(This post will remain stickied for the rest of the week)
From Karen Koehler:
BOOKS FOR BALZER is being hosted by S.D. Hintz, co-publisher of Skullvines Press and K. H. Koehler, publisher of Black Death Books. This auction contains an amazing collection of books, all signed/limited and hard-to-find titles donated by the authors themselves.
S.D. and I put this auction together to help Jerrod Balzer and his wife Robin with the costs of their recent and unexpected medical needs and Jerrod’s stay at the hospital. He’s facing some staggering medical bills and we want to help him out.
(Michele’s Note: Jerrod is also the primary caretaker of his mentally disabled wife so these kinds of bills are almost impossible for them to pay for.)
Please note that 100% of the funds raised in this auction are going to Jarrod and Robin. Neither S.D. nor I are taking any payment. This is entirely volunteer work on our part. I’m hosting the auction on my Black Death Books Ebay account and S.D. is in possession of the books and will be shipping them from his location. So if you have questions about these books (which, have I mentioned, are simply amazing?) I will take the questions either at Ebay or you can contact me at blackdeathbooks(at)yahoo(dot)com and I will pass your question onto S.D. He will then send me the info you requested and I will pass that info onto you, or, alternately, he will contact you himself to address your question or concern.
ISBN: 9780441017157
Sookie Stackhouse book #9
I bought this book.
The last book in the Sookie series was a palate cleanser, but this one doesn’t shape up like a traditionally formed mystery story. It doesn’t need to however, as now Sookie is official embroiled enough in the paranormal world that even when she doesn’t stumble into or seek out danger, it will come to her.
The first thing readers will notice is that Sookie has a lot of problems in this book. Some of them are external, but mostly she’s struggling to deal with the series so far. Unlike other urban fantasy heroines Sookie is not okay with being a killer, not even when it’s to save her own life. That she’s had to make that choice before is weighing heavily on her. In fact, it’s pretty clear in Dead and Gone that Sookie’s suffering from full on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
So when her sister-in-law, Crystal is found crucified in Merlott’s parking lot and her great-grandfather, the fairy prince Niall, gives her cryptic warnings about his enemies seeking her out, and even worse, Eric, Sookie’s on-and-off vampire romance (who now remembers what happened when he was under a spell and they almost had a real relationship) pulls Sookie into vampire politics without her knowledge, Sookie is unable to really handle things. Raw, emotional, and on the edge of a break down, Sookie still has to try to clear her brother Jason’s name (again), deal with the backlash of the shifters coming out to the public, defend herself from a vampire and FBI agents who want to force her into their service, face the betrayal of people she thought were her friends, and dodge fairy assassins, which is the scariest of all.
There’s a serious emotional load in Dead and Gone, possibly the darkest Sookie book yet. While this does take up a large part of the book, there’s other plots too, woven back and forth and ultimately giving Sookie little time to handle any threat, much less deal with her own issues. Some readers might not be okay with the darker notes to Sookie’s voice. But others will be able to recognize Dead and Gone as the natural, and compared to some other urban fantasy series more honest, progression of Sookie as a character. In a way she takes on a beaten puppy dog feel, and many readers will sympathize all the stronger with Sookie as she reevaluates everything her life has become so far.
Category: Personal |
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Apex Publications, 2009
ISBN: 9780982159675
Available: New
The blurb on the back of The Changed will have you believe that it’s about zombies, but not a zombie apocalypse book. Don’t be fooled- hese zombies rot, gnaw human prey and will devastate the world we know… they just might not kill us. The Changed follows a handful of characters, some alive, some dead, who have “changed” into something else. Retaining their personalities and skills (and with the help of embalmers, retaining their bits as well), the Changed quickly become the world’s largest minority, facing prejudice and oppression, plus flamethrowers. With open hunting season declared by the military (shown more as bullies than any kind of defense against the invasion) these undead can’t be sure who are their friends, and who are their foes. Then Chris changes. A middle-of-the-road, plain-looking man, he finally finds a political cause that inspires him. Chris quickly organizes a new political party, The Changed, fronted by a shock jock DJ recently fired for having the gall to die. The whole landscape of America changes as The Changed party not only grows in number and drive, but becomes the only surety the living have to look forward to- how do you fight death itself?
The Changed still manages to give zombie fans plenty of their favorite elements. There is a sort-of apocalypse, and plenty of violence and gore, and there are tongue-in-cheek asides hinting at what pop culture would be like if the undead walked. The Changed is an excellent addition to the zombie genre, something new and fun in a tiring routine. Recommended for public and private collections- it’s an excellent read through and through.
Category: monsterlibrarian |
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For a book all about death, demons and soul selling, My Soul to Save isn’t that dark of a book. The second book in the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent, it again follows Kaylee, a bean sidhe (banshee) by birth who is quite new to her powers. Still sensitive to her habits of screaming uncontrollably when someone is about to die, and how that leads to time in mental wards despite that it’s completely normal for her, Kaylee is now in bean sidhe lessons with her boyfriend’s mom (and 80 plus year old bean sidhe) Harmony. She’s also finally living with her dad, who has sacrificed a higher paying job in Ireland for an attempt to raise his daughter.
But no one approves when Kaylee discovers and decides to help a pop star (and ex-girlfriend of her boyfriend’s brother) who has sold her soul to hellions and only has four days before she dies (and her soul is sentenced to eternal torture for the hellions’ pleasure). While bean sidhe do have powers, and can walk into the demonic Netherworld, they aren’t exactly big guns there, their powers put them directly in opposition with most of the Netherworld creatures and Kaylee herself is so new at being a bean sidhe she still smells like the packaging.
My Soul to Save is off beat compared to the larger slice of urban fantasy YA books out there. No vampires, no teen family angst, no torn between multiple boys, popularity issues, etc. Kaylee has a pretty good head on her shoulders. She’s clever, sweet and smart. Her biggest failing is not using the knowledge of the adults around her and instead trying to do everything herself. While Vincent does imply that asking for help might not have gotten the plot resolved, one can’t help seeing how Kaylee does put herself in incredible danger, out of not just naivety, but at times a refusal to believe things are as dangerous as they are. To Kaylee this adventure is dangerous, but something she has to do. To the adults, and even the more knowledgeable teens, Kaylee’s actions are DANGEROUS. The difference leads to readers wondering if Kaylee just doesn’t understand, or isn’t listening about the danger she’s putting herself in.
In a way this is the opposite of many UF tales, where the tension and danger are part of the story drama. Kaylee ends up with a very white knight feel, noble, but mere steps away from being high -horsed (if she developed a chip on her shoulder, or had the thought of her actions making her better than the people around her) or naive to the point of stupidity (if she doesn’t learn anything from her very close brushes with death in this book). Overall there’s a feel of idealism to Kaylee and this series that will appeal to readers who might be tired of dark, nihilistic paranormal adventures, but there’s also real danger which will appeal to readers tired of convenient plots or fluffy paranormal worlds.
The Soul Screamers series is different from the popular styles today, so readers really should take advantage of Vincent’s free prequel novella on her website before deciding whether to continue the series or not. The books are good, but are poised to shift the focus of what’s popular in the YA genre rather than following or expanding current trends. As such readers stuck in the popularity mindset might not find the Soul Screamers as appealing at this point, but the writing and story are there and quite enjoyable.
Category: Personal |
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