill her 4. Wants to USE her, and THEN kill her So really, when this gorgeous fucking demonic Adonis (with a French accent, AW HAW HAW) appears and gives her a wink that nobody else can see (he is a demon, after all), can you blame her for checking the dude out? They are alike, Armand and Meda. They are demons. They understand each other's darkness, and their flirting and banter are absolutely delightful. She is a monster. So is he. “I give a girl something she thinks she wants more than anything else in the world.” There’s another pause. “Then I take it away.” And there is no question that despite their friendship, they are on the opposite sides. We’ll face each other in battle, and when that day comes, we will do our utmost to reduce the other to bloody pieces. And we will do it unapologetically.Thank you to Angry Robot for providing me with a copy for review. All quotes were taken from an uncorrected proof subject to change in the final edition. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
May 28, 2014
|
Jun 2014
|
Jan 05, 2014
|
Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||||||
0143332902
| 9780143332909
| 0143332902
| 3.91
| 6,470
| Apr 20, 2013
| Apr 20, 2013
|
really liked it
|
I really, really fucking hate it when a character in a book refers to a character in another book and exclaims "She's just like me!" No, beeyotch, you
I really, really fucking hate it when a character in a book refers to a character in another book and exclaims "She's just like me!" No, beeyotch, you are not Elizabeth Bennet *snaps fingers*. No, you are not Juliet. Do you even realize how stupidly the characters in Romeo & Juliet behaved? Nuh uh. Don't you dare make that claim. Therefore, it is with the greatest amount of shame and hypocritical horror when I found myself laughing as I read this book, "MEDA IS JUST LIKE ME." I don't know how Ms. Eliza Crewe managed to capture my personality so well without ever having known me, without having met me, without knowing of my existence in any conceivable way, but bravo, Ms. Crewe, BRAVO. Fine. There are some discrepancies between us, ok? I can't fight, and I'm more inclined to run (seriously, I am a fast little mofo), and I used to sleep with the blankets tucked up all around me, particularly around my feet so that monsters wouldn't eat my toes while I cowered in bed. And Meda, while fantastically snarky sometimes, never has a profanity-laden vocabulary. But it's all good. Meda is a teenager! I was a squeaky clean teenager once. But I can see the potential in Meda as she grows up to be more like me. Ah, Meda, my dear. You have much to learn as you grow into your twenties. Your mind and mouth will no longer censor itself, and Meda, my love...the fucks will fly. ^________^ I should probably go back to the actual review and talk about stuff that's relevant to this book. I will try to tone down my narcissism meanwhile... In short: Interesting (though imperfect) plot. Likeable main character. Above all else: the characters are fantastically conceptualized, the dynamics within the group are absolutely brilliant. Summary: Meda Melange isn't exactly human. She knows she's half human...but the other half certainly ain't anything remotely angelic. Why? Um, one clue may be the fact that SHE EATS SOULS. Here's where Meda and I differ: I crave chocolate, Meda craves souls. She's not all bad, though, she only munches on a soul every, say, month or so. Me, on the other hand *snorts*. Meda is pretty much indestructible to the average human. Her skin is like fucking steel. She almost cannot be hurt. Until she runs into a group of demons and realizes that...well, fuck, she's not so indestructible after all. Well, shit happens, and Meda lucked out and gets her ass saved (and eats a huge dose of humble pie in the process) by a group of Crusaders. No, not the ones in the 12th century who traipse to the Holy Land. These are oh-so-righteous people whose destiny is to protect humans with special destinies who will make a contribution to mankind called Beacons. They think Meda is a Beacon. Meda doesn't want to die. Meda lies her ass off. She pretends to be a Beacon in order to: 1. Infiltrate the Crusaders and figure out their super special secrets! 2. Survive (she did almost get her ass handed to her, after all, girl's gotta live) One thing leads to another, and Meda and her very disorganized group of Crusaders find themselves on the run from a bunch of bloodthirsty demons who wants Meda's ass handed to them on a silver platter. Meda seriously lucked out, because these Crusaders are good-hearted and are so convinced that she is a Beacon that they will risk their life to save her. Meda also slowly uncovers the truth about her past. There are secrets! Lies! A sexy half-demon in a dungeon! (Another way Meda and I differ, she ignores him, whereas I would have kept him imprisoned in my bedroom. It's understandable, though, Meda's not even legal yet.) Needless to say: this book is a lot of action, and a lot of fun. The Characters: The best thing about this book. Meda Melange is one of the funniest, most kick-ass character in YA paranormal that I have read in a long time. She is truly kick-ass. She can FIGHT, man. If Rose Hathaway and Charley Davidson were to have a daughter together, I like to think she would turn out to be just like Meda. Let's just conveniently ignore the fact that two females cannot have a child containing both their DNA. Because, as we all know, scientific facts have no place in YA literature. As a Soul Eater, Meda has twice the kick-assing potential of Rose Hathaway, and half of Charley Davidson's snark (and for many people, that's a good thing. Charley can be way too much sometimes.) Not everyone likes me. Not everyone likes my sense of humor, my snarkiness, my personality. That's fine. As such, not everyone will like Meda. There is a fine, fine line between humor and bitchiness, and as it turns out, Meda is a character I can relate to, a character I understand, a character whose personality I love. If you don't like her, if you hate her, if she grates on your nerves, it is completely within reason and I will not judge you for it. Meda has a hilarious inner monologue. The first few chapters are particularly brilliant examples of it. We get to see her bad-assedness firsthand as she ruthlessly kills a murderer and eats his soul. Truthfully, I would have liked to see her fight more instead of suppressing her inner demon and pretending to be a normal human girl. We get to see her internal weakness and her guilt at what she's done. We get to see her use her feminine charms and tears (she is not beyond fake-crying if it gets her out of a tough spot) to manipulate a very naive, starry-eyed Crusader boy: I consider the many tools at my disposal, eyeing his large blood-splattered frame, and settle on my weapon of choice – one so infrequently used I need to dust it off first.*snickers* Meda uses whatever she needs to lie, trick her way into the group to earn their trust. It doesn't always work---particularly when there's a fellow bad-assed girl in the Crusader group who's just not into her crap. Cue innocence! My sweet lashes flutter against my helpless cheeks, my useless hands wring the edge of my guiltless, blood-soaked nightgown. My lovely lips quiver over my pearly white teeth.Meda is not perfect. She feels guilt. She makes some discovery that blows her world apart. Her trust has been betrayed, her life has been a lie. She has to come to terms with that, as well as her own dark nature. She kills out of necessity, but she hates herself for it, when her base nature isn't rejoicing in the darkness. I’m ashamed of my wickedness – when I’m not reveling in it.Certain books completely ignore the side characters: this book does not. The side characters---namely, Jo, Chi (Malachi), and Uri, are all equally well drawn. The dynamics of their relationship are spectacular. Jo and Meda, and Jo and Chi in particular. Jo and Meda do not start off well. Jo is a really, really tough kick-ass girl. She is truly a match for Meda---except for the fact that she has lost one leg in a fight years ago. Meda and Jo start off on the wrong foot (no pun intended, I swear on my grandmother's grave, I would not be so callous D:). They distrust each other, Jo knows Meda isn't who she seems, she knows Meda's just putting on an act of innocence. In turn, Meda looks down on Jo, calls her a "gimp," because of her disability, and hates her tough-girl personality. Slowly, they learn to trust each other, they learn that each has her strengths and her underlying weakness, they come to trust each other, they develop an odd sort of friendship. The developing relationship between Meda and Jo is a beautifully written one. Jo is such a complex character, she hates herself, she hates her disability, she hates her helplessness. “I just get so mad sometimes. I’m never going to be a Crusader, never get married, never do anything. But who do I get to be angry at? The demons? They’re constantly trying to destroy mankind and, if at all possible, Heaven too. There’s enough reasons to be angry at them – my leg’s superfluous. The other students, the Crusaders for how they treat me? They’re not trying to be cruel, I am damaged. They’re so very kind, so full of pity. I’d rather they hate me than feel sorry for me.”Meda never sees Jo as helpless, and Jo appreciates her for that. Their friendship builds on top of that. Jo and Chi...wow. They were best friends, until the incident where Jo lost her leg. Chi feels guilty, and they both pull away from each other. “You don’t deserve to be a Crusader – and it isn’t because you don’t have the legs, but because you don’t have the heart.”Their hurt, their anger, their tense relationship is so intensely well done. The Romance: Um, what romance? Throw away your expectations of romance, of love. There's no insta-love, there's no love triangle, there's none of that shit here. Can I get a "Fuck yeah?" FUCK YEAH. The new attendee, a man, crouches in the doorway. Well, not really a man, a human teenager. One of God’s most misbegotten creatures – big like grown-ups and yet dumb like children. Selfish, moody, reckless, with a tendency to sleep too much and complain too often.This book is tremendously fun. It is not without its faults. There are elements in the book that I tend to frown upon (death of a parent, a special destiny), etc., but it is also wholly original in other. It takes quite a few YA tropes and throws it out the window to a bloody death, and I found it absolutely admirable. The book is action-driven, plot-driven. I would have liked this book to be less fast-paced. It felt like some scenes were glossed over far too fast, and I would have liked to know more about Meda's past. Not a perfect book, but still quite enjoyable. Because Meda is the main character. And Meda is so me, man! ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Nov 15, 2013
|
Nov 15, 2013
|
Nov 05, 2013
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
0575130407
| 9780575130401
| 0575130407
| 3.77
| 20,018
| Sep 19, 2013
| Sep 26, 2013
|
liked it
|
Faefever lite.
This was not a bad book, but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who has read and loved the Faefever series unless you enjoy constan Faefever lite. This was not a bad book, but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who has read and loved the Faefever series unless you enjoy constantly being hit on the head with dueling comparisons. [image] It doesn't help that Kiaran's last name is MacKay. I couldn't help but chuckle every time I saw it. Also, Aileana...so similar to Alina. The parallels are too obvious, and I felt that the setting, characters, and conflict are overwhelmingly shadowed by the superiority of the Fever series. There's also a very forced attempt at romance, the inclusion of an eye-rolling love triangle, and a horrendous cliff hanger. One of the worst cliff hangers I've read this year. The plot itself is fine, the writing is good, it was fairly enjoyable if you don't overthink things, but knowing me, I overthink everything, hence my less-than-ideal rating for this book. The setting is 1844, a steampunk version of Scotland; it is but a pale version of steampunk, but I'll go into that later. Lady Aileana Kameron is 18, the daughter of a Scottish Marquess; currently she is embroiled in scandal, the subject of whispers and suspicious glares at every social event she attends. Why? One year ago she was discovered hovering, bloodied and traumatized, over her mother's corpse. Her mother's heart was ripped out from her chest. The official story is that Lady Douglas died from an animal attack; Aileana knows better. Her mother was killed by fairies. From then on, she formed a strategic alliance with Kiaran, a fae, a sithichean daione sith, to get vengeance for her mother's killer. Neither knows the others' true purpose for hunting the fae, and their alliance is strictly business---until now. To complicate things, her father has returned to town, demanding that Aileana must choose a husband, and she's got no shortage of suitors---she's still a peer's daughter, his heiress, and with a plump dowry, after all. Conveniently, Aileana's former crush also returns to town from Oxford, possibly to rekindle the sparks of a romance...but Gavin has some secrets of his own. And further still, there's danger lurking literally beneath Edinburgh. Which is pronounced Ed-in-bruh, for you ignorant Americans out there *shakes fist*. Parallels to Faefever: - Death of a much-beloved relative: Aileana's mother's was killed by a fae - Desire to wreak vengeance: Aileana's made it her mission in life to track down and kill the sith that killed her mother - A newfound ability to see fairies: in this case, brought on by the flower seilgflùr - Endangered when she is discovered: Aileana stupidly goes out to hunt fairies on her own, fairies (which are supposed to be invisible to the average human eye) realize that she can see them. You might as well paint a target on Aileana's head - Girly-girl debutante transforms into deadly fae-killer: "For the briefest moment, I wish I was the girl I used to be. I’d wear frivolous white dresses and attend dances and never worry about anything ever again. But I had to destroy the girl who wore white dresses because she wasn’t capable of murder" - Asshole: Kiaran, aka Jericho Barrons' more boring half-brother, who trains her, is mean to her, kicks her ass, and keeps secrets from her. It’s just another blasted secret of his. I’m considering keeping a tally of all the questions Kiaran evades, so that when each answer is finally revealed at some incredibly inopportune moment, I can look at the count and remember how much he hides from me.Kiaran is also seemingly V'lane's cousin's sister's son twice removed, because he has but a shadow of V'lane's sexual glamour. It's called being "faestruck." Instead of making you want to have sex with the fae on the spot...faestruck glamour will just makes your panties slightly damp. Catherine grasps the sleeve of Kiaran’s frock coat, twisting the fabric to pull him to her, her eyes dazed. The faestruck will rip and tear clothing for another touch of a faery’s skin. She hasn’t reached that point, not yet, but any further contact with him and she might. - Ability to sense an particular object: ‘You feel power. And you’ve sensed the sìthichean since the first one you ever saw, haven’t you?’ - Secret lineage I don't know if it was intentional, if this book was intended to be a homage or an alternative retelling of Faefever, but the parallels and similarities are definitely there. It was a good book, but it is just lacking in comparison. The Setting The setting was just not well done. I neither got a sense of Edinburgh itself or of the steampunk elements within it. Really, there was absolutely no purpose for the setting, and I really don't know why this book had to be steampunk. The steampunk-ish elements of this alternate-Edinburgh was limited to horseless carriages, cool decorations at balls and society events, ornithopters (a Leonardo Da Vinci's version of a helicopter), machines that dispense hot beverages, and conveniently designed weaponry that will blast away an army of faeries with a push of a button. The steampunk setting seems to be in place more to suit Aileana's hobby of tinkering, building machines, and designing custom tools than anything else. This book's setting, unlike the beautifully wrought dark atmosphere of the Faefever series, is but an afterthought. I did not find myself immersed at all, I did not lose myself in the surroundings. I did not get a feel of what made Edinburgh a place where humans and fairies coexist. It might as well have been the rich/poor areas of Detroit, Michigan, for the little thought paid to the descriptions of the book's environment. There was no sense of place. The fae were very well written. There are many types, and they are very well described, some disgustingly rotten, others terrifyingly beautiful. I just wished that we had a beautiful, dark setting fitting of them, instead of the half-hearted quasi-steampunk scene we were given. The Characters Aileana: She didn't feel real to me, unlike MacKayla in Faefever and her amazing character development, Aileana just doesn't compare. Aileana was supposed to have turned from a gentle, happy society girl into a rage-filled, vengeance-minded cold-hearted fighter...but I didn't get any sense of her transformation. She was just too perfect, her transformation was told rather than shown. I understood her rage, her helplessness, her anger at witnessing her mother's death, but we were never clearly told how she has changed so much in that little time. We are given Aileana 2.0, we are never shown how she got there. We see from the beginning of the book that she is an ass-kicking heroine, but it feels like that's all she is. Don't get me wrong, I loved the fact that she is unflinching in her quest for vengeance. She never, ever shies from killing an evil fae. Unlike some books featuring so-called "female assassins" who are scared to draw blood (which shall remain unnamed), Aileana is a determined killer. And I loved it, I loved seeing her kick, punch, stab, shoot. I loved seeing her as she slashes, disembowels, electrocutes. I just wished we saw more of her vulnerabilities as she became what she currently is. Her grief is also well-portrayed, to the point that at times, I said to myself: enough already. Yes, I am cold-hearted, but her extreme grief seems a little bit of an exaggeration. Also, drinking game! Take a drink every time you read the phrase: "Crimson suits you best." Or not. You might get alcohol poisoning. Maybe take a sip of a beer instead. Kiaran: Generic YA love interest. Really, I made a comparison to Jericho and V'lane, but the truth is, there is no comparison. Kiaran has no personality than that of the standard mysterious, ice-cold, unfeeling bad boy with a secret heart and a soft spot in his soul that only the main character can see. The alliance between Aileana (he calls her Kam) and Kiaran seemed...odd. There was very little about their history together in that very short year, we are not given much at all about their past besides the fact that Kiaran trains Aileana to be a fighter, a killer. Too little detail was given about their past to make their current relationship seem like anything but an alliance, and that is why their developing feelings seem so strange. I think Gavin says it best: ‘Is that right? The fellow teaches you to slaughter his own kind and you don’t believe that’s a wee bit worthy of suspicion?’Gavin: The perfect love rival, with a twist. A really, really convenient and unbelievable twist. Gavin is perfect. He is a student at Oxford, he is Aileana's beloved best friend's brother. He is an earl. He is wealthy. He is understanding. Aileana has also been nursing aspirations of being the future Mrs. for a long time before she changed into a cold-hearted killer. Aileana needs a husband, Gavin is oh-so-very eligible. What's a girl to do? Why, love triangle, of course! Side characters: Well-written enough to keep me interested. I wish there had been more written about Aileana's relationship with her father; they are so distant from each other, they have such a strained relationship, and it was painful to read at times. I felt very badly for Aileana for her father's continued disinterest in her, he is the very picture of an absentee father. Not uncommon, given the time, and given his status as nobility, who are expected to ignore their children, but I truly felt bad for Aileana for her father's neglect. I wish their relationship had been developed further. I loved her best friend, Catherine. Catherine is beautiful, and unlike the trapfalls of having a beautiful best friend who exists to highlight the heroine's flaws, Catherine is absolutely lovely in character as well as appearance. I wish I had a best friend like her. She is so utterly supportive, such a calming influence on Aileana: a truly enjoyable character that I wish had been more involved in her life. There is a little sidekick pixie named Derrick in this book. He exists to mend Aileana's clothes and to be an annoying little shit, it seems. I know Derrick is there for insertion of humor and lightness into an overall dark book, but personally, I wanted to snatch him out of the air and pluck out his wings. He is a nuisance more often than not, and he truly grates on my nerves. And he has a habit of getting drunk on honey that would put Winnie the Pooh to shame. ‘But your friend offered it,’ Derrick complains. ‘So she might not have explicitly said, “Derrick, please eat all of the honey in my kitchen,” but it was implied by the mere fact that she has a kitchen.’Shall I mention the fact that that little phrase was uttered after his neglect almost got Aileana killed that night? Now do you understand why I want to commit pixie-cide? The Romance : Not plausible. Why? I needed more background on them. Right off the bat, after a year of fighting together and little else, we see glimpses of Aileana's thoughts that signalled that she might fall for him. Inexplicable. Why now? Why all of a sudden? Aileana is not irrational, she knows that he's a killer, she knows that he's cold-hearted, for fuck's sakes, Kiaran kills his fellow fae without telling her why. They have never confided in one another as to why they're committed to their quest, their relationship has been strictly business-like, strictly student-mentor, so why does she start developing feelings now? Their conversations in the book are largely impersonal, more fraught with conflict than romance, there's not much bonding, so their feelings feel...forced. And really? In the middle of all this mess? Is it really a good time to start a romance? He turns to look at me, and our faces are a mere breath away. Everything around me fades and blurs and my gaze drops to his lips.Yeah, Aileana. I don't know what's wrong with you, either. Recommended to younger readers who want a fast-paced, action-packed fantasy, a brain-candy type of book. Not recommended for fans of adult fantasy, or those seeking more complexity out of their reading experience. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Sep 29, 2013
|
Sep 30, 2013
|
Sep 29, 2013
|
Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
B00AUZS6PQ
| 3.76
| 1,524
| Sep 03, 2013
| Sep 03, 2013
|
it was ok
|
What happened?
This book is the equivalent of meeting someone you knew, maybe a former crush, a few years down the road. You run into them at a Wal What happened? This book is the equivalent of meeting someone you knew, maybe a former crush, a few years down the road. You run into them at a Walmart. The charming, charismatic, svelte young man you once knew has now become a blearly-eyed, beer-bellied, bloated ghost of his former self, holding a 6-pack of Corona Light as he trudges lifelessly towards the checkout. Seriously, what the fuck happened? So rarely have I seen a series degenerate so much as to be unrecognizable from its previous book. I would blame it on second-book syndrome, but to do so would mean that I would have to reconcile the fact that these two books are part of the same series. And like a very embarrassing sibling, the first book really, really should be distancing itself from this tragedy of a sequel. Generally, I start off my book sequel reviews with a disclaimer that goes something like "READ THE FIRST BOOK, YOU WILL BE HOPELESSLY LOST IF YOU DO NOT." Not for this book, no. This book can almost be a standalone. The action starts right away, but I don't believe anyone starting from this book will get lost. Partially because the background is fairly adequately explained throughout the book, partially because, really, does anyone need an explanation for a vampire apocalypse? But mostly because our main character, Katie, is such a different character as to be completely unrecognizable from the first book to the current one. In short, Katie turned from an innocent Amish girl, with understandable questions about faith, into a hypocritical, sanctimonious, self-righteous little bitch. The thing I loved about the first book is that, while the main character is religious, while the community within it is religious, religion is never shoved down our throat. It was a story about faith and about fear, about persecution and a dawning horror of an outside intrusion. This book went a complete 180 where religion is concerned. It is so overwhelmingly religious. God, Judas, the Bible, so many aspects of the Christian religion are presented to us by Katie. God this. The Lord that. I think my friend JennyJen counted the number of mentions of "God" in her review, and it came to a pretty ridiculous number (well over 100). It is as if Katie completely turns towards her religion once she has been banished from her community; she clings to it as if it were a lifeboat. She prays so much. It really is an inordinate and unacceptable amount of dumping of Christianity onto the unexpecting. I don't think I'm being unfair here, I am not a religious person, but I knew what I was getting into...I read the first book. I didn't have a problem with the religiousness in the first, but the overwhelming religious overtones was just too much here, it was unneeded, and largely unnecessary. For example, Katie tells Alex the story of Tobit, Tobias, and Sarah. It's about Sarah losing seven husbands and Tobit going blind, and Tobias saving them both (and he gets the girl, YEAH!). The moral of the story is: “The story is beloved by the Amish for its example of faithfulness and servitude to God. For perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds.”NO, IT'S NOT. That's only what Katie says! I don't get it! There was no point to the story in the context of the situation. To me, it didn't have the message that it is supposed to have had, according to how Katie explained it. The Biblical story and so many other religious references in the book came off as completely extraneous to the story. There's also the inclusion of the crazy-ass Pentecostal man, who speaks in tongues and is literally draped in live, writhing snakes. And what happens when Katie is bitten by a venomous snake and is about to die? THEY PRAY OUT THE VENOM, Y'ALL. “The only thing that can save her from poison is to be full of the Holy Spirit. We have to pray.”Sigh. And of course, it worked. Let's not even mention the ridiculousness of the science, considering the fact that copperhead venom is RARELY FATAL. Seriously, you'd probably need to actually french-kiss a copperhead to get the unfortunate snake to release enough venom to kill you (before it wants to kill itself). Another problem I have with Katie throughout the book is the hypocrisy of her faith. Katie picks and chooses her morals to suit her needs in certain situations. Sleeping with Alex? That's just fine. Doing certain things to save your own fucking life? GOD WOULDN'T WANT ME TO DO THAT. PLAIN PEOPLE WOULDN'T DO THAT. Plain people do this. Plain people do that. Plain people are so much morally fucking superior than you in every way, you dumb Englisher. Katie doesn't know the fucking meaning of adaptation if it bit her in the ass like that poor copperhead. Her religiousness results in some extremely idiotic behaviors on Katie's part that literally puts her, Ginger, and Alex's life in danger. Right off the bat, she refuses to take off her bonnet. Despite the fact that it attracts the attention of every fucking vampire in the vicinity. He grabbed my elbow. He tore the white bonnet off my head, stuffed it into his pocket.(Alex still insists on calling Katie "Bonnet." It's just another thing that really pissed me off. She has a fucking name.) Oh, and Alex? He's going to hell. Katie knows he's going to hell. She loves him and all, and she'll stick by his side no matter what, and he'll do the same for her. But still, he's a bad Christian, a horrible nonbeliever, and he's going to hell. I closed my eyes and prayed in the darkness, prayed that Alex would survive, even though he had turned his back on God’s plan for his human form.^___________^ I still can't believe how many idiotic situation Katie gets into...and survives. Her decision-making process seems to pinpoint her towards the path that would get her party killed fastest, Katie is so fucking TSTL. She has completely moronic reactions to situations, based on her faith and what it doesn't allow her to do, despite the fact that what she believes God wants her to do will get her eaten as a midnight snack. As I said, she picks and chooses her morality. Like when she releases a bunch of ravenous carnivores from their cages (lions, tigers, and bears, oh my!) regardless of the fact that they would probably all eat her alive, because they are skin-and-bones-starved. And there's no reason why they shouldn't. The animals are caged by a previous owner, and have been without food and water since their owner left. AND KATIE WANTS TO SET THEM FREE, FREE LIKE THE FUCKING WIND. I swallowed, stared out the kitchen window at the scrawny animals in their enclosures. “We can’t leave them out there.”The plot is unbelievably stupid. Once again, Deus ex machina is at play. I HATE IT. I seriously fucking hate the use of coincidence and happenstance as a plot device. Too many things happen by accident, there are way too many far too close calls for the story to even approach credibility. Alex shows up at just the right moment, despite supposedly being far, far away from her. People emerge out of no-fucking-where. A fucking wolf brings them rabbits when they're hungry. And they name him Fenrir. Isn't that just cute?! Coochie coochie coo!!!! Who's an adorable wittle wolf? Fenrir is! Fucking kill me, please. I don't even want to go into the "science" that we encounter along the way. Partially because I don't want to spoil certain events, mostly because I don't really feel like writing another page ranting on the scientific implausibility and, really, just how utterly unfuckingbelievably stupid it is to incorporate plant-based phosphorescence into a human being not in vitro. And let's not even get into the positive and negative vibes of water molecules. It's the viiiiiiiiiibes, maaaaaaaaaan! Think positively! You'll get prettier snowflakes. No, really. This fucking book. The only redemption this book has is the vampires. These vampires are pretty bad-ass, and I really wished we saw more of them as like...sentient vampires, and not just bits of vicious, sibilant whispers in the darkness. More vampires (specifically, vampire nuns), less Katie. That's what this book needed. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Sep 12, 2013
|
Sep 14, 2013
|
Aug 24, 2013
|
Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||||||
4.29
| 104,720
| Sep 16, 2008
| Jul 28, 2009
|
it was amazing
| “Who the fuck are you, Ms. Lane?” “Who the fuck are you, Ms. Lane?”There are certain things in my life that remains comfortingly constant despite the chaos that sometimes peppers my life. For instance, the sky is blue. 70% dark chocolate is delicious. I look really good in dark green. Jericho Barrons is an asshat. Well, fuck. That last fact might no longer be true. I don't know how this happened, honestly. I don't think I'm a sheep. The majority of my friends have long professed their love for Barrons...and honestly, I just didn't get it. I still don't. Jericho is still not my type of guy, but upon the second time reading this book...I think he's finally growing on me. I turned around slowly, and looked up at him. He stiffened and sucked in a shallow breath. After a moment, he touched my cheek.I started the Fever series with a horrible impression of Jericho that never really left. To me, he was an overbearing, patronizing, violent asshole. I have to admit that the first time around, I largely skimmed book 2 and 3, and my first, overwhelmingly terrible impression of Jericho never really changed. Upon a second reading: a more careful, critical reading, I admit I might have been wrong the first time. The contrast and complexities in his character is particularly more notable for me today, coming off the recent reading of a particularly forgettable UF/PNR book, with forgettable characters. I still don't like Jericho that much, but I love his character. I've come to see that while he is a jerk, he never goes over-the-line-violent. He stops just short of it, and he has his moments that just makes you wonder---maybe there's something there, worth investigating, under the surface. And then the next moment, it's gone. Leaving you to wonder if that spark of humanity was ever there in the first place. That's the thing that attracts me about Jericho's character...that's what FINALLY grew on me in this book. After so many books with lackluster characters, with predictable behaviors, this is one that keeps me guessing, who runs hot and cold...but just hot enough to keep me intrigued. That's why he evokes such strong emotions within me, and that's what keeps me hooked. It is easy to hate a character. Anyone can make a character merely...loathsome. It is quite another to have a character that keeps you on your toes, not knowing what he is, who he is, how he will react. It's exhausting at times, but ultimately, I am never bored, and that is what I seek within a book and its characters. Some escapism...and it doesn't get any better than the amazing world and setting in this series. Mac's character is also improving by leaps and bounds. She's still a girly-girl. She still enjoys dressing up, but reality is smacking her in the face, and she is dealing with it and adapting to the situation just beautifully. She takes action, she learns to be manipulative. She takes initiative. She is not content to remain a passive, weak damsel in distress; she is willing to seek help from the devil---or Barrons---same thing, really, if that's what it takes. Her character develops beautifully in this book. The first time around, despite my contempt for the characters, I absolutely loved the setting, the writing, the darkness of it all. This has not changed. The writing and scenery is spectacular. The portrayal of Dublin rips away the happy, safe, warm environment that I loved from reading Maeve Binchy's books---and being the creepy, strange woman I am, I think I might prefer the darkness. The writing is lovely, the insights into the nature of darkness, particularly from Mac's viewpoint, is remarkable, and is a better portrayal of Mac's inner nature and intelligence than I would have thought. She still has hope, she still has brightness within her, but Mac's understanding of evil makes me sympathize with her more than her natural effervescence and vivacity ever could. I still think I like V'lane more than Jericho, though. He began bringing me gifts. One day he brought me chocolate that wouldn’t make me gain weight, no matter how much I ate.COME ON NOW. CHOCOLATE THAT WOULDN'T MAKE YOU GAIN WEIGHT? Gimme that shit. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Aug 21, 2013
|
Aug 24, 2013
|
Aug 21, 2013
|
Mass Market Paperback
| ||||||||||||||||||
1476717710
| 9781476717715
| 1476717710
| 3.84
| 92,363
| Feb 25, 2014
| Feb 25, 2014
|
it was ok
|
Actual rating: 2.5. If there's one thing I've learned from this year's crop of books, it's that you should be aware of what you put in your body. In Ja Actual rating: 2.5. If there's one thing I've learned from this year's crop of books, it's that you should be aware of what you put in your body. In Japan, they have a specific type of manga and anime called "shounen manga," meaning "young men's manga." The category is specifically targeted towards adolescent males, around 13+ years of age. it generally contains little to no romance, few significant female characters, and is exemplified by constant action, humor, guts and glory, and focuses on the (purely platonic) camaraderie and relationship between the male characters within. That's the best category into which I can fit this book. The characters are very juvenile, very clichéd. Their behavior and personality were extremely predictable, and I had no trouble guessing what would happen to each. There was little in this book that surprised me at all, there were no unforeseeable twists. Everyone falls solidly into their cookie cutter mold. I can definitely see where the Lord of the Flies comparison comes into play. I am not saying that GIRLS SHOULDN'T READ BOYS' BOOKS, no, I am not a traditionalist like that. However, in the sense that you probably wouldn't catch a guy reading chick lit-type of books written by Danielle Steele or Kristin Hannah, I would venture to say that this book would probably appeal more to a younger male audience. There is cursing, a lot of "fucks" flying around all over the place, there is adolescent swearing and toilet humor, but honestly, it's nothing younger kids have heard these days; if I had a little brother, he'd enjoy this book considerably more than I did. This book didn't really do much for me at all. There was a lot of very graphic scenes that were specifically designed to be gory and bloody and appealing to a certain type of audience. I was not disgusted, I was not rendered squeamish; there's a lot of (literal) blood and guts, but it didn't horrify me in a visceral sense. It was just...matter of fact. I was warned that this book would make me want to lose my lunch: that was not true. I do a lot of reading while I eat, and let me assure you that during and after the reading of this book, the contents of my stomach remain solidly (or rather, liquidly, in the literal sense) in its proper place. I am not a froofy girly girl: I absolutely love blood and gore in books, movies, games. In fact, what bumped this book to the very top of my reading list was the promise of a deliciously revolting book. It just didn't deliver on that sense for me. I was never scared, I was never thrilled, I was never horrified. I was never particularly creeped out by anything within this book. I was drawn to it initially because it was a book that claimed to have scared Stephen King. I loved Stephen King when I was younger; IT rendered me sleepless for two weeks after reading the book, so this endorsement was a promising one. I had hoped this book would deliver the frights. It didn't. I have a feeling I might have enjoyed this book a leeeeeetle bit more had I not read Mira Grant's Parasite beforehand. There were so many parallels between the two books. The premise, even the style, to some extent. Much like in Parasite, in front of some of the chapters, we are given bits and clues as to what is going on. News articles, interviews, bits of confiscated evidence in the forms of letters, diary entries, court transcripts, etc, from both the past and the future. I just felt that overall, Mira Grant does a better job of building us up and giving us a more realistic picture of what was happening behind the scenes, leading up to this point. The premise was also far more believe and well-executed than in this book. I also didn't really find these pre-chapter interjections particularly intriguing: they were rather juvenile, and some parts of it like the "interviews" were particularly awkward. Their structure, presentation, and speech patterns were lacking in flow, so that I didn't feel like they could actually have happened. The only thing this book does better is the descriptions; they may not be sufficient for me, but they are quite graphic, and I'm sure other readers with less of a steel-clad stomach as mine would enjoy them---or not, as the case may be. I didn't have a problem with how the story flowed. The plot progressed along in a good manner, and I was never confused. It did drag on in place, especially in the beginning, when we were being introduced to the boys and their squabbles and I just found myself wondering "IS THERE A POINT TO ALL THIS?" The writing is good...but it leans towards purple-prosy in some points, and I had a lot of problem with the overwrought and overextended use of really strange metaphors. They were seriously all over the book, and they were so weird. From moons like bone fishhooks, to Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone, to dewy fields spread with dead crickets, to warm dough studded with busted lightbulbs...I was left shaking my head. The writing in this book would have been fine if it didn't sound like it was trying too hard. It's supposed to be a horror book, leave the strange attempts at poetic writing out of it. The plot: um, this book would have been over a whole lot sooner (like at the very beginning) if not for some extremely stupid decisions made at by the sole adult and Scoutmaster, Dr. Tim Riggs. Honestly, for a doctor, he's a real fucking moron. The rest of the plot hinged upon his idiotic decisions, and so it was pretty much ruined for me from the beginning because of my sense of disbelief. I will not reveal what the idiocy entails, even if it takes place at the beginning of the book, but along the scale of idiocy, it's roughly the equivalent of a book's Big Reveal hinging upon something that you could have solved with a 5-second Google search. The other characters within the book, the boys, were so utterly banal and clichéd. We have 5 characters, who are essentially tropes. Kent: the alpha male. A bulky, idiotic, simple-minded gorilla of a brute. Ephraim & Max: the polar opposite and highly unlikely pair of best friends. Ephraim is the perpetually angry, short-tempered son of a jailbird, he's stupid, barely literate, and explodes at the drop of a hat. Max, the gentle, introspective, calm and even-tempered guy to whom everyone turns. Shelley: the creepy guy who blends in like a shadow, whom nobody expects to do much, the devious, manipulative little asshole that nobody ever notices. Newton: the nerd. The overweight, perpetually bullied, overly sensitive, very intelligent, "nurturing," gentle boy. Spare me. The majority of the book comprises of them squabbling and fighting and generally being little shits to one another. It got to the point where I felt like their character were caricatures of pre-adolescent boys, because the stereotypes were so bad and their behaviors were so exaggerated. Were it not for the fact that I know the author is male, I would have guessed that this is a female author's overextended and melodramatic view of how teenaged boys behave. The characters did not feel real to me at all. Recommended for a younger male audience with ample suspension of disbelief. This book was given to me for review by Netgalley. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Aug 19, 2013
|
Aug 20, 2013
|
Aug 19, 2013
|
Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
0373211120
| 9780373211128
| 0373211120
| 4.17
| 20,994
| Apr 15, 2014
| Apr 15, 2014
|
it was ok
|
**Spoilers for book 2, minor spoilers for book 3** “Say you love me, vampire girl,” he whispered, his voice low and husky. “Tell me...that this is f**Spoilers for book 2, minor spoilers for book 3** “Say you love me, vampire girl,” he whispered, his voice low and husky. “Tell me...that this is forever.”That sad, sad moment when your favorite YA vampire series turns into a soap opera. This book broke my heart in a way that hasn't happened since Ginny x Harry. I absolutely loved the previous books in this series, despite the main character's (Allie) tendency to be extremely emo and Harry-Potter-Order-of-the-Phoenix angsty. In previous books, I made excuses for her emotions, her feels, her constant need to hang onto her humanity in the face of her darker nature of the vampiric beast within in the hopes that she will eventually mature and embrace her darkness. I gave Allie credit for her weakness throughout this series, in the hopes that finally she will grow the fuck up and get her priorities straight. It didn't happen. Quite the opposite. Allie is more whiny than ever. Zeke is an emo pussy beyond redemption. The only saving grace to this book was the glorious motherfucker that is Jackal (LET ME LOVE YOU). Let me tell you how much I love Jackal. I don't just love him. I want to marry him. I want to grovel at his feet. I want to get down on my knees and worship him. I want to get down on my knees, and, well, let's not go into explicit details, now. ANYWAY. *ahem* I alternated between pain and pleasure in this book. Pain because of Allie. Pleasure whenever Jackal opened his mouth to rip Allie a new one. What hurts about this book is that Kagawa KNEW that Allie and Zeke are weak characters. She deliberately wrote her that way, because everything Jackal said about Allie rings so true. Jackal is Allie's biggest critic, and he absolutely confronted Allie on all her emotional lovey dovey bullshit. “Puppy, I am getting so tired of listening to you whine about this,” he snarled at Zeke. “This isn’t rocket science. If you don’t want to be a monster, don’t be a bloody monster! Be an uptight stick in the mud like Kanin. Be a self-righteous bleeding heart like Allison. Or you can stop agonizing about it and be a fucking monster."See? Jackal represented the POV that I feel a lot of readers can understand. Kagawa made Allie to be a weak character, an unreasonable one, a stubborn one, and while I respect her choice as the writer to create her character in this way, I cannot love Allie knowing her incredible faults. The Plot: Zeke is dead. Or he's supposed to be. Allie is trying not to think about him. Allie, Jackal, and Kanin are on their way through the devastation that is the US trying to track down the brilliant genius, Sarren, who seeks to kill every living and undead creature left in the world. Here's essentially how the book goes: Allie: I WILL NOT THINK ABOUT ZEKE *breaks down into tears 5 minutes later* I WILL BE A BIG BAD ASS KILLER AND AVENGE MY LOVER'S DEATH. *breaks down again* Jackal: LOL YOU ARE SO DUMB, FACE YOUR NATURE. BE LIKE ME! RAAAAWR! Allie: SHUT UP. You are SUCH a jerk. Jackal: And you want rainbows and unicorns and flowers, face the fucking truth. Kanin: Children, stop that. We are trying to save the world. Jackal: NEENER NEENER NEENER. Omg stop crying. Want some cheese to go with your whine, sister? Allie: I swear to god if I hear another word out of you, I will take your balls and shove them so far up your anal sphinc... Kanin: CHILDREN, PLEASE. We're under attack by an army of rabids! Jackal and Allie: *DIIIIIIIIIIIIIE RABIDS* Kanin: The most important thing to do now is to be smart. Stay together... Allie: Ok, daddy. OOH, SARREN! *runs away* Kanin: *facepalms* Allie: OMG ZEKE. I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD. Zeke: <3 Allie: THIS IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE BUT WHO CARES <333333 Zeke: *stabs Allie* Allie: ?_? D: Zeke: >:D DIE BITCH! SARREN TURNED ME AND I WILL KILL YOU!!!!!!!!!! I AM EVIL NOW! I WILL SING THE EVIL SONG! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS! Allie: ;_; But I love you. I WILL KILL YOU. OR KISS YOU. The words are right next to each other on the keyboard. Zeke: I AM SAVED BY YOUR LOVE. Kanin: What the heck? ?_? Jackal: You can't be fucking serious Allie: <3 Zeke: <3 Kanin: That's pretty cute, kids. I'm so happy that you're back together, but really, we're trying to find Sarren here, can we focus on the mission? Jackal: For fuck's sakes, get your fucking priorities straight. Allie: <3 u Zeke! Zeke: ;_; I'm a demon now. I'M A MONSTER. I HATE MYSELF. Allie: <333333 I DON'T CARE. YOU'RE MY ZEEEEEEEEEKE <33333 You will always be good and wonderful despite the fact that you have a blood bond with the evil vampire master Sarren! I hope. And if I hope for something hard enough, it must be true!!!!11!111 Kanin: We're trying to save the world here. Children? Jackal: GET THE FUCK OVER YOURSELF, ZEKE AND ALLIE. WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FUCKING BATTLE. THERE ARE CORPSES ALL OVER THE FUCKING PLACE. Allie: Blood is red, and red is the official color of Valentine's Day, so it just makes the situation more romantic, you asshole. Go away so Zeke and I can love each other. Kanin: Children? Children? Are you even listening to me? Zeke: I'm evil ;_; Allie: No, you're not, honeypie baby booboo Zeke: I'm evil ;_; Allie: No, you're not, sugarpunkins Zeke: I'm evil ;_; Allie: No, you're not, sweetsugarlips Zeke: Kill me. Allie: I'll kiss you instead, does that work? Zeke: Yes :D But I'm evil ;_; Jackal: ... Kanin: I molest bunnies. I kill kittens. An UFO has abducted me. IS ANYONE LISTENING TO ME ANYMORE? Allie and Zeke: *stares into each other's eyes* Yes, daddy. Jackal: *STABBY STABBY STABBY* Kanin: Ok, the important thing is to stay together. No heroics. We do this as a team. Allie: *sees Sarren* DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEE MOTHERFUCKER Kanin: Why do I even bother? Meanwhile: Sarren: MWAHAHAHAHA. I will destroy the world. I WILL KILL EVERYONE! Sarren: After I make this long-ass speech about how much they suck compared to my evil genius. [image] Allie: “Two lives for the rest of the world?” he continued. “Are you willing to sacrifice everything to save one and destroy another?”Allie needs to get her fucking priorities straight. I remained angry at Allie throughout the book because she was such an immature, madly romantic, wildly emotional and angsty character. She has her eyes on the prize: the prize being Zeke. The rest of the world? The fate of the world? Fuck them. All she cares about is Zeke. Let's focus on one scene specifically. Allie has found out that Zeke has been turned by Sarren into a vampire. Zeke is now evil, he retains little memories of her. Allie wants to go back for Zeke. It is a bad decision to make, and Kanin wants to get the facts straight before Allie makes her choice. “I want you to understand exactly what you are deciding, right now. If we return to the city for Jackal and Ezekiel, Sarren could reach Eden, complete whatever he is planning, and unleash a virus that could destroy everything. And if that happens, everything we’ve done here will be for nothing. Do you understand that?”It's pretty fucking clear. If Allie goes back, she risks endangering everything they've been fighting for. They are the last people who stand a chance at stopping Sarren. Without them, there is no hope. The fate of vampires and that of the surviving human rests on them. If they fail, the results are disastrous. “I just want you to understand the potential consequences of tonight,” he went on. “If we are killed, if we cannot get to Sarren in time, everything could die. It will be like it was sixty years ago. You aren’t old enough to remember the days Before, but when Red Lung was at its peak, the entire world was madness and chaos. And when the rabids appeared, it became hell on earth.”Kanin makes it perfectly clear. It's up to them. “It is...a very heavy weight to carry, Allison, the damnation of a world. I want you to be very certain, before we go any further. Is it worth it? Is he worth it?”And Allie's choice? I already knew my answer. It was selfish, it was unreasonable, and I knew it was the wrong choice. But I looked up at Kanin, into his impassive face, and whispered, “Yes.”I am fucking DONE with Allie. Zeke: Excuse me while I get out the world's smallest violin for Zeke. *Khanh starts playing while Zeke sings his song of emo* “I’m a demon, and the sooner I take myself out of this world, the better.”*While Zeke was crying, Khanh slowly switched her instrument to a cello. Khanh stops playing and bashes Zeke on the head with it* Jackal: I wanted to pump my fist in triumph every time Jackal spoke. His is the voice of destructive reason, and my god, I love him so much I could die. He gives it to Allie straight every time she's in one of her fluffy frilly lovey dovey self-pitying moods. When Allie and Zeke are having one of their Loving Moments in the middle of a fucking battlefield... “Still incredible, vampire girl,” he whispered, sounding almost like himself again. “Dangerous, beautiful and unstoppable. You haven’t changed.”Jackal interrupts them to tell them to get their heads out of their asses and get back into the fucking moment. “Oh, isn’t that sweet,” came Jackal’s loud, mocking voice before I could reply. “Let’s make goo-goo eyes at each other in the middle of a stinking corpse field, how very romantic.”I felt like Jackal was saying everything I was thinking. Every time Zeke or Allie have one of their nauseatingly self-pitying moments, Jackal is there to mock them to their face. “Aw, isn’t that sweet.” And Jackal sauntered into view, smirk firmly in place. “But don’t wait around on my account. It’s not like I can’t wait for yet another riveting night of listening to you people whine at each other. Oh, woe is me, I’m a vampire. I’m a horrible monster who eats babies and murders bunnies, boo hoo hoo.”I would be ever so happy if Jackal had his own spinoff. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Apr 16, 2014
|
Apr 17, 2014
|
Aug 18, 2013
|
Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
0375868771
| 9780375868771
| 0375868771
| 3.51
| 2,362
| Sep 10, 2013
| Sep 10, 2013
|
liked it
|
Actual rating: 3.5 Names have power; to name something is to domesticate it, or to try. Naming a tornado would be like naming a shadow. What haActual rating: 3.5 Names have power; to name something is to domesticate it, or to try. Naming a tornado would be like naming a shadow. What happened in Oleander that day was simply the storm. A cloud that faded back into sky before it had a chance to enjoy what it had wrought.There are a lot of books that toss about their supposed similarity to Stephen King without ever approaching it. And then there are books like this one, which makes no such fantastic claims, in which I clearly see the influence of our revered master of horror. This book does a better job of recreating and replicating the feel, the atmosphere of a Stephen King horror novel than any young adult novel I have read since John Saul's earlier works. I would describe this as "Stephen King for teens." It didn't send chills down my spine. It didn't give me any nightmares (thank you, Pennywise). But it made me gag in some parts, and I seriously would not want to step foot in Oleander. Never ever ever. Creepy little place. The premise is deceptively simple, the execution (no pun intended) is far more complex. Right off the bat, we are immersed in a mass killing, one of many to come in the deceptively sleepy little town of Oleander, Kansas. Warning: if you have a weak stomach for violence, you might want to put this book down. There is no flinching here where it comes to ruthless and wanton destruction of people and property. The killings (and there are many, many of them) are described matter-of-factly, unflinchingly, no-holds-barred. Within one day, in separate events, 12 people are killed. A child is smothered to death. A man is nailed to a cross and set afire in a church. Many people are gunned down in a drugstore. A young man is mowed down by a car. Most of these acts were committed by reasonable members of the community, the sort of which you would whisper "He never seemed the type...but you never know, do you?" One year later, a storm comes to town, literally and figuratively. It rips the the town apart physically, and leaves something behind within the hearts and minds of the people in town that is less visible, but no less insidious. Oleander becomes, more or less, an anarchy. Reason and rationality has no room here, as the town is cut off completely from the outside world. They are under quarantine, by government orders. The internet is down, phone lines are down. Nobody goes, nobody leaves. Oleander becomes a world within itself. And chaos erupts. ...Oleander’s era of democracy had drawn to a close.Is it evil? Is it demonic possession, is it God's punishment upon sinners, as the town's charismatic and ambitious Deacon would have them believe? Is it something else? That's what the survivors are trying to figure out. Above all else, this book excels in creating an utterly credible, eerie small-town atmosphere. Honestly, this is where my Stephen King feels come in. Stephen King has typically used a setting of a a small Maine town, and we get such a clear feeling for the atmosphere of place in his books. I get the exact feeling reading about Oleander, its present, its past, its beating heart. Oleander is a small town like any others. It is a quiet place, a typical Midwestern town. Football reigns as king. It is solidly middle-class America with a largely ignored white trailer trash underground populace. I could describe it more, but I think the book itself says it best. There is absolutely nothing I can say, I am rendered absolutely speechless at how brilliantly portrayed Oleander has been written in this book. The town itself is the star of the novel. If left unrestrained, I could quote half the book for the sheer brilliance of the descriptions of Oleander, but short of doing that, I shall leave you with this little snippet from Chapter 2: In blood as in drought or in poverty or in flame, Oleander was Oleander, and there were still crops to be sown and meth to be harvested, pies to be baked and pigs to be prized, bargains to be hunted and farms to be foreclosed, cherries to be popped and hearts to be broken, worship to be offered and sinners to be shamed.After the recent tragedy in Oleander (and there has been more in the past), the town grieves, but life goes on. The new Oleander bustled and shone, its determined noise drowning out any echoes of the past. Grass and flowers and trees sprang from fallow ground. The scents of corn and life drove out the lingering smoke, and finally, the fire and its carpet of bones could be safely buried in the past and allowed to slip through the cracks of collective memory. But the earth had memory of its own.Until the storm starts. The plot is well-written and kept me guessing; I truly had no idea as to which direction the book was going to take. The events after the tornado, the slow building of chaos and insanity are subtly done and well-described. We feel the gradual building of tension, the feeling that something is just not right, and it's more than just your average post-traumatic chaos. The story is dark, you feel the wrongness of the things that transpire within the people involved, even as they do not seem to realize it themselves. It is not exactly horror, but the darkness, the intensity was so well-written. And some scenes really did make me gag a little bit. Let's just say I have a little issue with corpses, and this book just dredges them up. Again, no pun intended. Even if it is well-written, the plot got boring in some parts. There's only so much murder and mayhem I can take before I get really, really bored, and this book verged into the "enough already!" territory for me. I want more of a plot, and the plot itself unfolded rather too slowly for my tastes. I have a feeling that a significant part of the book (and it is a very long book) can be cut down without downplaying the message and the urgency of the chaos that is unfolding within Oleander. I didn't have a problem with the plot twist; things didn't transpire as I expected, but it's all good. The book has five main characters, and we hear the narration from all of their points of view. It got to be a bit much keeping track of 5 different characters and their stories, but no, it doesn't stop there! We also hear snippets from other side characters as the story progresses, from Baz, the alpha-male douchebag of a star football player. From Deacon Barnes, the fiercely ambitious religious fanatic who is one of the leader who step up to take control of Oleander after the quarantine. From Charlotte King, the religiously fanatical mother of one of our main characters. From "Mickey," the wimpy town mayor. It all got a little too much to handle to keep track of everything and everyone. And there are a. Lot. Of. Characters. This book is well worth a read; it might not be a great book, but it's certainly better than any other attempts at YA horror I've read this year. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Sep 20, 2013
|
Sep 27, 2013
|
Aug 14, 2013
|
Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
1250045630
| 9781250045638
| 1250045630
| 4.34
| 32,342
| May 20, 2014
| May 20, 2014
|
really liked it
| “Sweet,” I said, astounded at my acting skills. I should’ve gone to Hollywood when I had the chance, but when that old man offered to take me that “Sweet,” I said, astounded at my acting skills. I should’ve gone to Hollywood when I had the chance, but when that old man offered to take me that one time at an abandoned gas station in the middle of nowhere, I wasn’t sure I could trust him. Mostly because he had rope, duct tape, and lots of condoms in his backseat. Still, I’ll never know what could have come of it. How far I could have risen.There are two types of people in the world. Those who hate Charley Davidson, and those who will love her no matter what. I'm in the latter camp. So take my 4 star with a grain of salt. If you didn't love Charley, you're going to hate this book. If you loved Charley, come on over. There's a lovely little circle of us around a Satanic bonfire, and we have marshmallows, pointy sticks, and Hershey's, because the only time Hershey's chocolate is worth eating is when it's in a S'more. You're free to use the sticks however you so choose. But I digress. It's like a parent with their fantastically stupid child who they think is the most smartest wittle Einstein in the whole fucking world. Said parents will coo at that idiotic child and say "Ooh, isn't my darwing wittle pooh bear so adowable?! Isn't she?! Isn't she?!" as the idiotic brat is cramming a small Lego up her fucking nose while you're standing by looking on nodding and thinking "One day, my child, you will be blessedly removed from our fucking gene pool. Wait for it." With Charley Davidson, I'm kind of like that parent. No matter what kind of idiocy comes out of her mouth, no matter how stupid she is, no matter how inappropriately snarky she is, I will still think Charley Davidson is the shit. If she bit off a wee little bunny's head in front of me and then bared her teeth in a bloody grin, I'd stare in shock for a moment, and then stammer out "Well...maybe that bunny was asking for it," and I'm neither a fan of victim blaming nor a bunny hater. Quite the opposite. I loved this book because I love Charley, but I have to admit that it's one of the weaker ones in the series. The Plot: It goes all over the damn place. If you want a straight, linear plot, you're not going to find it here. If you haven't read Charley before, don't even think about touching this book because you're not gonna understand a single fucking thing. It'll be like an insider's joke where everyone is laughing at you (not with you). Charley is a private investigator, albeit a paranormal one. In this book, she's... - Got an anonymous naked ghost in her car. It's a little hard not to look at his penis because hello, the dude's naked (and old. Not cool.) The poor guy needed to be done with whatever it was he’d left unfinished. I couldn’t have him running around naked forever. It just seemed wrong.- Got a dead Chinese man in her bedroom, and although that wouldn't ordinarily be a problem (I dated a few Chinese guys myself), this one is dead, he's been in her room for as long as she's been there, and now...there's just something off about him. - Got a client who's sold his soul to the Devil. Literally. - Probably going to have said Devil as a father-in-law one day, considering her lover and "night-fiancé" Reyes is the son of the devil. Or the spawn of his flesh. More the latter, really. Who knew the Devil didn't like traditional procreation?! - Had some random ass guys show up in her bedroom in the middle of the night and they're not surprise strippers - Found out that her man may or may not have a sibling. Oh, hell! - Trying to deal with an evil stepmother and a dad who's dealing with cancer slash midlife crisis. What else would you call running away to sail off into the Atlantic. With cancer (ok, fine, in remission). Clearly crazy runs in the family. - Lost roughly $17 million in a card game. Fine, more like $1.7K. It's just a few zeroes off. - She's trying to hook up her best friend and her uncle, both of whom are making googly eyes at each other, and both are too shy to make a move. - Trying to prevent a couple of teenagers from doing the Romeo and Juliet thing. So you can see why this book isn't for everyone. I have to admit, I have the attention span of a peanut. Sometimes a book delivers a million storylines, and I absolutely hate it. Sometimes a book like this happens, and I love it, because I love the character, because I find the situations interesting. Your mileage may vary. Charley: “I tend to forget how beautifully your plans work when each and every one goes awry, including the one that left you stranded on a deserted bridge with a man who had every intention of burning you alive.”Ok, so Charley kind of has a bit of a hero complex. And I mean "a bit" in the sense that running headfirst into a metal pole is "a bit" painful. She's snarky, she's irreverant, sure. She's also got this overwhelming sense of stupidity that makes her want to rescue every stray soul out there in need of help. Whether it's matchmaking her best friend/receptionist to her uncle, or saving an errant soul from eternal nudity, to playing card games with a demon...she'll do anything necessary. My heart broke all too often. Even when people passed through me who’d gotten past their hardships, their heart-wrenching pain, and had lived long, full lives, seeing that part of them still cut me to pieces. So, maybe all this time I’d been hanging with Mr. Wong, I was really putting off the inevitable, the truth, not for his benefit, but for my own.Charley is often too sympathetic (and often empathetic) for her own good. And she's often got a sense of humor that's hilarious to those who love her...but can seem overly forced to those who don't. I dialed her number. Got her voice mail. Waited for the beep. Then I did my best creepy kidnapper voice. “This is a ransom demand,” I said, my voice raspy. Kidnapper-y. “Deliver one hundred boxes of Cheez-Its to the unmarked—ignore the license plate—cherry red Jeep Wrangler sitting in your parking lot by noon today, or you will suffer the consequences.” I paused to cough. Raspy was hard on the esophagus. “They will be dire.”The Romance: “I’m not stupid,” I said, growing tired of his questioning everything I did. “I do use common sense.”I don't like asshole alpha males, and one could argue that the Son of the Devil, Reyes Farrow, is an asshole alpha male, but in this book, he is entirely tamed. He wears an apron, he works as a waiter, he adores Charley despite her obvious idiocy. This wolf is now a puppy. A really hot puppy, but a puppy, nevertheless, and it's often frustrating to me that Charley leaves him hanging... “When are you going to answer him?” Cookie asked, drawing my attention.I can't even blame little 12-year old Amber for her crush. A hopeless sigh slid through Cookie’s lips as she finally looked at him. “You’ve set the bar too high now. No one will live up to—” She gestured to all of him. “—all of that. You’ve ruined my daughter.”...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
May 26, 2014
|
May 27, 2014
|
Aug 04, 2013
|
Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
0385739737
| 9780385739733
| 0385739737
| 3.85
| 2,413
| Jun 11, 2013
| Jun 11, 2013
|
None
|
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Aug 16, 2013
|
Aug 23, 2013
|
Jul 27, 2013
|
Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||||
125002434X
| 9781250024343
| 125002434X
| 2.82
| 2,439
| 2013
| Jul 02, 2013
|
None
|
Notes are private!
|
0
|
not set
|
not set
|
Jul 27, 2013
|
Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||||
0062227327
| 9780062227324
| 0062227327
| 3.81
| 34,388
| Apr 06, 2013
| Aug 06, 2013
|
really liked it
| It seemed to me that in this confluence of cultures, we had acquired one another’s superstitions without necessarily any of their comforts. It seemed to me that in this confluence of cultures, we had acquired one another’s superstitions without necessarily any of their comforts.The star of this book is not Li Lan. It is not her book; the focal point is not the very mild romance, it is not the mystery. The overwhelming show-stealer is the setting, the background, the history, the superstition and traditional beliefs of turn-of-the-century Malaya. I am Asian myself and I maintain my love of Asian culture despite having immigrated to the United States. I know a lot about the region and its history; for me, this book feels like going home. It is my equivalent of chicken soup (or rather, in the context of the book, herbal "chicken soup and cordyceps for stamina"). The setting is spectacularly beautiful, and so achingly familiar. This is Malaya, or as we know it now, Malaysia. The port city is Malacca. The year is 1893. The history of the area is so interesting, and is the very definition of intermingling. I loved the amalgamation of cultures, of beliefs, of nationalities. The vivid setting and the descriptions of the setting and atmosphere are nothing short of spectacular. Every aspect of life in Malaya is cultivated from a mixture of the numerous cultures that form the heterogeneous society of this vibrant port city. Women's clothing vary from the Chinese cheong sam to the lower-class sam foo, to traditional Chinese formal wear, to the Indonesian baju panjang and kebaya. The food are mouth-wateringly portrayed, from a different mix of nationalities and their respective cooking traditions, and there are so many instances of it! Even if you do not start out hungry, you will end up starving by the time you finish this book. They had all my favorite kinds of kuih—the soft steamed nyonya cakes made of glutinous rice flour stuffed with palm sugar or shredded coconut. There were delicate rolled biscuits called love letters and pineapple tarts pressed out of rich pastry. Bowls of toasted watermelon seeds were passed around, along with fanned slices of mango and papaya.The author is of Malaysian descent, and her portrayal of the country shows her in-depth knowledge of Malaysia and its wonderfully rich history. It also shows clearly and understandably, her love for it. I also grew to love the setting and the country as if it were my own. It is beautifully portrayed, with tremendous respect for all the cultures and social classes represented. For me, the true star of the book is its setting, both of it. The real world, and the ghostly one. The superstitions, myths, legends, all are wonderfully told and portrayed. I had seen some of the painted hell scrolls that depicted the gruesome fates awaiting sinners. There were people being boiled in oil or sawed in half by horse and ox-headed demons. Others were forced to climb mountains of knives or were pounded into powder by enormous mallets. Gossips had their tongues ripped out, hypocrites and tomb robbers were disemboweled. Unfilial children were frozen in ice. The worst was the lake of blood into which suicides and women who had died in childbirth or aborted their children were consigned.I was utterly immersed and fascinated by the setting, and it feels so satisfying to read about something about which I'm familiar. This book would be even more fascinating to someone without a deep understanding of the culture. There is so much to be learned, so much to be gleaned from within this beautifully written book. Li Lan is a beautiful 17 year old girl, hidden away during the most important years of her life. As a young woman of the upper class, from a good, old family, Li Lan should be out socializing and being seen and known by the other well-known "good" Chinese families in the area. Instead, she is languishing away in her family's grand, ancient, crumbling mansion, with a mentally absent, opium-addicted, wasted shadow of a father and only her loving, ancient Amah for company. It is a life of genteel poverty, and one from which Li Lan is not likely to escape anytime soon. My father’s withdrawal from the world meant that he had sought out no friends with sons and had arranged no match for me. For the first time I began to fully comprehend why Amah was continually angry with him on this subject. The contrast between the realization of his neglect and the fondness I had for my father was painful. I had few marriage prospects, and would be doomed to the half-life of spinsterhood. Without a husband, I would sink further into genteel poverty, bereft of even the comfort and respect of being a mother.Her father is not a despicable character, despite his faults. Formerly a wealthy merchant and a scholar, he now isolates himself from the world with the help of the opium pipe. Li Lan's father's story is a sad one, and even though he truly is a negligent father, I cannot despise him as a character. I find him tragic, but never reprehensible. One day, Li Lan's father casually mentions that the very wealthy Lim family is interested in Li Lan as a potential bride for their son. There's just one caveat. The son is dead. Li Lan would be his ghost bride: wedded to his spirit though he is dead and she very much living. ...my father said, “What, you don’t want to be a widow at almost eighteen? Spend your life in the Lim mansion wearing silk? But you probably wouldn’t be allowed any bright colors.” He broke into his melancholy smile. “Of course I didn’t accept. How would I dare? Though if you didn’t care for love or children, it might not be so bad. You would be housed and clothed all the days of your life.”Her father never pressures her into this decision. He knows his faults, he regrets it, but like an addict, he cannot change his ways. Regardless, he still loves his daughter, he respects her decision...his daughter is a constant reminder to him of his much-beloved wife, whom he has long lost. Li Lan gets invited to the Lim household, and sees the tempting glimpse of the lifestyle that she could have. She also sees and falls in love with someone whom she cannot have: the heir-to-be, the cousin of the deceased, Tian Bai. The more we find out about Tian Bai and Li Lan, the more tragic Li Lan's situation becomes. There is such terrible irony in the situation. More troublesome than the man Li Lan cannot have, is the dead man who wants her. Li Lan is haunted by the spirit of Tian Ching, her proposed ghost husband. He is a bumbling figure who becomes chillingly sadistic in how he comes to haunt Li Lan every night. I absolutely loved Li Lan's nightmares, and how they slowly come to overshadow Li Lan's life. The dreams are gorgeously portrayed, they felt more realistic to me than many of the dreams about which I've read in other books; they feel like dreams I've had, nightmares I've had that have scared me. They are just detailed enough and vague enough for me to feel, as a reader, that they could be real. I felt Li Lan's terror as Tian Chiang becomes a darker character, childlike in his aggression, in his singleminded attitude of wanting what he cannot have. Despite my terror, I felt a slow burning in my stomach. Why should I be married to this autocratic buffoon, alive or dead?His threats are not empty promises. Tian Chiang's influence seemingly reaches beyond the afterlife and Li Lan's dreams. He torments and terrorizes her to such an extent that her spirit dissipates...she is turned into a shadow, a living ghost. Forced into the parallel ghostly underworld, Li Lan has to solve a number of mysteries and make some questionable alliances in order to return to the world of the living. Here is where the book weakens. There is just so much going on within it. The plot moves along at a slow pace, a reasonable one, but there are so many mysteries and so many plot lines that it is difficult for me to keep things straight. For example, in the living world, we have: the mystery of Tian Chiang's death, the mystery surrounding Tian Bai, Li Lan's illness and its relation to the haunting, her father's secrecy, the mysterious behaviors of the people in the Lim family, the mysterious character that she encounters at the medium. In the underworld, we have still more mysteries, still more secret plots, still more family mysteries to be untangled. There are ghosts, demons, long-dead relatives, officials of the Courts of Hell, the mystery of bribery and the border officials. And that's not to mention where things intersect. Oy vey! There is a lot of plot going on here, and it oftentimes made my head spin. It was also really confusing in some parts, largely because so much of the book is based in a ghostly parallel world and within dreams. At times, it was hard for me to tell what is actually real, and what is taking place within a dream---which is also real, but just...in a dream. Confusing, yes. Some parts of the book seemed largely extraneous, some people and certain interactions did not contribute much to the plot movement, and it bored me at some points. The characters are very much present, and not unlikeable, but largely lacking in color and in life compared to the setting itself. Li Lan is a sympathetic character, and very much likeable; she is very sheltered, very innocent, but never acts stupid to the point where I was frustrated with her actions. I felt her frustrations at times, Malaya is not traditionally Chinese, and women are given a lot more freedom than those in mainland China. Despite the fact, Li Lan is still helpless and confined in so many ways, and I understood her frustration for the helplessness of her fate. What was happening out in the world of men? Had Tian Bai talked to his uncle again? What were we to do with our debts? How I wished I could go out and make inquiries by myself. If only I had a brother or a cousin to rely on. Despite the fact that my feet were not bound, I was confined to domestic quarters as though a rope tethered my ankle to our front door.Despite all this, I cannot really relate to her as a character, however sympathetic I am to her plight. She is a very small fish in a very large pond, and I can't help but feel that she lacks---life. No pun intended. The romance is very, very light here. However much she swoons over Tian Bai, it never feels like love. Tian Bai is a nice guy, he really is. He is, however, completely lacking in personality. I hate to say it, but he has no character that I can discern. He's the boy next door, who has yet to mature into someone interesting. Li Lan's love for him doesn't feel like love so much as a very sheltered schoolgirl's infatuation with the very first eligible boy she meets...and he truly is. It's not as if Li Lan has had a chance to interact with many guys before, really, none at all. Her obsession with him, her despair over their forbidden-love situation just makes me want to roll my eyes and scoff "Teenagers!" Warning: there is a love triangle within this book. It's wonderful! Spectacular! Nope. Please. You guys know me and my feelings about love triangles. It's forced, it feels unnatural, and it is so very predictable and strange, considering the situations in which Li Lan and the third wheel interact. From the very first moment Li Lan sets eyes on the mysterious stranger, I sighed to myself "Here we go again," and I was right. It wasn't really annoying, because the romance in this book is so light as to be almost nonexistent. As I said before, the star of the book is the setting, the romance and the characters are but the means to the end of the mystery. In summation: this is a beautifully written book, with a wonderfully built atmosphere, bogged down somewhat by rather bland side characters. The plot is interesting, but is too slow at times, and is rendered confusing by the inclusion of dream sequences. Still, it comes highly recommended by me for anyone seeking a fascinating read. It is certainly one of the best books I've read this year in terms of historical and cultural accuracy, and the pure beauty of the writing. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Sep 11, 2013
|
Sep 17, 2013
|
Jul 20, 2013
|
Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
098926842X
| B00D6XM3FS
| 3.82
| 334
| Jun 02, 2013
| Jun 04, 2013
|
liked it
|
"'How can you say you want to run? They took your mother. They took your life. They took your choices away. How can you just run when you have every c
"'How can you say you want to run? They took your mother. They took your life. They took your choices away. How can you just run when you have every cause to turn around and fight back?'" This was a quick, mostly enjoyable vampire dystopian novella. It is far from perfect; I had numerous questions as I read through it, and there were plenty of errors. This novella could have benefited a great deal if it had an editor (or one that's better at doing his or her job). The problem here is one from which many books of its ilk suffers: IT'S A NOVELLA. It is an ambitious premise. It would be an ambitious full-length book. The author said, in the preface, that this novella was originally published before, and was even shorter before she fleshed it out. My mind boggles. Seriously. I can imagine a book with this premise as a full-length, 300-page novel, with fleshed-out characters and a well-built setting. It certainly has a lot of promise from what I've read. And what I've read was not satisfying; this little book was around 70 pages (text size: extra-small!) on my ebook device. Wha...what? 70 pages to build a new dystopian world, to explain how said world came about, to create compelling characters and backgrounds? A novella? No. It doesn't cut it. At all. Before I go further off-topic ranting on the awfulness of the novella and how it should be restricted to, say, books 1.5 or 2.7 in a series, let's get back to the story itself. Meridian Six is the name given to our main character, a 23-year old human girl whose actual human-given name is Carmina Sargosa. Before the Blood Wars, she led a life with her mother; after the wars, she was captured by the vampiric Troika, and used as propaganda, since her mother was the famous rebel, Alexis Sargosa. Carmina suffered tremendously under the Troika, and her reputation is left in shreds among the surviving human rebels. She has no one to turn to, she is of no use to the vampires besides her role as a poster-child for human obedience, and the rebels hate her because of her image. They despise her; to them, she is a pampered, spoiled, well-fed sycophant, living well against their hardship and suffering. "'While you were sucking the Troika's cocks, my daughter was murdered and hung to bleed out from the window of our apartment building to serve as a warning to the other vampires who were considering mating with humans.'" Despite what the rebels believed, Carmina's life inside the Troika, as their toy, was nothing but pure torture. "In exchange for my services to the Troika's propaganda machine, I was passed around like a trophy among the highest level vampires. It was something of a badge of honor to vein fuck Alexis Sargosa's daughter." The Troika tortured her physically and mentally, anything from benignly making her clean their houses to putting a gun to her head just to smell her fear. Finally, they put her through one final act of invasion that she could no longer withstand, and thus, she formulates a flimsy, idiotic plan to run away. My sympathy for Carmina is real, but it doesn't diminish the fact that she's a moron. I have to give credit where it's due, and so I will say that it's probably not out of character that she acts the way she does. She's had no formal education besides what little her more benevolent vampire masters choose to give her, and everything she has is given by them. Therefore, I suppose it's not really her fault that she decides to try and outrun a squad of Troika police in a green silk dress and high heels. And I suppose I can forgive her for not having the slightest bit of a clue what to do once she escapes. Ok, maybe not. First things first, let's get back to the world at hand here. This is not our United States; the US is now split into 3 parts, and New York is now Nachtstadt (apparently, vampires speak German?). There has been a Blood War. There are fucking vampires living on the planet, outnumbering humans. What little bunches of rebels there are exist on the edge of nothing. It is a hard life to be a rebel. It is a hard life to be a human, because as a human, you are either a) confined to a labor camp or b) hooked up and drained for your blood à la Daybreakers style, which, as you can imagine, diminishes your lifespan pretty quickly. Everything is run by the Troika. Before the war, they bought out all the media companies, so all they had to do to immobilize humans and take over was flip a few switches and kill off the phones, internet, TVs. That's actually really effective, now that I think about it. Props to the evil vampiric masterminds, yo. So, in the midst of all this, humans are all but extinct and there are pretty much none living on the fringes. So where in the actual fuck would our intrepid heroine go once she's escaped? Once she's actually revealed the Troika's plot? Yeah. To say that Carmina doesn't really think things through is understating it. Sure, she'll escape in her silk dress and high heels, meet the rebels (who hate her from reputation), tell them of the plans, and then go on her merry way. "'None of this has anything to do with me. I just want to move on and try to cobble a life together...I didn't escape the Troika only to get involved in some scheme that would put me back into their crosshairs.'" Um, yeah. Tough shit, you walked right into it, sister. A little foresight wouldn't hurt, for future reference. You don't go into a mob of angry rebels after being the poster child for human obedience and expect to walk away scot-free after you've seen their secret lair. My complaints about Carmina aside, she does manage to grow up somewhat throughout the novella. The rebels themselves are not likeable characters, but they're not intended to be likeable characters. They're tough as rocks. They've had horrible things happen to them. In some cases, they've had their entire families killed. We don't learn too much of them, but from what I've read, Dare, Icarus, and Saga all have backgrounds that can easily be built-up to fully sympathetic and complex characters IF THIS WAS AN ACTUAL BOOK. I was left with too many questions for this book to fully work for me. Who are the Troika? We know they're vampires, but how are they different from the other vampires from before the Blood War? We know of the Blood War, how did vampires come into our knowledge and live alongside us before that? Why are certain blood types more valuable than others? Why and how did they use Meridian Six as propaganda? What do vampires look like? From what I read in this book, they either look normal or have fangs that make them look like "saber-toothed tigers." How are they able to reproduce with humans? Why are some vampires able to go around in the sun like Dare did? Why are some vampires alongside humans? And so on and so forth. Too many questions, too few answers. It's a decent little book, but it leaves me unsatisfied and frustrated. Oh, I forgot to add one element which greatly pleased me. NO UNNECESSARY ROMANCE IS FORCED UPON US. Hallelujah! ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Jul 19, 2013
|
Jul 20, 2013
|
Jul 18, 2013
|
Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||||
1477809600
| 9781477809600
| 1477809600
| 3.94
| 7,690
| May 21, 2013
| Jan 21, 2014
|
liked it
|
Actual rating: 2.5 "'Once upon a fuck, you people,' I muttered." Indexing is like the X-Files, if the X-Files were about fairy tales instead of aliens a Actual rating: 2.5 "'Once upon a fuck, you people,' I muttered." Indexing is like the X-Files, if the X-Files were about fairy tales instead of aliens and monsters, without the underlying Mulder/Scully sexual tension between the agents. It's the premise of a thousand other TV shows, comic books, and movies. A secret government agencies designed to keep people in the real world in the dark about what's really going on. The agency in question here is the ATI Management Bureau, ATI being short for Aarne-Thompson Index, an index used to measure and keep track of real-life fairy tale manifestations. The agency in this serial operates under this premise: all fairy tales are real. Snow White, Jack and the Beanstalk, etc. All of them. They may not always be accurate to the Grimm version, but they exist, and they manifest themselves in the real world. The ATI Management Bureau's jobs is to keep these manifestations under control, so that normal humans don't get pulled into them and overwhelmed by them. This is a world where Sleeping Beauties can be raped while comatose, where a Pied Piper can pull thousands of rats and vermins from the city sewers, where evil stepsisters can be killer. The ATIMB's job is to keep us safe and unaware of these manifestations so that we can sleep easy in our warm beds at night with our children dreaming about Sleeping Beauty being awakened by a handsome prince's kiss, instead of dying from a actual Sleeping Beauty's uncontrolled manifestation. "...a four-ten manifested in a small beachside community, and no one noticed. She put the whole town to sleep, and this is the real world, which tends to be pretty straightforward about things like 'humans need to eat' and 'if you sleep for three weeks without any medical treatment of any kind, you will die.' By the time the four-ten herself died, breaking the spell cast by her presence, no one lived there anymore." The ATI have codes for every manifestation; for example, a 709 is a Snow White manifestation, a 410 is a Sleeping Beauty, a 280 is a Pied Piper, etc. The agents themselves were previously part of a manifestation themselves, or else had their story "averted." Our main character, Henrietta Marchen (yes, her last name means fairy tale in German), is the child of a manifestation, as well as one herself. She is a 709, a Snow White, but not one of the lovely Disney creatures you see walking around the park, smiling and posing with children. Henry does have an affinity for woodland creatures and a tendency to make flowers grow on carpet (not an entirely useful skill), but that's where the resemblance ends. "We're too pale, and our lips are too red, and we look like something out of a horror movie that didn’t have the decency to stay on the screen." This book is not a book, but an e-novella, delivered through a Kindle subscription every two weeks. We first meet Henry and the ATI as they're investigating a case. In the first two chapters, we're introduced to the ATI, given a rough idea of what they do, and we meet the other members of the team (including Sloane, an averted Wicked Stepsister, with the pain-in-the-ass attitude to match). The first few episodes were really boring; I never really bought into the premise of the ATI, and I was still pretty fuzzy on the premise of the ATI Management Bureau itself. After the first three episodes or so, we get into more of a groove, with each subsequent episode telling the story of a case. After the first two episodes, things picked up. The cases are amusing, short, an interesting spin on the original fairy tales. It gradually becomes less X-Files, and more Fringe. I think the concept of the ATI works best if you don't think too much about the agency or the concept, and instead focus on the interpretations of the fairy tales themselves. Episode 1 and 2: introduction of the ATIMB, a Sleeping Beauty and a Pied Piper, as well as the recruitment of a new team member. Episode 3: A Red Riding Hood case (with bears!) Episode 4: Sloane's continuing story as the Wicked Stepsister Episode 5: just released a few days ago, and I've yet to read it. It's just not too successful a premise altogether. Maybe it's just me; I have yet to meet a Mira Grant/Seanan McGuire character I actually like. I never really felt connected to any of the team members, or to our narrator, even if the author does her best to give us a sad backstory on most of the agents. This may be due to the fact that the novella is still so short and only in its fifth installment, and there hasn't been time for anyone to develop a personality. Rest assured, they all have bad backstories. As previously mentioned, these are not Disney movies with the associated happy endings. These fairy tales are much Grimmer. Come on, you guys knew that pun was coming from a mile away. In summary: this series is just ok. If you want alternative retellings of fairy tales, there are better ones out there. I would suggest you reach for one of the excellent anthologies edited by Ellen Datlow et al, before resorting to this. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Jul 16, 2013
|
Jul 19, 2013
|
Jul 16, 2013
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
0590431978
| 9780590431972
| 0590431978
| 4.06
| 68,769
| Oct 14, 1981
| Oct 01, 1989
|
really liked it
|
Warning: SCARY PICTURES. Do not click on this review if you don't want to be plagued by nightmares. I don't care how old you are. Fear transcends all
Warning: SCARY PICTURES. Do not click on this review if you don't want to be plagued by nightmares. I don't care how old you are. Fear transcends all age barriers. I'm a supporter of childhood literacy, but I beg you. Please, for the love of all that is holy, do not make the mistake of giving this book to your children. They will never forgive you. Think of all the therapy costs. [image] When I was a little girl, I was terrified of the dark. I couldn't sleep without my rituals. All blankets had to be tucked in completely around me. All closet doors must be closed. Before bed, the room must be checked to for all odd-looking shadows that might morph into something terrifying when I open my eyes in the middle of the night. Above all, all toes must be secured, or else something will munch on them. It didn't help me when I was 12. [image] I read 5 pages of this book, and I couldn't go on. I don't know if you've seen the drawings, but this book is absolutely fucking terrifying. If you have children, please, please do not give this book to your child. It will scar them for life. It took me years to summon the courage to open this book again. I was 16. I had just watched It. I couldn't sleep for 2 weeks afterwards for longer than 30 minute increments. I could barely stay awake in class. It was horrible. Surely, after surviving the horrors of Pennywise the Clown, I could...possibly? maybe? take on this book again? I was wrong. I got to "THE THING" before shoving it into the back of the closet (IF I CAN'T SEE IT, THE MONSTERS DON'T EXIST) and ran to the living room. [image] Monsters won't eat you when you're with your parents. The artist for this book is Stephen Gammell. Thank you, Mr. Gammell. I hope you sleep well, you diabolical crafter of nightmares. Who knows how many children and adults you have scared. Who knows how many hours of terror and sleepless nights this book has wrought. Stephen King has nothing on you. I'm a grown-ass woman, and tonight, I'm still going to sleep with one eye open. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Mar 17, 2014
|
Mar 17, 2014
|
Jul 12, 2013
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
0316125849
| 9780316125840
| 0316125849
| 4.01
| 41,104
| Apr 03, 2012
| Apr 03, 2012
|
it was amazing
|
Actual rating: 4.5 A dark psychological thriller. I have to admit, this wasn't what I expected. Given the premise, I anticipated something more flimsy, Actual rating: 4.5 A dark psychological thriller. I have to admit, this wasn't what I expected. Given the premise, I anticipated something more flimsy, something along the lines of Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective. I got a young Dexter/John Cleaver, with considerably more emotional baggage. This book works for me more as a psychological analysis than anything. Yeah, the plot is there, and it is good. The mystery kept me guessing and I loved seeing things through the eyes of the killer, but the psychoanalytical aspects of this book blew the actual storyline out of the water. Psych 101? Please. I gained more insight into the human mind from this book than from anything I learned in that class. Jasper's father is a serial killer, the worst (meaning the best, and not the most terrible) serial killer of all time. He has killed 123...or 124, people before stupidly getting caught, and now poor Jazz is left to grow up pretty much on his own in a town where his name is notorious for being the child of a serial killer who got caught. Nobody held him accountable for his father's crimes since he is a juvenile, and not an actual accessory to his father's crimes despite the fact that his dad has been practically grooming him to take over the "family business" since he's been in action---meaning started killing people. Jasper (Jazz) is extremely intelligent for his age, he's got the street savvy, he's got the smooth-talking skills down, he's got dear old dad's skills of persuasion, and some others that he wish he didn't. Now, there's another killer loose in the town of Lobo's Nod, Jazz thinks it's a serial killer but nobody believes him, and he's out to investigate. Not the smartest move if you want to stay under the radar, but I suppose if he acted intelligently and kept his head low, this book wouldn't exist. Jazz: I loved Jazz's character, his complexity, his conflicting desires. This book is an insight into his head, the psychological torment that he goes through day by day knowing that he is his father's son. He struggles with his desires to do good and the darker parts of him that might be a little too close to his father than he likes. The conflict inside him is beautifully written. From the charismatic, normal front he puts up daily to fool others, to his deeper inner struggles with his father's programming. He's got a dark sense of humor, and I rather like that as a bit of a break within such a dark tale. Children are so impressionable, and even if his father got caught, the years and years of grooming affected his mind more than he wants to believe. He doesn't want to be like his father...who, besides the most twisted, mentally ill children wants to emulate a serial killer when they grow up---but Jazz can't help growing up the way he did, having witnessed what he did, and having the same blood running through his veins. Jazz knows his own terrifying potential, should he allow it to grow. "'But you don't want to kill people,' she'd said with finality, and Jazz had let the conversation die right there. Because the only honest response would have been: It's not that I want to or don't want to. It's just…I can. I could. It's like…I imagine it's like being a great runner. If you knew you could run really fast, wouldn’t you? If you were stuck walking somewhere, wouldn't you want to let loose and run like hell? That's how I feel." Jazz wants to do good, but he has to constantly fight the monster that's lurking within himself, however much he wants to suppress it. "She was dying. Dying right in front of him, and he didn't trust himself to help her because he didn't trust his hands not to finish the job instead...She was in the full throes of cardiac arrest. Jazz didn't think. He didn't torture himself. He tilted her head back and listened for breathing. Nothing. A moment of intense pleasure washed over him, followed by a revulsion so sickening that he almost threw himself headlong out the window." The insight into his life post-dad is pretty interesting, too. You know all the sicko serial killer fans? He's got that, just by being the infamous son. He's got media following him, exposing him (is that even legal? to show a juvenile in this circumstance in the media? Fucking Doug Weathers). He's got people wanting to give him money. He's got grieving parents contacting him for closure. He's got people angry at him, asking why he didn't just stop his dad. Simple: "like the children of alcoholics and the victims of abuse, Jazz had been a master at compartmentalizing. That, combined with Billy's persistent brainwashing and total control, meant Jazz had never uttered a peep to anyone." The plot: interesting, but I can't help thinking JAZZ YOU IDIOT. JUST STAY AWAY. MOVE TO ANOTHER TOWN. When you're the child of a serial killer, wouldn't it be wisest to just stay out of the picture? Especially for a kid so smart, so savvy, so good at manipulating people and appearing normal like Jazz supposedly is? It doesn't make sense to me why he'd want to get so involved. Disbelief aside, the mystery itself, the procedures, the glimpses into the serial killer's work was well-done. The clues were given gradually, and that in combination with the flashes of POV through the killer's eyes makes this an excellent armchair detective novel. I was constantly guessing for the whodunnit through all the little bits and pieces given. There is gore, there is blood and torture, but it's nothing the average viewer of CSI or Criminal Minds haven't seen before. I liked all the characters. The villains, the cops, not everything is black and white. People grow, people change. Even Jazz himself is not immune to foolishness, regret, and hubris. My main concern before starting this book was the premise...a boy, just a boy, doing better detective work than the police themselves? I expected detectives to be bumbling fools, I expected people to compartmentalize Jazz, I epected this to be a Them against Me story. I was wrong. Everything and everyone had more depth than I expected. Oh, and the ending. Did I see that coming? Nope, nope, not from 10 miles away. Damn. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Jun 22, 2013
|
Jun 26, 2013
|
Jun 22, 2013
|
Hardcover
|