On My Wishlist #56

This is a meme from Book Chick City. There are so many books out there that I want to read that this is the only way I can keep track! This week I'm feeling a little peckish...for briiaaannnssss!

Dearly Departed - Lia Habel

Publisher: Del Ray Books

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?  The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune, and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses. But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.

 

I spotted this around recently and it looks like an interesting story - although I'm not sure about zombies as a love interest...I prefer them scary!

 

Flip This Zombie - Jesse Petersen

Publisher: Orbit

 

The Zombie Apocalypse has been good to Sarah and David. Their marriage is better than ever. They communicate well, share responsibilities, and now, they're starting a business. ZombieBusters-for all your zombie extermination needs.

There are lots of zombies and that means lots of customers...Except one of them doesn't want the zombies dead, he wants them alive and ready for experimentation. Mad scientists make for difficult clients and this time, Sarah and David might have bitten off more than they can chew.

I enjoyed Married...with Zombies earlier this year and quite fancy seeing what Sarah and David have been up to since the zombie uprising saved their marriage. :)

Horizon (Aftertime 3) - Sophie Littlefield

Publisher: MIRA (January 2012)

I loved the first two Aftertime books, Aftertime and Rebirth, and even though Horizon doesn't have a blurb yet...I really want to see what will happen next to Cassie and Ruthie!

So what are you wishing for this week? :)

Tales of Terror from the Black Ship Review

Tales of Terror From The Black Ship

-       Chris Priestley

Publisher: Bloomsbury

At the Old Inn, which clings precariously to a cliff top above a storm-lashed ocean, two sick children are left alone while their father fetches the doctor. Then a visitor comes begging for shelter, and so begins a long night of storytelling, in which young Ethan and Cathy, who have an unnatural appetite for stories of a macabre persuasion, sit out the last throes of the storm in the company of a sailor with more than enough grisly tales to satisfy them. But something about this sailor puts Ethan on edge, and he becomes increasingly agitated for his father's return. Only when the storm blows itself out can Ethan relax - but not for long, for the new dawn opens the children's eyes to a truth more shocking, more distressing than anything they heard the night before.

Once again Chris Priestley presents us with a selection of ghostly tales covering a variety of sea-related monsters and frights linked together by an intriguing tale of two sick children waiting for their father to return with the doctor. I enjoyed the previous tale – Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror (reviewed here), but I definitely preferred these selection of tales. The ongoing theme of nautical terror was a strong link between stories – after all what is scarier than being trapped on a ship with a bunch of strangers, surrounded by unfriendly seas for miles? Add a ghostly element, or a mermaid or even sea snails and suddenly you’re feeling ever so glad you’re sat firmly inland with the sea well out of sight reading a book rather than out on the big blue.

As is usually the case with short stories, some are more memorable than others – the one about the sea snails definitely sticks with me! This time the link between stories was just as strong as the stories and I was intrigued about the sailor’s background and the children’s home life – how long would their father be gone? It was this linking theme that kept me turning the pages, wanting to know what happens next.

The writing feels like a classic ghost story – ancient and yet modern at the same time. The words just flew by and I pretty much sailed through the book (yes, that pun was intended!). Plus how creepy is that cover? A great read for Halloween or any time a storm in brewing...

Recommended for fans of Peter Beagle and R.L. Stine. 8 out 10

Death Sentence Review

Death Sentence

-       Mikkel Birkegaard

Publisher: UK - Bantam

Frank Føns is a very successful crime writer. His novels, famed for their visceral descriptions of violent death, have made him a household name. But now someone is copying his crimes. For Frank what once seemed a clever, intriguing plot twist, has suddenly become a terrifying, blood-spattered reality.In the novel, a redhead who was scared of water is drowned. In the mirror-image of the real world, she has become an ex-girlfriend chained and left to die at the bottom of the harbour. A corrupt police-officer tortured to death becomes a contact who dies with fear in his eyes. Someone is taking Franks’ fiction and using it to destroy his life. The writer must become the detective.In fiction, the bad guy always gets caught, but in real life there is no such guarantee. Fear becomes real. The knife cut hurts like hell. Our narrator may not survive. No-one is promising you a happy ending. For Frank what had once been a game is now a matter of life and death.

Frank is an alcoholic, writer of horror novels which specialise in extreme torture and gory scenes. He makes a living from it even if it has cost him his family and turned him into an isolated man with little human contact. Then someone starts to recreate his graphic murder scenes in complete detail using people close to him as the victim...

Frank is a difficult person to like. At first I just thought he was lonely and isolated but as I read further and find out more about his past I have to confess that I just didn’t like him very much. But I was fascinated by his story. The way he is drawn into the murders is well done – even if you think he should have gone to police straight away. There aren’t many characters introduced in detail outside of Frank himself, but this is more the study of the man losing his grasp than a crime novel. Crimes do occur but it is Franks reactions that keep you glued to the page rather than the mystery of who did it.

The details of Frank’s books are gruesome and for the most part lacking in glamour. The detail is needed for the story but not lingered over – something I was grateful for as that level of detail would have turned me off! However, some of the scenes are not for those with a weak stomach. Alcohol, drug use and sex is prominent throughout but in keeping with the characters and the story.

The writing is easy to slip into – the translation from the Danish seems flawless. The ending will frustrate some people but I enjoyed the ambiguity. I hadn’t read a crime or mystery book for a long time and now I realise I’ve been missing out on a genre a really enjoy. I won’t be leaving it so long before I pick up another mystery. J

Recommended for fans of Steig Larsson and Jo Nesbo. 8 out of 10.

Throwback Thursday #24 - Lord of the Changing Winds

This is a great feature that Melissa at My World...in words and pictures has been doing for a while and I wanted to jump on board! There are plenty of books out there I desperately want...

But what about all those wonderful books that are ALREADY on my shelves?

Lord of the Changing Winds (The Griffin Mage 1) - Rachel Neumeier

Little ever happens in the quiet villages of peaceful Feierabiand. The course of Kes' life seems set: she'll grow up to be an herb-woman and healer for the village of Minas Ford, never quite fitting in but always more or less accepted. And she's content with that path -- or she thinks she is. Until the day the griffins come down from the mountains, bringing with them the fiery wind of their desert and a desperate need for a healer. But what the griffins need is a healer who is not quite human . . . or a healer who can be made into something not quite human.

There just aren't enough Griffins in fantasy books! It's all vampires, werewolves, wizards, mages, gods and dragons. So when this Griffin Mage trilogy came out last year I jumped at the chance of supporting the Griffin and actually bought all three books (Lord of the Changing Winds, Land of the Burning Sands, Law of the Broken Earth). Alas, my uncanny habit of buying books faster than I can read them means I haven't read any of them just yet...has anyone else?
Or perhaps you know of any other griffin books...? :)

Early Review: Darkness Falling

Darkness Falling (Forever Twilight 1)

-       Peter Crowther

Publisher: Angry Robot

Released on 27th September 2011

E-Arc with thanks to netgalley and Angry Robot.

It was a typical all-American backwater - until the night the monsters came. When four employees of KMRT Radio investigate an unearthly light that cuts off communication with the outside world, they discover that something has taken the place of their friends and fellow townfolk, and imbued them with malign intentions. Little do they know, the phenomenon is not unique to the town of Jesman’s Bend...

One dark night a bright light suddenly blinds you and when you can see again, everyone has disappeared. Everyone in the house, everyone in the town, everyone on the plane. That is the starting point for this creepy and rather chilling story. Only a few people are left...and not all of them are particularly sane... And then twenty-four hours later, the light comes again and this time it brings the missing people back.

The premise of this novel is so intriguing – people disappearing and leaving an empty world. And then returning changed. Just thinking about it gives me the creeps and I couldn’t read fast enough wanting to know what was happening. However, the true strength of novels like this relies on the characters and wanting them to survive. I have to admit I had mixed feeling about some of these characters. Ronnie, Karl and Angel were the only characters I really cared about and I wanted the story to follow them all the time. The other characters included a slightly mad older woman, a murderer and a selection of people from the radio station that I really connect too. (Okay, I wouldn’t want to connect to a mad person or a murderer, but the people from the station Geoff, Mel and the others should have been ones to root for).

There is plenty of action here as well as gruesomeness – if you don’t like gory and bodily function then this isn’t for you. However, it all fits into the story and doesn’t feel gratuitous. There are plenty of sieges, chases, fight scenes which keep the story moving as the characters are gradually pulled together by the end. As this is the first of a planned trilogy, it doesn’t answer many questions, but is an exciting start and I really do want to know what the light was and what happened. I just don’t really know if I want many of the characters to survive! Still I will be looking out for the next book in the trilogy Darkness Rising

Recommended for fans of Stephen King and Joe Hill. 6 out of 10.

Same Book/Different Cover: A Game of Thrones

This is an occasional feature where I compare different covers of the same book...what I'm particularly interested in are re-issued covers for the same book.

This week I'm focusing on a book I've been meaning to read ever since I started hearing how fabulous the HBO series is - A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. It's a pretty big book, but I have my copy on kindle. However, if you did feel like owning a paper copy - there are plenty of different versions to choose from!



US Hardback Cover

  

US Paperback







UK Paperback




TV Cover - US & UK Paperback



US Hardback - simple but a bit too simple. It's a little boring in my opinion

US Paperback - I like this. The sword has plenty of detail - is it slightly stained with blood...? Plus I like the grey/silver background

UK Paperback is a great colour - I love that golden colour but the dragon is very creepy and not quite what I like my dragons to look like.

TV Cover - I dislike pictures of film and TV on the front of books - and as much as Sean Bean looks the part, I still don't real people on the front of my books!

My favourite is the US Paperback - but what do you think? :)

The Red Queen Review

The Red Queen (Cousins War 2)

-       Phillippa Gregory

Publisher: UK – Arrow

The second book in Philippa's stunning new trilogy, The Cousins War, brings to life the story of Margaret Beaufort, a shadowy and mysterious character in the first book of the series - The White Queen - but who now takes centre stage in the bitter struggle of The War of the Roses. The Red Queen tells the story of the child-bride of Edmund Tudor, who, although widowed in her early teens, uses her determination of character and wily plotting to infiltrate the house of York under the guise of loyal friend and servant, undermine the support for Richard III and ultimately ensure that her only son, Henry Tudor, triumphs as King of England. Through collaboration with the dowager Queen Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret agrees a betrothal between Henry and Elizabeth's daughter, thereby uniting the families and resolving the Cousins War once and for all by founding of the Tudor dynasty.

While this is the second of the Cousins War trilogy Phillippa has writen, there is no need to have read the first book The White Queen before. I have read The White Queen a couple of years ago and couldn’t remember much of the story at all! This story focuses on Magaret Beaufort – Henry VII mother and her struggles to place her son on the throne of England.

There is no doubt Margaret had a hard life – married young, even for that age to Edmund Tudor and not treated kindly, she almost dies in child birth. However, her devotion to her son and to god drove her to fight as a woman could for the House of Lancaster and her son’s birthright – through scheming and marriage. While I did feel some sympathy for Margaret especially at the start of the novel, I have to confess by the end I really didn’t like her as a character. She was selfish and self serving throughout, but continually claimed to be doing God’s work (which obviously means for her and her house to gain power). I never truly connected with her and her reasons for wanting the House of Lancaster to be on the throne. To me her claim to throne seemed weak and as distant as the House of York, but without the family support.

However, this remains an intriguing and complicated time of England’s history – with brother against brother, cousin against cousin and scheme over scheme to gain and keep the throne. Exploring part of this time is exciting and great fun for those of a political bent – there is no white knight verses dark knight – no good vs. evil – just plenty of shades of grey which I enjoyed immensely. For those who like some romance with their history, you won’t find much here – Margaret is a rather cold women especially to her second husband who I gained some real warmth for. Still, an interesting novel based on one of the founding matriarchs of the Tudor line.

Recommended for fans of Alison Weir and Anne O’Brien. 6 out of 10.