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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Empress of All Seasons in Books
Mar 20, 2019
Characters (2 more)
World-building
Japanese mythology
I am so torn on this book. I'm really tired of the trope of "batch of girls competing to win a dude" that seems to be so popular lately. But this is an Asian take on the trope, so I don't want to come down too hard on it for that. I attended a panel at the last Baltimore Book Festival about old tropes being resurrected by minority authors, and I agree that just because a trope might seem old and played out, putting a new spin on it with minority characters and themes deserves its own time. That is definitely valid. But they were talking about tropes like vampires and zombies and retold classics like Pride and Prejudice and Alice in Wonderland. I'm not sure the trope of "girls competing to win a dude" deserves more time in any form. (To be fair, I kind of equally hate guys competing to win the hand of the princess. No one should be obligated to marry someone just because they won an arbitrary competition. There are all kinds of consent issues there.)
Despite that, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters, the variety of yõkai, the bits of myth interspersed throughout the book. I do question Akira being trained to be a master of shuriken in a matter of days - like, really? And I wish instead of summarizing a ton in the epilogue, she'd just written a sequel, because I think there's enough material to do it. You'd think, with so much I didn't like about the book, that my overall opinion would be negative - but it's not. Even with all of those bad points, this book was enthralling and kept me reading right to the end.
Empress of all Seasons is a great Japanese-inspired fantasy that relies a little too much on old tropes. Set your inner critic to the side and just enjoy the ride, because the story is fantastic.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Despite that, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters, the variety of yõkai, the bits of myth interspersed throughout the book. I do question Akira being trained to be a master of shuriken in a matter of days - like, really? And I wish instead of summarizing a ton in the epilogue, she'd just written a sequel, because I think there's enough material to do it. You'd think, with so much I didn't like about the book, that my overall opinion would be negative - but it's not. Even with all of those bad points, this book was enthralling and kept me reading right to the end.
Empress of all Seasons is a great Japanese-inspired fantasy that relies a little too much on old tropes. Set your inner critic to the side and just enjoy the ride, because the story is fantastic.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Olive (1 KP) rated The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock in Books
Jan 27, 2018
Stunning prose (2 more)
Enjoyable plot
Interesting characters
This is the best book I've read in months, it immediately made my list of favorites on Goodreads and I'm sure that I'm starting to annoy people with my raving about this book.
Visually the book is a stunner and one you can definitely judge by its cover. It's rare to find a historical fantasy where the fantasy aspect takes more of a backseat. I love both genres but this was a perfect balance between the two. The Regency London setting rather than Medieval or Victorian was really refreshing as was the use of mermaids rather than vampires/werewolves/zombies/magic. I've read a few reviews where people complain that the mermaids are prolific enough considering the title but I think this is only the case if you enter it anticipating the focus to be mermaids. It's definitely a consistent theme from start to finish but it doesn't take center stage until the very end. If you go in expecting mermaids galore, you might be a little disappointed.
A lot of historical fiction written after the time it portrays attempts to emulate the formal language of the time and usually with cringe-worthy results. This book is an exception. The prose is lightly reminiscent of a Jane Austen novel and beautifully descriptive but not overly so. The plot isn't one you can guess from the first page and while you can make educated guesses, the journey there is full of delightful twists and turns.
Really though I cannot say enough about this book. The only word that seems to come close is 'sumptuous'. It's the sort of book you can easily reread because the enjoyment doesn't hinge on shocking plot twists or mystery and suspense. It was a sheer joy to read and I dreaded the ending from the very first chapter. I almost never reread books but this is one I actually look forward to rereading.
Visually the book is a stunner and one you can definitely judge by its cover. It's rare to find a historical fantasy where the fantasy aspect takes more of a backseat. I love both genres but this was a perfect balance between the two. The Regency London setting rather than Medieval or Victorian was really refreshing as was the use of mermaids rather than vampires/werewolves/zombies/magic. I've read a few reviews where people complain that the mermaids are prolific enough considering the title but I think this is only the case if you enter it anticipating the focus to be mermaids. It's definitely a consistent theme from start to finish but it doesn't take center stage until the very end. If you go in expecting mermaids galore, you might be a little disappointed.
A lot of historical fiction written after the time it portrays attempts to emulate the formal language of the time and usually with cringe-worthy results. This book is an exception. The prose is lightly reminiscent of a Jane Austen novel and beautifully descriptive but not overly so. The plot isn't one you can guess from the first page and while you can make educated guesses, the journey there is full of delightful twists and turns.
Really though I cannot say enough about this book. The only word that seems to come close is 'sumptuous'. It's the sort of book you can easily reread because the enjoyment doesn't hinge on shocking plot twists or mystery and suspense. It was a sheer joy to read and I dreaded the ending from the very first chapter. I almost never reread books but this is one I actually look forward to rereading.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Silence Fallen (Mercy Thompson, #10) in Books
Jan 16, 2019
Silence Fallen is #10 in the Mercy Briggs series, and honestly, they've started to get a bit boring. Mercy gets into trouble. Mercy gets into SPECIAL trouble that werewolves would have a hard time with, but she's special because she's a coyote shifter, and her abilities give her an edge over the pure strength of werewolves! Mercy antagonizes enemies, escapes, finds her way home. Gets revenge. That's basically the plot of almost every one of these books. I generally like them, but this one in particular fell short. Maybe it's because I haven't read them in a while, but it just lacked the urgency of some of her other adventures.
One thing that really bothered me was the big bad vampire in the beginning - who was creepy as ALL get out - turned out to not be that bad, I guess? They let themselves get used by him to fulfill a plot and weren't mad about it? I would have expected Mercy's pack to take the dude down, no matter the consequences, but that wasn't what they decided to do.
And then, very frustratingly, they revealed something in the last ten pages or so that made me go re-read EVERY SCENE with a certain character and yep, there was no foreshadowing of that AT ALL. And there should have been. That's something the reader should be able to guess, because the viewpoint character knows about it. And it's absolutely not hinted at. So that's frustrating, and changes the meaning of several scenes.
So I'm very meh on this one. I don't know if I'll continue this series. Sometimes series just overdo their lifespan. This should have been wrapped up and moved on to other characters some time ago. The second series in this world, Alpha and Omega, is still pretty good. But maybe it's time to set Mercy aside. Do a series focused on the fae, or the vampires or something.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
One thing that really bothered me was the big bad vampire in the beginning - who was creepy as ALL get out - turned out to not be that bad, I guess? They let themselves get used by him to fulfill a plot and weren't mad about it? I would have expected Mercy's pack to take the dude down, no matter the consequences, but that wasn't what they decided to do.
And then, very frustratingly, they revealed something in the last ten pages or so that made me go re-read EVERY SCENE with a certain character and yep, there was no foreshadowing of that AT ALL. And there should have been. That's something the reader should be able to guess, because the viewpoint character knows about it. And it's absolutely not hinted at. So that's frustrating, and changes the meaning of several scenes.
So I'm very meh on this one. I don't know if I'll continue this series. Sometimes series just overdo their lifespan. This should have been wrapped up and moved on to other characters some time ago. The second series in this world, Alpha and Omega, is still pretty good. But maybe it's time to set Mercy aside. Do a series focused on the fae, or the vampires or something.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Newly Undead in Dark River (Dark River Days, #1) in Books
Jan 6, 2021
I was once again trying to do my A-Z of paranormal books and saw this on Amazon and it just sounded good, so I added it to my wish-list and a few days ago it was free, so I bought it.
I'm glad I did.
This starts with Mika waking up in a storm drain at some point in the night and wandering into a small town called Dark River, which is home to vampires. It turns out that one of the inhabitants killed her and turned her and local sheriff Walker Walton tries to find out who as Mika settles into the town she can never really leave again. Add in drifter Judge, and shape shifter Brody, and Mika finds herself caught in a little reverse harem that she grows to love.
I was intrigued over who Mika/Raine's creator was. It seemed like everyone was really welcoming and showed her no ill will so to find out who it was did come as a bit of a shock but they did have a bit of a good reason for it.
I actually enjoyed the reverse harem side of this one. Some just seem to instantly happen whereas this one, each guy came about in their own time. It wasn't all at once. Some tried to fight it, some gave in straight away. There were some really sizzling scenes of threesomes with the guys having a little fun with each other too.
One thing I do have a little complaint about is the editing. It has a handful of errors throughout with words repeated or sentences that appear to have been changed slightly but left the previous word in there, too. It doesn't take away from the story but it just niggles me a little.
The story was well written and had been thought out. I am very intrigued by this group of lovers and the town of Dark River and can't help wondering what is next in store for them, so I will be buying book 2 soon.
I'm glad I did.
This starts with Mika waking up in a storm drain at some point in the night and wandering into a small town called Dark River, which is home to vampires. It turns out that one of the inhabitants killed her and turned her and local sheriff Walker Walton tries to find out who as Mika settles into the town she can never really leave again. Add in drifter Judge, and shape shifter Brody, and Mika finds herself caught in a little reverse harem that she grows to love.
I was intrigued over who Mika/Raine's creator was. It seemed like everyone was really welcoming and showed her no ill will so to find out who it was did come as a bit of a shock but they did have a bit of a good reason for it.
I actually enjoyed the reverse harem side of this one. Some just seem to instantly happen whereas this one, each guy came about in their own time. It wasn't all at once. Some tried to fight it, some gave in straight away. There were some really sizzling scenes of threesomes with the guys having a little fun with each other too.
One thing I do have a little complaint about is the editing. It has a handful of errors throughout with words repeated or sentences that appear to have been changed slightly but left the previous word in there, too. It doesn't take away from the story but it just niggles me a little.
The story was well written and had been thought out. I am very intrigued by this group of lovers and the town of Dark River and can't help wondering what is next in store for them, so I will be buying book 2 soon.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) in Movies
Nov 10, 2020
King Not Prince
Dracula: Prince of Darkness- is a slowburn film. It takes it time to build of Dracula and once Dracula shows than it really gets started. Christopher Lee isnt in this movie very much even though he is Dracula himself, but once he is one screen, he stills the show.
The plot: Four English travellers arrive at a tiny hamlet in the Carpathian Mountains and ignore warnings from the locals not to travel to Carlsbad, the domain of Count Dracula. A dark, driverless carriage arrives to take them to the sinister castle, but they discover too late that they have been lured there to provide the blood which will allow Dracula to rise from the grave once more.
Dracula does not speak in the film, save for a few hisses. According to Christopher Lee: "I didn't speak in that picture. The reason was very simple. I read the script and saw the dialogue! I said to Hammer, if you think I'm going to say any of these lines, you're very much mistaken.
Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster disputed that account in his memoir Inside Hammer, writing that "Vampires don't chat. So I didn't write him any dialogue. Christopher Lee has claimed that he refused to speak the lines he was given...So you can take your pick as to why Christopher Lee didn't have any dialogue in the picture. Or you can take my word for it. I didn't write any.
The film was made back to back with Rasputin, the Mad Monk, using many of the same sets and cast, including Lee, Shelley, Matthews and Farmer. Shelley later remembered accidentally swallowing one of her fangs in one scene, and having to drink salt water to bring it back up again because of the tight shooting schedule, as well as there being no spare set of fangs.
Its a decent Dracula film.
The plot: Four English travellers arrive at a tiny hamlet in the Carpathian Mountains and ignore warnings from the locals not to travel to Carlsbad, the domain of Count Dracula. A dark, driverless carriage arrives to take them to the sinister castle, but they discover too late that they have been lured there to provide the blood which will allow Dracula to rise from the grave once more.
Dracula does not speak in the film, save for a few hisses. According to Christopher Lee: "I didn't speak in that picture. The reason was very simple. I read the script and saw the dialogue! I said to Hammer, if you think I'm going to say any of these lines, you're very much mistaken.
Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster disputed that account in his memoir Inside Hammer, writing that "Vampires don't chat. So I didn't write him any dialogue. Christopher Lee has claimed that he refused to speak the lines he was given...So you can take your pick as to why Christopher Lee didn't have any dialogue in the picture. Or you can take my word for it. I didn't write any.
The film was made back to back with Rasputin, the Mad Monk, using many of the same sets and cast, including Lee, Shelley, Matthews and Farmer. Shelley later remembered accidentally swallowing one of her fangs in one scene, and having to drink salt water to bring it back up again because of the tight shooting schedule, as well as there being no spare set of fangs.
Its a decent Dracula film.
Merissa (11805 KP) created a post
Mar 16, 2021
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Vampire in Brooklyn (1995) in Movies
Sep 18, 2020
Brooklyn's Own Vampire
Vampire in Brooklyn- is a entertaining movie. It has horror, comedy and eddie Murphy as the bad guy.
The plot: In the wake of her mother's death in a mental institution, detective Rita Veder (Angela Bassett) is assigned to a baffling serial murder case. After examining the crime scene -- a corpse-filled ship found adrift at sea -- Rita meets Maximilian (Eddie Murphy), a smooth-talking Caribbean playboy determined to romance her. When Rita begins suffering from crippling hallucinations, she calls upon Dr. Zeko (Zakes Mokae), an occultist who suspects a vampire is on the loose.
According to Charlie Murphy, the movie was originally going to be a straight horror film with no laughs but Wes Craven brought a different focus to it. He also said: "Maximilian wasn't going to have any redeeming qualities. But Wes taught us that we must get the audience to care about our characters. And even if they didn't know any vampires personally, they would at least have to identify with the type of person he was.
About the movie, Eddie Murphy said: "I've always wanted to do something where I was the villain in the movie. I love horror pictures and I was a big fan of Wes Craven. This movie started out as something small, this was a movie my company was just going to produce and the screenplay came together so well that I thought it will be a fun role to play. Because I got to do something kind of scary and had a safety net because the vampire can turn into other peoples. I get to be funny when I'm the preacher and I get to be funny when I'm the Italian guy. And the vampire is pretty straight and I got all these funny stuff happening around me. I felt it was a unique piece to do."
Although contemporary reviews were negative, Vampire In Brooklyn has since become a cult classic.
Like i said its a good comedy horror film.
The plot: In the wake of her mother's death in a mental institution, detective Rita Veder (Angela Bassett) is assigned to a baffling serial murder case. After examining the crime scene -- a corpse-filled ship found adrift at sea -- Rita meets Maximilian (Eddie Murphy), a smooth-talking Caribbean playboy determined to romance her. When Rita begins suffering from crippling hallucinations, she calls upon Dr. Zeko (Zakes Mokae), an occultist who suspects a vampire is on the loose.
According to Charlie Murphy, the movie was originally going to be a straight horror film with no laughs but Wes Craven brought a different focus to it. He also said: "Maximilian wasn't going to have any redeeming qualities. But Wes taught us that we must get the audience to care about our characters. And even if they didn't know any vampires personally, they would at least have to identify with the type of person he was.
About the movie, Eddie Murphy said: "I've always wanted to do something where I was the villain in the movie. I love horror pictures and I was a big fan of Wes Craven. This movie started out as something small, this was a movie my company was just going to produce and the screenplay came together so well that I thought it will be a fun role to play. Because I got to do something kind of scary and had a safety net because the vampire can turn into other peoples. I get to be funny when I'm the preacher and I get to be funny when I'm the Italian guy. And the vampire is pretty straight and I got all these funny stuff happening around me. I felt it was a unique piece to do."
Although contemporary reviews were negative, Vampire In Brooklyn has since become a cult classic.
Like i said its a good comedy horror film.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Digging Up the Dead (The Gravedigger #3) in Books
Dec 1, 2020
200 of 200
Kindle
Digging up the Dead ( The Gravedigger book 2)
By Willie E. Dalton
Reapers, vampires, and… zombies?”
I wasn’t sure just how much more emotional upheaval I was capable of handling. I never knew this would still be an issue after death. I was still coping with the latest trauma, when my best friend, Grace came to me with startling news. Boude, her boyfriend, was missing.
Vampire affairs is something I try to avoid, after all, the vampire Rasputin had tried to kill me more than once, and had been the one to take Grace’s eye and disfigure the side of her lovely face. I had a sneaking suspicion he was also the one behind our missing friend.
Not one to sit idly by while my friend suffered, I started investigating the inner workings of the Vampire Quarter; a breathtaking and sinister area of the underworld.
In the fields of the dead, bodies were disappearing as fast as the other reapers and I could dig them up, and things at the Assignment Hall were profoundly more strange as all of the employees suddenly had fangs.
The deeper we kept digging into the bizarre events, a terrifying plot unfolded that could bring down the underworld as we knew it. And when the bodies in the field started clawing their way out of the graves, I realized we were up against something more powerful than we could ever have imagined.
Been a while since I read book 2 but was able to pick it up and remember exactly where it left off! I enjoy this series it’s a totally different take on how life in the afterlife is. I kinda wished they made more of the big bars death though. Also separating Hell and Soren hoping they find a way back to each other! I like the idea of Hell covering for Persephone as queen too!
Kindle
Digging up the Dead ( The Gravedigger book 2)
By Willie E. Dalton
Reapers, vampires, and… zombies?”
I wasn’t sure just how much more emotional upheaval I was capable of handling. I never knew this would still be an issue after death. I was still coping with the latest trauma, when my best friend, Grace came to me with startling news. Boude, her boyfriend, was missing.
Vampire affairs is something I try to avoid, after all, the vampire Rasputin had tried to kill me more than once, and had been the one to take Grace’s eye and disfigure the side of her lovely face. I had a sneaking suspicion he was also the one behind our missing friend.
Not one to sit idly by while my friend suffered, I started investigating the inner workings of the Vampire Quarter; a breathtaking and sinister area of the underworld.
In the fields of the dead, bodies were disappearing as fast as the other reapers and I could dig them up, and things at the Assignment Hall were profoundly more strange as all of the employees suddenly had fangs.
The deeper we kept digging into the bizarre events, a terrifying plot unfolded that could bring down the underworld as we knew it. And when the bodies in the field started clawing their way out of the graves, I realized we were up against something more powerful than we could ever have imagined.
Been a while since I read book 2 but was able to pick it up and remember exactly where it left off! I enjoy this series it’s a totally different take on how life in the afterlife is. I kinda wished they made more of the big bars death though. Also separating Hell and Soren hoping they find a way back to each other! I like the idea of Hell covering for Persephone as queen too!
What scares you the most? Ghouls, vampires, slime-fanged aliens ...or something terrible that truly could happen? For me it's definitely the latter.
Our narrator, Jon, is a historian witnessing the most monumental event of humanity but at a great distance. He feels compelled to keep a record of the people isolated with him in a vast hotel. He collects their stories and feelings in the faint hope that some sort of civilisation will survive long enough to rediscover them. Through his journal we experience what it would be like to be aware that the world was ending, billions dying, but be totally disconnected from the horrific events.
Most books set during an apocalypse are fraught with traumatic dashes, violent brushes with death, horror and misery. There are elements of that here but this book mostly poses the question of what you would do if there was little drama but lots of time to dwell on things. The people in the hotel are comparatively safe in an old hotel surrounded by forest. They wait for something to happen, for someone to rescue them, or perhaps just for their food to run out. Jon embarks on a quest to solve one cruel murder, taking him down a path of mistrust and near hysteria.
I enjoyed the blend of dystopia and murder mystery; the first half of the book reads like a modern day progeny of George Orwell and Agatha Christie. Asking your audience to imagine bombs wiping out entire countries but then drastically limiting their focus to one death amongst multitudes is startling. I also liked the references to real people and places, there were definite shades of the Cecil Hotel here for a true-crime/horror podcast junkie like me to appreciate. However, I do feel that the novel lost it's way towards the end - trying to be all things to all people perhaps. It's definitely worth reading and I'm keen to see more from this author.
Our narrator, Jon, is a historian witnessing the most monumental event of humanity but at a great distance. He feels compelled to keep a record of the people isolated with him in a vast hotel. He collects their stories and feelings in the faint hope that some sort of civilisation will survive long enough to rediscover them. Through his journal we experience what it would be like to be aware that the world was ending, billions dying, but be totally disconnected from the horrific events.
Most books set during an apocalypse are fraught with traumatic dashes, violent brushes with death, horror and misery. There are elements of that here but this book mostly poses the question of what you would do if there was little drama but lots of time to dwell on things. The people in the hotel are comparatively safe in an old hotel surrounded by forest. They wait for something to happen, for someone to rescue them, or perhaps just for their food to run out. Jon embarks on a quest to solve one cruel murder, taking him down a path of mistrust and near hysteria.
I enjoyed the blend of dystopia and murder mystery; the first half of the book reads like a modern day progeny of George Orwell and Agatha Christie. Asking your audience to imagine bombs wiping out entire countries but then drastically limiting their focus to one death amongst multitudes is startling. I also liked the references to real people and places, there were definite shades of the Cecil Hotel here for a true-crime/horror podcast junkie like me to appreciate. However, I do feel that the novel lost it's way towards the end - trying to be all things to all people perhaps. It's definitely worth reading and I'm keen to see more from this author.
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Doctor Sleep in Books
Oct 9, 2019
Doctor Sleep is the sequel to ‘The Shining’. Following the life of Dan Torrance (the little boy from The Shining) the book quickly covers what happens after the events at the Overlook Hotel where Dan finds his lifestyle copying that of his alcoholic farther. His life starts to turn around when he arrives at a small town in New Hampshire where the now middle aged Dan finds a number of things; Help with his alcohol problem, A job in a nursing home, good friends and, with the help of his Shinning a child in need of help.
Doctor Sleep Focus’ on the power of the Shinning, what it can do and how it affects not only the people with the power but others around it. Unlike the first book ghost’s do not play a major part in most of the story, there is a bit in the beginning which ties up events at the Overlook but, although ghosts are mentioned they have been (Mostly) replaced by a group called The True Knot, a group of vampire like beings who feed off the Shining instead of blood. As Dan finds himself caught up with The True Knot he finds that he is being pulled back to the site of the Overlook.
A big part of the book is about how you can’t escape your past and that, until you accept your mistakes you will never really be able to move forward. It is also about acceptance and the fact that you are never really alone, that other people have experienced what you are going through and that they can help you get through life if you let them and it is about family, accepting the one you have but also find a new one, finding people who will accept you as you are but it is mostly about psychic Vampires and the power of the Shining.
Doctor Sleep Focus’ on the power of the Shinning, what it can do and how it affects not only the people with the power but others around it. Unlike the first book ghost’s do not play a major part in most of the story, there is a bit in the beginning which ties up events at the Overlook but, although ghosts are mentioned they have been (Mostly) replaced by a group called The True Knot, a group of vampire like beings who feed off the Shining instead of blood. As Dan finds himself caught up with The True Knot he finds that he is being pulled back to the site of the Overlook.
A big part of the book is about how you can’t escape your past and that, until you accept your mistakes you will never really be able to move forward. It is also about acceptance and the fact that you are never really alone, that other people have experienced what you are going through and that they can help you get through life if you let them and it is about family, accepting the one you have but also find a new one, finding people who will accept you as you are but it is mostly about psychic Vampires and the power of the Shining.