The Shadow Pavilion (2009) Liz Williams Detective Inspector Chen has multiple problems to deal with: his partner Zhu Irzh has disappeared, along with the badger, a Bollywood star/tiger demon is on the rampage, and someone wants to kill the Emperor of Heaven. Add to that the complexity of everyday life in Singapore Three, a new […]
The Solomon Effect (2009) C.S. Graham I picked up both The Archangel Project and The Solomon Effect after discovering they were written by the same couple who write the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries as C.S. Harris. After reading the first book, The Archangel Project, I held off on reading The Solomon Effect, since there are […]
Doppelgangster (2010) Laura Resnick Considering that I disliked Disappearing Nightly, I hesitated to pick up Doppelgangster, however, the premise intrigued me so much I decided to give it a chance. (OK, the cover also helped. I really liked the cover.) Esther Diamond is working at Bella Stella as a singing waitress while waiting for her […]
A Local Habitation (2010) Seanan McGuire Toby has gotten her PI license back, and has started taking cases in the mortal world, however, the big case that comes to her is from her liege, Sylvester: Go into the county of Tamed Lightening, and check on Sylvester’s niece. She gets to take one person with her–the […]
Turn Coat (2009) Jim Butcher Harry’s idea that he might get some down time is (unsurprisingly) thrown awry when Morgan–yes, the Morgan who has spent his recent years waiting for Harry to screw up so he can kill him–shows up at Harry’s house in bad shape and asking Harry to hide him from the Wardens. […]
Road Kill (2010) Rob Thurman I love this series. I’d specifically not wondered where baby revenants came from when we’d gotten out of the Jeep. And here I was finding out anyway. Ain’t that life? Life and pained eyeballs I suddenly didn’t want anymore. Love it. Yes, Cal is an asshole. But considering that he’s […]
The Undead Kama Sutra (2008) Mario Acevedo Felix Gomez is again on the case–or rather cases as his luck would have it. First a dying alien asks Felix to find his killer, then orders come down from the Araneum too looking into a plane crash. Meanwhile, he’d come to Florida on his own to investigate […]
The Unwritten: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity (2010) Mike Carey, Peter Gross After the disappearance of his father, Tom Taylor has been surviving by going to convention and doing book signings for the series he father named after him. Because Walter Taylor disappeared–and there is no proof of his death–Tommy cannot touch any of […]
Madame Xanadu Vol 2: Exodus Noir (2010) Matt Wagner, Michael Wm. Kaluta Disenchanted gave us Madame Xanadu’s past–how her powers were curtailed by Merlin. Exodus Noir gives us a different look into her past through two time lines, one in 1493 during the Spanish Inquisition, the second in the 1940s, as she looks into the […]
Spider’s Bite (2010) Jennifer Estep Gin is an assassin called the Spider. She makes a good living, and her handler wants her to retire, but she’s not sure she’s ready–after all, she’s still young, what would she do? All of her family is dead, and the only people she’s close to are her handler (who […]
Fables Vol 13: The Great Fables Crossover This was apparently my week to be disappointed in my reading choices. I love Fables. I really do. I’ve avidly awaited every volume, especially as the War with the Adversary came to a head. However, I never much cared for the Jack spin-off, and actually gave up on […]
The House of Mystery: The Space Between (2010) Matthew Sturges, Luca Rossi, Jose Marzan Jr I’d somehow managed to forget that Fig’s father had shown up at the end of the last episode. Needless to say, he’s causing trouble for Fig, at a time when the house is having enough troubles of its own. There […]
Unperfect Souls (2010) Mark del Franco Finished this book several hours ago, but I still don’t know how I feel about it. Connor Grey is still fighting with the darkness in his head, and still persona non grata at Guild Headquarters. Unfortunately for him, the world won’t leave him alone, and he remains involved in […]
The Archangel Project (2008) C.S. Graham I love the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries by C.S. Harris. So when I realized she also wrote under the name C.S. Graham, I immediately ordered the books. Now the books written as C.S. Harris are set in Victorian/Regency England. These books are modern thrillers. October Guinness is a Navy […]
Dragon Wytch (2008) Yasmine Galenorn I don’t much like Camille. I don’t like fashion. And I really don’t like characters who think, talk and obsess about sex constantly. Which is pretty much all Camille does. When she’s not having sex, she’s talking about having sex or thinking about having sex. Plus, she’s so fabulous she […]
Bone Crossed (2009) Patricia Briggs Mercy is still struggling after the events of Iron Kissed, the previous book. Excluding the stitches, she is better physically, however, mentally and emotionally, she has a long way to go. Into this whirls a friend from college, Amber, who wants Mercy to come investigate the ghost who is haunting […]
The Mermaid’s Madness (2009) Jim C. Hines I thoroughly enjoyed The Stepsister Scheme, and so was looking forward to reading The Mermaid’s Madness. Snow (Snow White) and Talia (Sleeping Beauty) are again helping Danielle (Cinderella), this time to deal with a mermaid who has gone mad (hence the title). The mermaid in question is of […]
Blood Cross (2010) Faith Hunter Skinwalker is the first Jane Yellowrock book, and Blood Cross takes place immediately after the events in that book. Jane is still in New Orleans hunting the rogue maker vampire. Leo is still enraged at Jane over the death of his son, and Molly and her children are staying with […]
Darkling (2008) Yasmine Galenorn Darkling picks up where Changeling ended, the situation in Fae is becoming more dire and the situation on Earth isn’t much better. This portion of the story is told from the point of view of Mennoly, the youngest of the three sisters, and a vampire. This is also the darkest of […]
Kitty’s House of Horrors (2010) Carrie Vaughn A TV producer shows up at the studio to ask Kitty to join a reality TV show starring the supernatural. Although she is wary of the idea, discovering that her friend is already signed up convinces Kitty to go ahead–after all, what could it hurt? I find one […]
Changeling (2007) Yasmine Galenorn When I read Witchling, the first book of the Sisters of the Moon series, I wasn’t impressed. I really liked the story, but the main character was obsessed with fashion and sex, and those are not my favorite themes. But the second book in the series was written from the point […]
Just Another Judgement Day (2009) Simon R. Green It’s been awhile since I read a Nightside book, since they switched to publishing in hardback first. But after lots of anticipation, Just Another Judgment Day arrived. John Taylor is still a bit at loose ends after the Lilith War. He is no longer being hunted by […]
Phoenix Guards (1991) Steven Brust Not feeling up to starting anything new (and hoping for a big pile of Christmas books) I decided to reread Steven Brust’s Phoenix Guards I love that book.
To Reign in Hell (1984) Steven Brust I have a lot of books. Having a lot of books means that I feel guilty about unread books, when I go back and re-read an old favorite. But sometimes, you just need the comfort of reaching for a loved author or book. As far as the book, […]
Little (Grrl) Lost (2007) Charles de Lint I’m a huge fan of Charles de Lint, and own most of his book. But when I get a new book of his, I’ll put off reading it for awhile, for some unknown reason. Then later I’ll come upon the book and remember I had it, snatch it […]
Ex Machina: Dirty Tricks (2009) Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris, Jim Clark, John Paul Leon, JD Mettier Mitchell Hundred has several problems, as usual. He’s being haunted by a ghost, the Republican convention is coming to town, a woman is pulling crazy stunts to protest President Bush, and the Klan wants to march in the […]
Vampire Sunrise (2009) Carole Nelson Douglas Things pick up immediately where the last book left off. Ric is still unconscious after almost being killed, Delilah continues to be wracked with guilt over kissing Snow, and Lilith–Delilah’s twin or perhaps Doppelganger–remains a mystery. On of the things I’ve enjoyed about this series is that it doesn’t […]
X-23: Innocence Lost (2006) Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost, Billy Tan, Jon Sibal I came across X-23 in NYX: Wannabe, and discovered that she had her own story arc. Since I liked the NYX stories so much, I decided to check out Innocence Lost. I have to say, this was surprisingly good. I’ve browsed different superhero […]
Dark Road Rising (2009) P.N. Elrod Jack Flemming is in trouble. He’s put his best friend and partner in the hospital, and the mobsters from New York won’t leave him alone. Even worse, one of the mobsters is actually a vampire, and in a strange twist of fate, Jack is ordered to keep tabs on […]
The Better Part of Darkness (2009) Kelly Gay The world changed after the Revelation, when creatures from other worlds stepped out in public. As things settled out, the Atlanta police force developed joint teams of human police–with powers if possible–and off-world partners. In Charlie Madigan’s case, her partner is the siren, Hank, and they’re trying […]
Never After (2009) Laurell K. Hamilton, Yasmine Galenorn, Marjorie M. Liu, Sharon Shinn The only reason I have this book a second glance after seeing Laurell K. Hamilton’s name was because I’ve read books by Yasmine Galenorn, Marjorie M. Liu, and Sharon Shinn and loved what I read. So I grabbed the book, despite my […]
NYX: No Way Home (2009) Marjorie Liu, Kalman Andrasofszky, Sara Pichelli I came across No Way Home at a book store and snatched it up. When I realized there was a volume prior to this, I ordered Wannabe, wanting to read that first. I loved Wannabe. Only problem with that is it set up expectations […]
NYX: Wannabe (2006) Joe Quesada, Joshua Middleton, Robert Teranishi Kiden had a normal life once. But it all fell apart. Then, when things are at their absolute worst, she discovers she has powers. Unfortunately for her, it seems to cause as much harm as good. Over the course of the story she meets up with […]
The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite (2008) Gerard Way & Gabriel Ba Seven children–of the forty-seven spontaneously born–were adopted by Reginald Hargreeves to become the Umbrella Academy. He sought to help them develop their powers to save the world, but no one knew what the world needed saved from. I wanted to like this, I really […]
The Thief of Time (2001) Terry Pratchett I have no idea how I’d missed this book for so long. It came out in 2001, which was when Michael & I were buying our house, but you’d think I would have noticed long before now there was a Discworld book I hadn’t read. Especially since every […]
Blood Lite (2008) edited by Kevin J. Anderson This anthology came out in hardback last year, but considering the theme, I was more than content to wait until it came out in paperback. Which it recently did. As with most anthologies, there are good stories and bad stories, but there weren’t too many stories that […]
Tempest Rising (2009) Nicole Peeler Where to start with this book? First, the cover, which is what drew my attention. It’s got a manga Halloween feel to it, with snakes and tombstones and seals and a naked girl/woman with giant eyes. That’s not something you see every day. Excellent job there. Next, the story. Jane […]
Peter & Max: A Fables Novel (2009) Bill Willingham and Steve Leialoha I love the Fables comics. I think they’re one of the best story lines going, and if you haven’t checked them out, you really need to. Peter & Max is set in the Fables universe–both Fabletown and the Homelands. We follow Peter Piper–and […]
Bitter Night (2009) Diana Pharoah Francis Max is a Shadowblade. A warrior transformed by and bound to a witch. Shadowblades cannot stand the touch of the sun, and their counterparts–Sunspears–cannot bear the darkness. Between them they guard and protect the witches they serve. Being a Shadowblade or Sunspear incredible abilities and immortality of a kind, […]
The Court of the Air (2007) Stephen Hunt Molly is an orphan, abandoned at birth, living in the poor house and working odd jobs until she gets her vote and can leave. Oliver lives with his uncle–his parents were killed in an accident–but his actions are restricted, due to the circumstances of the accident that […]
Soulless (2009) Gail Carriger Alexia Tarabotti doesn’t have a soul. This isn’t a particularly well known fact, since the only people who can recognize this are the supernatural–vampires, werewolves etc. But when she is attacked by a vampire at a ball, she is (quite willingly) drawn into an intrigue, against the wishes of Lord Macon […]
The Fire King (2009) Marjorie Liu This is a kissing book. I knew that when I picked it up, because it had a floating man head on the cover, and that swoopy writing you only see on romance covers. But I was somewhere without a book, and when I stopped at the grocery store to […]
The Outlaw Demon Wails (2008) Kim Harrison Rachel and Ivy are still reeling from Kistin’s death and Rachel is trying to return to normalcy by going Halloween shopping with her mother. Unfortunately, their expedition is rudely interrupted by Al, who has somehow escaped the confines of prison and is out to kill Rachel. I really […]
Child of Fire (2009) Harry Connolly I really wanted to love this book. John Scalzi featured it (and Harry Connolly) in one of his Big Idea posts, and as I’ve loved other books I’ve picked up that way, I was really looking forward to the story. But. I spent the whole book feeling like I […]
Destined for an Early Grave (2009) Jeaniene Frost Cat is no longer working for the government slaying rogue vampires. She and Bones are off to Paris for a well-deserved vacation. Unfortunately, Cat remains the only living half-vampire, and her unique position remains a threat to the undead. Although the initial story seems to have come […]
On Edge (2009) Ilona Andrews Let me get it out of the way first thing: This is a kissing book. Yes, I know, I know. I usually hate kissing books. And in my defense, I didn’t know it was a kissing book when I ordered it. I saw Ilona Andrews had a new series coming […]
Host (2007) Faith Hunter This seems to be the conclusion of Faith Hunters Rogue Mage series. I say seems to be, because although the story arc was completed, there were threads left hanging. Now that could be good story telling, or she could be hoping to add to the series later. I’m hoping its the […]
Seraphs (2007) Faith Hunter Thorn St. Croix is now out of the closet as a neomage. Half the town wants to thank her for saving them, the other half wants to burn her at the stake. To make things worse, there are angels trapped under the mountain, and it looks like Thorn is the only […]
Better Off Undead (2008) edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Daniel M. Hoyt Anthologies edited by Martin H. Greenberg are usually ones I can pick up knowing that I’ll like the majority of stories within. This volume? Not so much. There were a handful of stories I thought were good, but for the most part? […]