By Carrie Vaughn
Oh goody, it’s always nice when you find a favorite new author and don’t have to wait too long for the next book. I just finished the SFBC edition, Long Time Listener, First Time Werewolf, an omnibus of Carrie Vaugh’s first 3 books, Kitty and the Midnight Hour, Kitty Goes to Washington, and Kitty Takes a Vacation, when I discovered her fourth Kitty and the Silver Bullet.
I was eager to continue the story of Kitty Norville, radio DJ and reluctant werewolf who seems to always get herself in trouble despite her best efforts to avoid it and lead a normal life.
This time her mother is ill and she returns to Denver despite the fact that the leaders of her old pack have promised to kill her on sight if she ever returned. But keeping out of sight isn’t an option when she is pulled into the local vampire political struggle and dead bodies start turning up.
Carrie Vaughn continues to show her ability to tell a captivating story. This book is going to find a place on my “must own” shelf next to Jim Butcher, Kim Harrison, Charlaine Harris, Laurell K. Hamilton. I can hardly wait to learn more of Kitty’s story, and I was pleased to see a new one is coming out this fall.
Reviewed by Linda Suzane October 14, 2008
KITTY AND THE SILVER BULLET
Carrie Vaughn
Grand Central Publishing
2008
Showing posts with label Urban Fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Urban Fantasy. Show all posts
Friday, November 28, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
A Stroke of Midnight
By Laurell K. Hamilton
In some ways I liked this book better than the previous ones, but I absolutely hated the ending. Or rather the lack of an ending. It is as though the author wrote a certain number of words and then just quit leaving the story in the middle. In the previous book SEDUCED BY MOONLIGHT, Merry and her body guards “slash” harem returned to the faerie sithen, foiling several assassination attempts against herself and even the Queen of Air and Darkness, Andais.
This book starts the next day with a press conference, followed by the murder of a demi-fae and a human reporter. Merry convinces Andais to let her bring in human police and CIS investigators hoping that they can discover clues with science that magic might hide.
But that isn’t the only problem Merry has. The Goddess is determined to restore the power to the fae using Merry. Because Merry is descended from five fertility deities, it of course involves sex, and it doesn’t matter if it is inconvenient for Merry to stop what she is doing and fuck someone new.
Suddenly her bodyguards are being attacked. When Galen almost dies, it brings home to Merry just how important he and the others have come to her.
Merry just doesn’t have time for all that is going on, but the newly awaken sithen helps by speeding time up within its confines.
This book becomes more and more fantastical as new powers or rather old powers are restore, like the way Merry gets a tattoo. Laurell K. Hamilton’s imagination is beyond creative, as are her sex scenes. Each one is different and highly erotic. It is no longer so much about getting her pregnant, but about being a vessel that the Goddess will use. It is good that she really isn’t adding any more lovers too her roster of handsome, broody men. We have enough to keep tack of.
As I said, I enjoyed this book because although there was a lot of sex, there didn’t feel as though there was a lot of gratuitous sex. Some but not all. There was a purpose to the sex, it wakened powers, made things happen. Besides there was just too much other stuff going on that crowded out some of the sex.
And there lies the problem. There is so much left hanging at the end of the story, there is no sense of completion or satisfaction. Sort of like Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back and just like then, we have a long wait until the next installment. Ugh!
Reviewed by Linda Suzane June 14, 2005
A Stroke of Midnight
By Laurell K. Hamilton
Published by Random House
Copyright 2005
ISBN#: 0-345-44357-8
Series: Merry Gentry #4
Genre Subgenre: Paranormal
In some ways I liked this book better than the previous ones, but I absolutely hated the ending. Or rather the lack of an ending. It is as though the author wrote a certain number of words and then just quit leaving the story in the middle. In the previous book SEDUCED BY MOONLIGHT, Merry and her body guards “slash” harem returned to the faerie sithen, foiling several assassination attempts against herself and even the Queen of Air and Darkness, Andais.
This book starts the next day with a press conference, followed by the murder of a demi-fae and a human reporter. Merry convinces Andais to let her bring in human police and CIS investigators hoping that they can discover clues with science that magic might hide.
But that isn’t the only problem Merry has. The Goddess is determined to restore the power to the fae using Merry. Because Merry is descended from five fertility deities, it of course involves sex, and it doesn’t matter if it is inconvenient for Merry to stop what she is doing and fuck someone new.
Suddenly her bodyguards are being attacked. When Galen almost dies, it brings home to Merry just how important he and the others have come to her.
Merry just doesn’t have time for all that is going on, but the newly awaken sithen helps by speeding time up within its confines.
This book becomes more and more fantastical as new powers or rather old powers are restore, like the way Merry gets a tattoo. Laurell K. Hamilton’s imagination is beyond creative, as are her sex scenes. Each one is different and highly erotic. It is no longer so much about getting her pregnant, but about being a vessel that the Goddess will use. It is good that she really isn’t adding any more lovers too her roster of handsome, broody men. We have enough to keep tack of.
As I said, I enjoyed this book because although there was a lot of sex, there didn’t feel as though there was a lot of gratuitous sex. Some but not all. There was a purpose to the sex, it wakened powers, made things happen. Besides there was just too much other stuff going on that crowded out some of the sex.
And there lies the problem. There is so much left hanging at the end of the story, there is no sense of completion or satisfaction. Sort of like Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back and just like then, we have a long wait until the next installment. Ugh!
Reviewed by Linda Suzane June 14, 2005
A Stroke of Midnight
By Laurell K. Hamilton
Published by Random House
Copyright 2005
ISBN#: 0-345-44357-8
Series: Merry Gentry #4
Genre Subgenre: Paranormal
Friday, November 21, 2008
Kitty takes a Vacation
By Carrie Vaughn
Kitty has run away from all the notoriety that Washington caused. She is staying in a
mountain cabin. Then someone leaves a dead rabbit on her porch, painting a cross in
blood on her door. Who is trying to place a curse on her and why?
Then Cormac shows up with her lawyer, Ben. Ben has been bitten by a werewolf. Ben
and Cormac grew up together, cousins, and best friends. Cormac had been hired to
take out a werewolf, and asked Ben to back him up, but something went wrong and Ben
got bitten. Cormac is guilt-ridden but can’t bring himself to follow through on his
promise to kill Ben if something should happen.
Kitty nurses Ben through the trauma, helps him during his first full moon, and realizes
that Ben is now her pack. As well as her lover.
But trouble is brewing. Something evil is slaughtering cattle. The sheriff thinks it is a
werewolf, Kitty. But it isn’t. It is something far worse.
Carrie Vaughn has captured me, I am totally enamored with the story of Kitty Norville
and can hardly wait until the next in the series.
Reviewed by Linda Suzane
Kitty takes a Vacation
Warner Books Copyright 2007
Kitty has run away from all the notoriety that Washington caused. She is staying in a
mountain cabin. Then someone leaves a dead rabbit on her porch, painting a cross in
blood on her door. Who is trying to place a curse on her and why?
Then Cormac shows up with her lawyer, Ben. Ben has been bitten by a werewolf. Ben
and Cormac grew up together, cousins, and best friends. Cormac had been hired to
take out a werewolf, and asked Ben to back him up, but something went wrong and Ben
got bitten. Cormac is guilt-ridden but can’t bring himself to follow through on his
promise to kill Ben if something should happen.
Kitty nurses Ben through the trauma, helps him during his first full moon, and realizes
that Ben is now her pack. As well as her lover.
But trouble is brewing. Something evil is slaughtering cattle. The sheriff thinks it is a
werewolf, Kitty. But it isn’t. It is something far worse.
Carrie Vaughn has captured me, I am totally enamored with the story of Kitty Norville
and can hardly wait until the next in the series.
Reviewed by Linda Suzane
Kitty takes a Vacation
Warner Books Copyright 2007
Friday, November 14, 2008
Kitty goes to Washington
By Carrie Vaughn
As a self proclaimed werewolf, Kitty is called as an expert witness to testify before a Congressional committee overseeing a government agency The Center for the Study of Paranatural Biology, which has just released a report that claims that lycanthropy and vampirism are diseases and real. But it is a trap. The head of the committee is Senator Joseph Duke who is rabidly against werewolves and vampires, especially Kitty. Things smell wrong to Kitty and she and her lawyer Ben start investigating the head of the Center, trying to figure out what is really going on behind the scenes. Too late, Kitty discovers that she is the focus of the plot and ends up totally exposed as she transforms on live TV.
Again Carrie Vaughn has created a sympathetic picture of the difficulties of being a werewolf and the same time telling a complex, fast paced story, this time taking advantage of all the sleeze that makes up politics. If Kitty thought pack politics could be deadly, she’s learning that Washington politics are even more so.
Reviewed by Linda Suzane
Kitty goes to Washington
Warner Books Copyright 2006
As a self proclaimed werewolf, Kitty is called as an expert witness to testify before a Congressional committee overseeing a government agency The Center for the Study of Paranatural Biology, which has just released a report that claims that lycanthropy and vampirism are diseases and real. But it is a trap. The head of the committee is Senator Joseph Duke who is rabidly against werewolves and vampires, especially Kitty. Things smell wrong to Kitty and she and her lawyer Ben start investigating the head of the Center, trying to figure out what is really going on behind the scenes. Too late, Kitty discovers that she is the focus of the plot and ends up totally exposed as she transforms on live TV.
Again Carrie Vaughn has created a sympathetic picture of the difficulties of being a werewolf and the same time telling a complex, fast paced story, this time taking advantage of all the sleeze that makes up politics. If Kitty thought pack politics could be deadly, she’s learning that Washington politics are even more so.
Reviewed by Linda Suzane
Kitty goes to Washington
Warner Books Copyright 2006
Friday, November 7, 2008
Kitty and the Midnight Hour
Long-time Listener, First-Time Werewolf
By Carrie Vaughn
SFBC edition 2007
Kitty and the Midnight Hour
Warner Books Copyright 2005
Kitty Norville is a werewolf who is also hosts a radio show called the Midnight Hour, “the show that isn’t afraid of the dark or the creatures that live there...” Almost by accident she starts taking calls about the supernatural, and her down-to-earth advice to werewolves, vampires, and wannabes, believers and disbelievers, turns her show into a rating success. But not everyone is happy with her popularity. Her pack leader wants her to quit, so does the head of the local Vampire family. But Kitty loves her show. It is hers, something important, that helps her hold her life together. Then someone sends a bounty hunter after her. Cormac, a man who makes his living killing werewolves, has been hired to kill her while she is on air. In a bold move she keeps him talking, convinces him hold off killing her, but in the meantime announces on live radio that she is a werewolf. Everyone, even her mother now knows. Her life is changed forever.
She has to find out who wants her dead, hates her enough to hire Cormac. Not only that, someone is out killing people and it looks like a werewolf. As the only confessed werewolf, Kitty ends up the police prime suspect, and she ends up turning to Cormac to help her clear her name and put the end to the murderous rampage.
Being a werewolf isn’t easy, Carrie Vaughn makes Kitty a sympathetic character, one you want to root for. Her world is interesting and captivating and full of surprises.
Reviewed by Linda Suzane
Kitty and the Midnight Hour
By Carrie Vaughn
Warner Books Copyright 2005
Long-time Listener, First-Time Werewolf
SFBC edition 2007
By Carrie Vaughn
SFBC edition 2007
Kitty and the Midnight Hour
Warner Books Copyright 2005
Kitty Norville is a werewolf who is also hosts a radio show called the Midnight Hour, “the show that isn’t afraid of the dark or the creatures that live there...” Almost by accident she starts taking calls about the supernatural, and her down-to-earth advice to werewolves, vampires, and wannabes, believers and disbelievers, turns her show into a rating success. But not everyone is happy with her popularity. Her pack leader wants her to quit, so does the head of the local Vampire family. But Kitty loves her show. It is hers, something important, that helps her hold her life together. Then someone sends a bounty hunter after her. Cormac, a man who makes his living killing werewolves, has been hired to kill her while she is on air. In a bold move she keeps him talking, convinces him hold off killing her, but in the meantime announces on live radio that she is a werewolf. Everyone, even her mother now knows. Her life is changed forever.
She has to find out who wants her dead, hates her enough to hire Cormac. Not only that, someone is out killing people and it looks like a werewolf. As the only confessed werewolf, Kitty ends up the police prime suspect, and she ends up turning to Cormac to help her clear her name and put the end to the murderous rampage.
Being a werewolf isn’t easy, Carrie Vaughn makes Kitty a sympathetic character, one you want to root for. Her world is interesting and captivating and full of surprises.
Reviewed by Linda Suzane
Kitty and the Midnight Hour
By Carrie Vaughn
Warner Books Copyright 2005
Long-time Listener, First-Time Werewolf
SFBC edition 2007
Saturday, August 16, 2008
From Dead to Worse
By Charlaine Harris
I was a fan of Charlaine Harris before Sookie Stackhouse, but now I’m an avid fan, totally hooked, eagerly waiting next installment. In this case, the eighth. I wasn’t disappointed. Each of Sookie Stackhouse’s forays broadens her and our own knowledge of the supernatural world. It must be truly a challenge for the writer to come up with something new and different for each book, but she succeeds. Turns out Sookie has got a very interesting surprise in her family tree. In addition, Sookie is dealing with boy friend problems, were wars, and vampire hostile takeovers. Sookie’s life is just so darn interesting and she is just so down-to-earth that you’ve just got to love her. Although this series started as a mystery, it has taken on a life of its own, like Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series. We are more interesting in following Sookie’s life than solving any mystery. While Charlaine does a good job of explaining past events, I would suggest you start the series from the beginning if possible. That sounds like a good suggestion, give me something to do while I am eagerly awaiting number nine.
Reviewed by Linda Suzane
From Dead to Worse
Charlaine Harris
Ace Hardcover; (May 6, 2008)
ISBN-13: 978-0441015894
I was a fan of Charlaine Harris before Sookie Stackhouse, but now I’m an avid fan, totally hooked, eagerly waiting next installment. In this case, the eighth. I wasn’t disappointed. Each of Sookie Stackhouse’s forays broadens her and our own knowledge of the supernatural world. It must be truly a challenge for the writer to come up with something new and different for each book, but she succeeds. Turns out Sookie has got a very interesting surprise in her family tree. In addition, Sookie is dealing with boy friend problems, were wars, and vampire hostile takeovers. Sookie’s life is just so darn interesting and she is just so down-to-earth that you’ve just got to love her. Although this series started as a mystery, it has taken on a life of its own, like Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series. We are more interesting in following Sookie’s life than solving any mystery. While Charlaine does a good job of explaining past events, I would suggest you start the series from the beginning if possible. That sounds like a good suggestion, give me something to do while I am eagerly awaiting number nine.
Reviewed by Linda Suzane
From Dead to Worse
Charlaine Harris
Ace Hardcover; (May 6, 2008)
ISBN-13: 978-0441015894
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Blood Noir
BLOOD NOIR is Laurell K. Hamilton's latest in the Anita Blake series. This one is similar to MICAH in that it focuses mainly on developing the relationship between Anita and just one of her men. This time Jason asks her as a friend to accompany him home so that he can reconcile with his Dad, before his Dad dies. But nothing is ever easy. It turns out that Jason is mistaken for the wealthy son of the ex-Governor who is about to run for President. And they get stuck in a media storm, as well as a kidnap threat. Marmee Noir is also playing tricks again with Anita, causing a two day orgy that Anita can't remember, and for which I was glad the reader wasn't subjected to.
I found this book enjoyable, partially for its simplicity. The storyline isn't so complex, the cast, not so large. It focuses mainly on the development of the relationship between Anita and Jason. Jean-Claude remains in the background. But for those of us who still love Richard, there is a new and interesting twist. No, I won't give you a hint about that. Just read it for yourself.
While the sex was hot and steamy, it wasn't the focus of the whole book and I didn't end up feeling like she was just trying to top herself with something new and more erotic in each chapter. Which is good, since I don't think she could top the first union between Anita, Jason, and Nathaniel, which certainly turned me on.
Yes, if you are a fan, it is a definite read. If you haven't found the series, it might be a good start, since it isn't quite so complicated as some of the other books.
I found this book enjoyable, partially for its simplicity. The storyline isn't so complex, the cast, not so large. It focuses mainly on the development of the relationship between Anita and Jason. Jean-Claude remains in the background. But for those of us who still love Richard, there is a new and interesting twist. No, I won't give you a hint about that. Just read it for yourself.
While the sex was hot and steamy, it wasn't the focus of the whole book and I didn't end up feeling like she was just trying to top herself with something new and more erotic in each chapter. Which is good, since I don't think she could top the first union between Anita, Jason, and Nathaniel, which certainly turned me on.
Yes, if you are a fan, it is a definite read. If you haven't found the series, it might be a good start, since it isn't quite so complicated as some of the other books.
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