An extreme zombie and a kick-ass zombie hunter

Today, after what seems like an incredibly long time, I am able to get around to posting a new review, of a book I read for relaxation no less. I managed to sink my teeth into book 2 of the Anita Blake series, and here’s what I thought of it.

The Laughing Corpse

Laurell K Hamilton

‘The older the zombie, the bigger the death needed to raise it.’

After a few centuries, the only death ‘big enough’ is a human sacrifice.

I know because I’m an animator. My name is Anita Blake. Working for Animators, Inc. is just a job – like selling insurance. But all the money in the world wasn’t enough for me to take on the particular job Harold Gaynor was offering. Somebody else did, though – a rogue animator.

Now he’s not just raising the dead… he’s raising Hell. And it’s up to me to stop it.

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The plot of this book is different from the first, but there isn’t much else that is. Anita Blake continues to get into a number of scrapes fighting paranormal creatures and helping the police, all of which she survives through a combination of luck, her growing powers/experience in dealing with the monsters, and help from friends; occasionally it gets a little too much and you can’t help thinking that she should be dead many times over.

Laurell K Hamilton overcomes that by ensuring that her heroine gets injured and is affected by those injuries, leaving her with an ever increasing collection of scars, and a changing attitude about what is and isn’t a monster.

I like these books, but only because I like Anita Blade and Jean-Claude. If it wasn’t for the dynamic between the two of them I don’t think I would enjoy the books half as much.

On the up side, the writing is decent and the mythology/creature lore is well-researched, that counts for a lot because I’m a big fan of vampires/zombies and all manner of mythological creatures.

An interview with the princess of paperback

Today I am interviewing a fellow blogger, Joyce from Princess of Paperback, who reviews and provides some of that all important support to indie authors like myself.

Welcome to ARCBookBlog, my little corner of the web, Joyce, sit down and put your feet up, the tea will be ready in a few moments.

First off, tell me a bit about yourself:

Joyce – Hi!  My name is Joyce and I’m a thirty-something bibliophile who grew up reading Robert Munsch. The Paper Bag Princess was my all-time favourite story.  Coffee and fiction are my addiction.  I love reading mystery/thrillers, crime, fantasies like Harry Potter, fairytales, a little bit of horror/paranormal, historical fiction and YA.

When I’m not busy at my day job, I’m a wife and mommy to 4 kids.  Some people eat to live, but I live to eat!  I’m a foodie who appreciates good food and doesn’t mind sharing recipes.  So here I am.  New to the world of blogging.

I’m also a bit of a couch potato.  From time to time, I’ll quote or write about the shows and movies I like to watch.

Now we’ve been introduced, I just have a few questions for you so my readers can get to know you better.

Me – How long have you been blogging?
Joyce – I’ve been blogging for 3 or 4 months now.

Me – Is blogging something you’ve always been interested in doing?
Joyce – I didn’t discover the world of blogging till just this year. So I’m kinda late on the blogging bandwagon. I never really thought I was particularly good at writing. So it wasn’t something I gave much thought to until now.

Me – Do you write every day?
Joyce – No. I post once every week or two, or when I have time really. Life is busy with 4 kids.

Me – What is your favourite genre?
Joyce – Mystery/thrillers

Me – What would you like to achieve with your blogging?
Joyce – I would love to be a book reviewer for a publishing company..wishful thinking right?

Me – What’s your favourite book?
Joyce – My favourite book..hm. That’s a tough one. There are so many good books. But the only one I have ever read more than once, was Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. Ooh. And of course, the beloved Harry Potter series.

Me – Tell me about your next post
Joyce – My next post will be a review of The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney.

Okay, now that we know you, a little better than we did before, how can we follow you?

Website: http://www.princessofpaperback.wordpress.com
Facebook:www.facebook.com/princesspaperback
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ms_j_ho
IG: http://www.instagram.com/princessofpaperback
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/princesspaperback

Road To Gandalfo

Rodbert Ludlum

War hero and infamous ladies’ man General MacKenzie Hawkins is a living legend. His life story has even been sold to Hollywood. But now he stands accused of defacing a historic monument in China’s Forbidden City. Under house arrest in Peking with a case against him pending in Washington, this looks like the end of Mac’s illustrious career. But he has a plan of his own: kidnap the Pope. What’s the ransom? Just one American dollar—for every Catholic in the world. Add to the mix a slew of shady “investors,” Mac’s four persuasive, well-endowed ex-wives, and a young lawyer and fellow soldier who wants nothing more than to return to private life, and readers have in their hands one relentlessly irreverent page-turner.

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This is a pretty dated book now but don’t let that put you off because, despite not being sure whether it’s a comedy or a thriller, I really enjoyed it.

Mackenzie Hawkins and Sam Devereaux bounce off each other brilliantly as mistmatched and reluctant partners-in-crime planning the most audacious crime in history. The build-up to the crime, the planning and prep is detailed but written in a way that is both fun and interesting as ‘The Hawk’ – as Hawkins is known – blackmails a variety of criminal figures to raise the capital for his ‘operation’ and gets his lawyer into so much trouble it’s a miracle he isn’t killed multiple times.

What happens when they are ready for the biggest crime in history and what happens after is as good, if not better than the build-up.

Coming from the man who wrote the Jason Bourne books this is a very entertaining read, though it won’t be for everyone.

Scrolls of Zndaria: The Golden Wizard – An Honest Review

Scrolls of Zndaria

J S Jaeger

Join Nathanial “Nate” McGray, the fifteen-year-old son of the king’s woodsman, on an unforgettable adventure. He is determined to be the first peasant to become a wizard in the magical world of Zndaria. Wedged in a sticky spot, Nate is saved from the town bullies by a mysterious elf named Blinkly. Together, Nate and Blinkly embark on a journey to the Halls of Magic. Along the way, they encounter vicious Dread Vikings, deadly bounty hunters, and a deranged beast. Just as Nate begins to learn magic, the Infinite Wizard and a devilish army attack his Kingdom. Will Nate become a wizard? Can he save his Kingdom? The story unfolds in Scrolls of Zndaria–Scroll One: The Golden Wizard.

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This is a difficult book for me to review, not for any bad reason, but because the target audience is ages 9-12 and I am definitely not in that group so it wasn’t easy to look at it from the view of a much younger person.

The story is decent, if undemanding, and likely to appeal to those children not yet old enough to cope with Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. The central character of Nate is pleasant, and well-enough written for the genre and intended target audience, though if I’m honest I thought he was younger than the book’s description says and I think it might be hard for such a young audience to relate to an older character.

I won’t spoil anything by giving away plot points but there was one that I think might upset some readers; fortunately it was handled well enough that it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

If there was one thing that disappointed me, it was the limited exposure given to Demon, I would have liked to see more of this interesting-looking creature. I have hopes that he will turn up again in the next book, and person feature a little more.

Overall I’d say this is a 3* read for adults, there isn’t enough depth to maintain interest in a more sophisticated reader – it being a series I may have to read the next book simply because I don’t like not knowing how a series ends – and a possible 4* for those in its target audience; I suspect 9-12-year-olds will really enjoy it.

Mayday – A fun adventure

Mayday (Dirk Pitt #2)

Clive Cussler

Major Dirk Pitt picked up the frantic distress call as he cruised his lumbering amphibious plane over the islands of the Aegean. Brady Air Force base was under fire, its entire force of jets destroyed on the ground . . . by just one First World War bi-plane!

A psychotic ex-Nazi, a bloodthirsty Greek strongman and a beautiful double agent set Pitt on the trail of the warped mastermind behind a devastating sabotage plot. And on that trail, danger and death are never far behind . . .

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The second book in the Dirk Pitt series is as good as the first, with Cussler again showing that he knows how to write a good character. This time you don’t just have Dirt Pitt but also his best friend, Al Giordino, who only appeared briefly in the first book. Giordino is very obviously the light relief against Pitt’s more sensible character, but that isn’t all there is to him, nor does it mean he’s any less well-written.

Every character that Cussler writes, especially the main ones, show a very real personality, showing humour, compassion, strengths and weaknesses as the occasions demand.

The only reason I haven’t rated this book higher is the storyline, which is a little lighter than I would like; it’s well-written, I won’t deny that, but I would have liked more depth.

Through The Hostage – An Honest Review

Through The Hostage

J C Steel

I was gifted a pdf copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, and here it is.

Khyria Ilan is a commander in the Cortii, the most elite mercenary organisation in known space. With a past she can’t remember, and commanders who would love to see her dead, her future is likely to be short: her command faces their ultimate test to prove their right to survive. When the odds are impossible, sometimes the only thing to do is play the game …

Through The Hostage is a complex sci-fi novel that, in my opinion, bites off more than it can chew. I really liked many of the characters J C Steel created; Khyria Ilan is flawed, and dangerous, and complicated, and very interesting, but it felt as though not enough was shown about her, from the beginning it’s revealed that pretty much everyone around her wants her dead, but at no point is a solid reason given, nor is it revealed why she has apparently abandoned her command. Jack is another interesting character, and I would have liked to have seen more of his efforts to learn about and understand this alien world he finds himself in.

Many of the other characters have an equal amount of potential, but it feels too much as if the reader only gets a surface view of things. There’s the suggestion of so much, but not enough detail to help the reader navigate this strange world.

Adding to my difficulties with this book are the details you do get about the organisation Khyria Ilan and her group are part of; I suspect J C Steel has limited military knowledge or experience because the group describes themselves as mercenaries, when everything in the book indicates they are in fact part of an army working for a council of some kind, and they undergo up to 10 years of training before taking a test to determine if they are fit to join the ‘army’ as a fully qualified unit (as someone with, admittedly limited, military experience, it seemed very unrealistic that what was essentially a platoon-sized unit would spend such an excessive amount of time in training before qualifying; training may continue after qualification but in general the training to qualify in an army is measured in months, not years, even for special forces units).

I found little in the way of tension in the book; all the way through the reader is told that Khyria Ilan is under constant threat of assassination, but the few attempts that take place happen off-screen – as it were – and seem so feeble as to be easily dealt with. Because of that, I found the book fairly flat; even when it finally reached the much-mentioned Crossing, there seemed little in the way of danger, and it was all over with far too quickly and easily.

I think with some work, this could be a very good novel, it’s longer than it really needs to be in my opinion, has themes that could be more fully explored, and it lacks enough tension to keep the reader hooked and get them concerned about the characters, but it does end with a very nice scene with Jack back home and unable to tell anyone about where he’s been and what he’s been doing and I’m pleased about that.

Mirror Mirror – an honest review

Mirror Mirror

Jessica Jesinghaus

Nearly twenty years ago a teenage girl was murdered…

Samantha Carlson was just a young girl when her cousin, Emily, was brutally raped and killed in her own home. As a child, Sam’s family did their best to shelter her from the gruesome details. Now, working the crime beat for the Portland Tribune, Sam has the resources at her fingertips to investigate the case for herself.

Through the eyes of a killer…

After inheriting a family heirloom, an antique vanity table that once belonged to her murdered cousin, Sam begins seeing visions in the mirror’s depths. Like watching an old home movie, she bears witness to Emily’s murder. As if that weren’t frightening enough, she starts to see other things too: fleeting glimpses of the killer himself! Are the things she sees just a figment of her imagination or could something otherworldly be trying to communicate with her? When the killer strikes again and leaves clues behind meant specifically for Sam it becomes a race against time to try to catch him.

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I was gifted a free copy of this book for an honest review, and here it is.

First, the good – there’s a good plot, likeable characters, and an interesting plot device in the mirror of the title; the plot device is used cleverly, without being overused, and never becomes boring or annoying (I actually think it could have been used a little more, without detracting from the book). The identity of the murderer remains a mystery until late in the book, which is good, there’s some nice misdirection that makes you think about someone else, and enough hints that if you’re paying attention you might figure out who the real killer is, but you can’t be sure until the author is ready to let you know.

The bad – the writing is not as good as it could be, and there are occasions where phrases and words are used either unnecessarily or incorrectly, and this can be jarring. It’s a short while before you get to the main plot, and while that isn’t really a terrible thing, it might have been better if there was an opening scene that featured the murder of Emily – had there been such a scene, I think I would have minded less that it took a while to get things moving, because I would have already had a sense of what was going to happen.

Overall, this is a decent book, that ends with a twist I didn’t see coming; with better writing it could be great, so if you like a thriller, this might well be for you.

Filthy Rich

Three illegitimate children discover they each have a claim to the fortune of one of NZ’s wealthiest men, John Truebridge. With so much money on the line, John’s legitimate family will do anything to stop these new, unexpected heirs!

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I stumbled across this series quite by accident, and this is one fall I’m glad I had; the characters are interesting and compelling, and their loyalties shift with every episode until you don’t know who’s working with who, what they’re after, or who you should be rooting for.

In keeping with the nature of this series, which has more surprises than I can count, the ending is shocking and completely unexpected, with actions and revelations I did not see coming. I don’t know if there is going to be a second series, but I really hope there will be because I want to know what’s next for the characters.

If you haven’t seen this yet, and you like a good drama, then make sure you check it out; I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I did.

Mirth Defects

Clint Forgy

I was given an advanced copy of this book for review and I’m glad I was. I like comedy but as a visual medium, it’s not a genre I usually read because it’s very hard to get right, so I was a little nervous about this book; my uncertainty disappeared by the end of the first page. This is exactly my sense of humour; it’s a little anarchic, a little crazy, a little cringe-inducing, a little bit of everything really, and a lot of good.
This is the tale of JD, growing up amongst his family and friends; he is a massively confident young man, who’s not afraid of a challenge, knows what he wants, and is determined to get it – at no time, though, does he cross the line into being cocky or unpleasant, and that’s difficult to manage.
JD is well-written, his personality lends itself to caricature but Clint Forgy manages to avoid that and keep him as a very realistic, if slightly over the top, character, the sort you would have a great time with if you were mates. The same can be said for his friends and family, they are all believable (I’ve known a few people in my time who would have fitted right in with them, myself included for the sense of humour) and that is important because one or two of the scenes and situations descriptions are a little too madcap – if it wasn’t for the writing and the believable characters they might ruin the book.
There are a few pop-culture references that I felt were unnecessary, but that’s just my opinion.

If you enjoy a humorous tale, then this is almost certainly going to tickle your funny bone and I recommend you give it a go.

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If you’d like to know more about the author, look him up on his site and see more of his humour, which will probably make you laugh out loud.

Game of Thrones

A Song Of Fire And Ice Book One

George R R Martin

‘When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground’Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

From the fertile south, where heat breeds conspiracy, to the vast and savage eastern lands, all the way to the frozen north, kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, lords and honest men . . . all will play the Game of Thrones.

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This book is fantastic; I honestly don’t think there’s any other way to describe it. This is an incredibly complex story, only the first part of it in fact because it’s a 7 book series, with some of the best and most realised characters in fiction as far as I’m concerned.

The story is told from the perspective of multiple characters, and they are all given equal ‘screen’ time, with every chapter showing events as seen through the eyes of someone different. Because of this, you occasionally see the same incident from different angles, and the result is that no-one is painted as entirely black or white, and the more you read the more you learn about the characters, and the more you want to learn.

I like some characters – Tyrion and Ayra being my favourites – more than others, but they’re all really well written, as are the situations they get involved in, which are set in vastly different locations.

Some scenes may disturb readers because of the violence they describe but this is hard fantasy, and the type of world described is one that used to exist, which helps to make this book so good.