Horror Books

Others mentioned there aren't a lot of zombies, which is true. I like this aspect because in a zombie-filled world with survivors, there would be other things to worry. The survival town does have holes in its defense that could've been better accounted for. The ending indicates there is more to the the story and I can't wait to see what happens next.

I enjoy Zombie novels, and the story is quite interesting, but is let down by limited vocabulary and is in need of a better editor.

There are rambling passages (the description of the re-vamped vehicles for instance) that were a chore to read, the characters generally spoke in the same 'voice' and their speech patterns were never natural- people don't speak like that! And how many times was the word 'chuckle' used... there are many ways to describe a wry laugh- it began to border on the ridiculous the number of times people were 'chuckling', often at inappropriate moments in the story.

I think about 20% of the book could have been cut and it would have been a far more consistent & enjoyable read.

I loved the first book of the series, althought it was a little slow at times abut still great.
THIS BOOK was an intense read and I finished it 3 days after I got it.
For anyone who loves nonstop action, this is for you!! THIS SERIES ROCKS AND I CANT WAIT FOR THE THIRD INSTALLMENT!

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS SERIES!

The author has put a new twist into the zombie genre and yet he has also been careful not to stray far for those who are fans of ZPAW novels. This is the first book in a planed trilogy.

Thunger and Ashes (The Morningstar Strain) is a very satisfying second book in the "Morningstar trilogy". It has action and suspense, a plot which flows well from the first book, and leads well into the third. The book is fast paced and hard to put down. It keeps the story line going from the first book and ends in a way which leaves you with just enough closure so you're not hanging off a cliff, but still creates a desire to get the third book in the trilogy to see how things come together. Well written and recommended.

OMG!! I absolutely Love this book! Anita FINALLY makes love to richard.. and its so much more with him than it is with jean claude! The details in this book are amazing! I felt as if i were right there with anita.. or i was anita. I liked how she was possessed by raina and demanded richard to claim her once again as his mate.. and she had to ecscape all the other wolves so she wouldnt have been had (raped) by another. and in the end richard gets to her, and they do what ive been wanting them to do for a very long time! oh it was so awesome.. i re-read this book 5 times before i moved on to the next book!

Laurell K. Hamilton, Blue Moon (Jove, 1998)

I've been hearing about how the Anita Blake series is supposed to be falling off a cliff now for the last three books, and I have to say it hasn't happened yet, at least not as far as I'm concerned, and at least not in the way many have made it out. This one definitely does slip in two major ways, but not because of the major argument brought up by the critics. Guess I'll be waiting for that one in the next book.

The plot of this one starts off with Anita getting a late-night notice that Richard has gotten himself arrested in Tennessee-- for, of all things, attempted [censored for Amazon consumption]. As a few different characters say, "I'd believe murder before I'd believe [censored for Amazon consumption]." The local Master refuses Jean-Claude and his cohorts admittance to his territory, which Anita ignores, of course. As a result, the local Master, Colin, considers himself to be at war with Anita and company, and we get a look at a different set of werewolves than the ones we usually see. Which is probably the most interesting part of the novel; there's a lot of stuff with interesting sociological implications. It's like dumping a mound of topsoil onto already fertile ground to see if those tomatoes can get just a little bigger.

Unfortunately, the downsides are two. First, Anita herself, despite being the narrator of the novel, seems lost in the tide for most of it; events happen around her, and she doesn't seem to have much control over them, even when she's the center of the action. (Anita, and thus Hamilton, realizes this; she complains about it more than once.) The second complaint is far more severe, and I've heard it echoed a number of times in other criticisms; Anita, by the end of this book, is far, far removed from the sympathetic heroine with whom we all started the series. In fact, she's become downright unlikable. I hope this is a temporary aberration. I fear it might not be.

Still, as far as the writing, it's your typical Anita Blake novel, which means it's a good, solid quick read. So I'm still a fan, even if a number of others I know weren't by this point. *** ½

Blue Moon is my 5th anita blake novel. i think she is a unique and wonderful character...but. This book starts with anita in a sexual quandry over her vampire and werewolf lovers and somehow manages to work a story about rescueing Richard in there somewhere.
I guess i am wanting less time describing how some mans hair looks and what color it is and how his silk pants hug his manhood and more time spent on the actual story. i love laurel hamilton and her writing and her characters . It seems to me that too much time is spent on the sex and sexual stuff than on what anita is up to.
I would like maybe 300 pages of story and 100 pages of description of wolfen emotions and satin shirts.

It seems repetitous on the story also. seems anita gathers a group of vamps and werepersons and has trouble relating to them, runs into bad guys, fights, then a big shoot out scene. sure it is different people but still same story line.

laurel hamilton sure does not need me to tell her how to write but she creates such unique and real characters that i would like more about what they do rather than feel.
I will continue to read anita stories but i have the feeling she is headed for disaster and maybe the best thing would be to "kill every one" and start over with just anita.

Having spent the last book almost exclusively on vampires, after the visit from the council, this book moves more to the lycanthrope side, which was nice. I enjoy the three main influences on Anita, her human life, the vampires, and the wereanimals; it's good to see the interplay between them. I'll bet the next book focuses on the human aspects more than either of the supernaturals.

I liked that this one left St. Louis, though honestly, I thought the reason Anita was drawn to Tennessee was a little bit lame. I mean, Richard's in trouble, she has to go help; I had no problem with that, especially since the reason Richard needs her help made perfect sense with his character -- the truth will set you free, yeah right; he already knew the cops were corrupt, the big dumb knight-in-shining-armor -- and I liked that the Master of the City told Anita no, and wouldn't back down from that, and tried to fight her off when she came and came pretty close to succeeding before she kicked his butt. I liked the vampire politics and such here; it seemed real, that Colin would be so afraid of people who managed to cow the Council, and who would, logically, be looking to expand into a territory they thought they could take over -- and why not his, since Richard has been spending so much time there getting in good with the local werewolves who resent Colin's control, anyway. I liked Richard's family, especially their relationship with their mother -- she was a great character -- and I liked the way Anita handled it all.

My problem was with the conservationist aspect. As much as I love nature and believe that it should be preserved and kept safe from human depredations, I am not willing to take up arms and fight people who are more careless and cold-hearted than necessarily evil, in my eyes. I mean, poachers are one thing, but the bad guys here were not after the trolls that Richard wanted to protect, and while I thought Niley should definitely be kept away from the land and richly deserved what he got in the end, I just don't agree with fighting quite that hard for it. So I thought Richard shouldn't have gone to the lengths he did, nor forced Anita and company to the lengths they had to go to, just to protect trolls from someone who, while evil, wasn't really a threat to them. Basically I thought Niley should have shown up as evil earlier than he did, because there wasn't enough motivation for everyone to stay in town and fight Colin until we discover who nasty Niley was -- and then, when we found out the truth about Niley's treasure hunt, it all got pointless again. So I didn't like that.

But thank God, Richard and Anita had sex. I prefer Jean-Claude as a character and as a boyfriend for Anita, because Richard is way too goddamned petty and arrogant, but I'm so very glad we got past that sexual tension crap. I know, I know, it won't ever go away, especially not since Richard insists on banging other women who then feel the need to come after Anita to fight her for Richard's love -- and if one more goddamned supercreature tells Anita she wouldn't be so tough without her guns, I'm gonna start screaming -- but at least Anita and Richard should be able to cool their ardor, I hope. Maybe they can move towards some kind of resolution now.

I hate the munin, which means it is a very good subplot because I'm supposed to hate them and what they do to Anita, and I liked all of the interplay with the lycanthropes, especially between Anita and the wereleopards. It made them more fully-fleshed characters, and I like that. I liked that Jason got to kick a little redneck butt, and I hope to see more of Shang-Da and Jamil; both strong characters, I think. An excellent book.

I'm sad because this series was great in its first two books. Now the series is nothing better than badly written porn. The characters are uninteresting. Those that are featured are either one-dimentional or completely unappealing. The reason for the decline is the fact that the author apparently projects too much of her personal life onto Anita Blake, thus the dropping of Jean Claude for Richard after the author's divorce.

If you're into rotting-vampires raping shapeshifters, this book is for you. And you should be locked up.

This series has devolved into a pornographic soap opera. 1 star.

This book for the record, was not as good as A Quick Bite, but better than Love Bites. I struggled with the notion of giving this book a three star but rejected it, based on the fact that I have given many better books than this a three star. Still this isn't quite as bad as the other books I have given a two star...so 2 1/2 stars, really. Here, we once again re-visit the Argeneau vampire series. This time, grumpy Lucern gets his turn to to find a human chick who can't read his mind to fall in love with and then turn into a vampire. Predictabiltiy bites. Kate is everything a man would want in an eternity mate. She is fiesty, indespendant, and sexy... She is good natured even when dealing with tempermental Lucern. Kate is an editor for the romance novels Luc writes. But really they aren't novels, the are historical novels because they tell what has really happened in his family. Kate is a little dense at times and it takes her WAY too long to figure out that Luc is a vamp. This book is more comedic than Love Bites and there are very funny, well played scenes here. However, in between those funny, well played scenes are a lot of boring filler pages. We never truly grasp what is so special about Kate that in four hundred plus years, she stands out as THE ONE. And we never truly understand why Kate falls for grumpy nosed Lucern. Still, I like this family. I like the comic portions of these books. The sex scenes are pretty boring, and there are tons of repetitive things that happen in each of the first three books. Still, one could pass the time in many worse ways than to read this book. I know that this is a lighthearted series but it could benefit from some more depth to the characters, and some variances in plot elements. Other than that, Ms Sands can write some stellar moments into a book and there are little snippets of this story I probably won't forget easily.

Single White Vampire is yet another mindblowing Lynsay Sands book. Lucern is being annoyed but his new editor to do some publicity but can hardly do TV when he needs blood, avoids sunlight and of course doesn't age. How long can he keep his new publisher and her co-workers in the dark? And how long can he deny his attraction to her a thirst he hasn't felt for centuries.

Lynsay Sands does it again.

of course, love lynsay sands, this book was very good. love the humor and romance.

This is the most side spliting humor and good vamp series I have ever read. Do not Miss The Argeneau Vampires @ friends. I sometimes wonder If I am disturbing my neighbors with my late at night Laughter that seems to come from Nowhere... A Must Read as are all of Lindsay Sands books.

Lucern Argeneau just wants to be left alone. After 600 years he's bored with life and living and is just muddling through. He's a successful author, but even that doesn't bring him any real joy -- just helps pass the time.
Then enters his editor, Kate, who thrusts herself into his life when he refuses to help market his books. Kate is recently promoted and wants to maintain her position, but to do that, she needs to get her most popular author to sign up for some publicity engagements. Just one book signing would make her happy. But Lucern is known as a recluse and when he refuses to answer written requests with more than one word (No) or give her his phone number, she has no choice but to show up on his doorstep.
From that point on begins a series of hilarious events as Lucern tries to fight his attraction to his new editor and keep secret the fact that he is a vampire and the vampire romances he's been penning are more fact than fiction.
This is the first book published in the Argeneau Vampire series, but chronologically, comes third. Of the 8 books out so far, this is my favorite. Lucern's brooding, serious nature was irresistible to me and I loved watching his personality come alive with Kate's influence.
I highly recommend this book, as well as the rest of the series.

Peter Straub's "Ghost Story" is a compelling piece of literature and one of the finest and best written supernatural novels I have read in a while.

The Chowder Society is a group of mature men who have been an exclusive informal social group for years and must deal with the death of one of their members which they feel happened under unusual circumstances. This death signals the start of an evil resurgence within the town of Milburn and opens the wounds of old sins within the Chowder Society members. As past secrets are revealed and the town is isolated by an on-going winter storm, these men must confront ghosts from their past to save the town and their lives.

Straub takes a lot of time developing his characters and making sure that each has a well defined back "story" to bring them alive. In fact, everything in "Ghost Story" revolves around stories: ghost stories told by the Chowder Society, Don Wanderly's novels that seem to come alive, the Manitou stories.... The book has a wonderful physical ghost story as well as an underlying theme about how the passing of time develops its own stories, and it are these stories that are going to define you and be your ghost in the future.

After reading "Shadowland" recently and feeling that Peter Straub was talking over my head and laughing at the readers who could not pick-up the nuances in his writing, I was a bit apprehensive about "Ghost Story". However, the structure of the story was so well conceived that I found myself continually climbing up the steps Straub layered for me until I realized that I was dangling perilously high and was at the mercy of the author.

The first half of the book laid down the foundation of the story and was never dull. It introduced the characters with fine stories and provided enough mysterious elements to keep the story moving forward. In fact, the party scene where we are introduced to Anne-Veronica Moore is the best written section of the book. Character traits are revealed in an entertaining way and the whole section reads like a John Cheever story. It was a wonderfully written section. Once Straub finishes throwing the puzzle pieces on the table and the reader starts to see the entire picture, the book really takes off. The foreshadowing during the "Town" chapter marks a significant turn in the story. It is here the storm picks-up and the novel begins to spin dizzyingly, like snowflakes in the blizzard. Like a blizzard it never lets up the intensity until the very end.

Great stuff for anyone who has the patience to get lost in a well told and well constructed classic ghost story.

This book was extremely reminiscent of Stephen King's "IT". Apart from the mythological origins of the evil creatures, I would almost say that they were of the same species. With that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It scared the living daylights out of me. I honestly had trouble sleeping at night and dreamt of these monsters regularly. I was a bit put off by all the character development, but it is absolutely essential for the story to work. It starts slow, and slows down even more, but somewhere around the middle, it explodes into tremendous horror story that left me on edge even after I was done reading it. Read this book, you won't regret it.

I read this book back in 1985 shortly after having read "The Talisman" by Peter Straub and Stephen King. Although ponderous at times, Ghost Story took spookiness to the Max! I would often have to stop reading early in the evening so I wouldn't have nightmares about it. I would get so wrapped up in the story that my emotional involvement built up until I was jumping at normal house sounds and had shivers running up my spine. I could easily picture everything that was happening on those pages. After 23 years, I still love this book, recommend it often to my friends, and consider it to be one of the best books I've ever enjoyed.

I found this book to be tedious, uninteresting, and utterly forgettable. Not really much more to say. Try before you buy; it is definately not for everyone despite Stephen King's recommendation.

Ghost story kept me reading til all hours of the night and even then a light had to stay on. As an avid reader of horror and fiction this book gets a definite 2 thumbs up.

As stated in the title, this comic will offend many people that read it, but if you look past all the blasphemys you will find one of the greatest comic book stories ever written. A must have for any comic book collector.

Preacher was my first foray into graphic novels. It was like waking up in technicolor after living in black and white all my life. When I'd finished reading the series, a process that took less than a week and involved many sleepless nights, I couldn't wait to get my hands on a new series to sink my teeth into. Imagine my surprize and disappointment when I learned that Preacher is in a class of it's own.
It's completely unique, intelligent, hilarious, disturbing, gory, violent, epic, and did I mention violent? How about gory, did I mention that? Because it bears repeating. Carnage is practically a starring character in this series. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to tear your eyes out... but you'll be nothing if not entertained.

"The Preacher " is a fantastic piece of work from the master of shock himself (Garth Ennis). Like all his books I have read so far this one has captivating and thought provoking story lines and witty well written dialogue. There is plenty to offend a lot of people but nothing too over the top in the bad language and gore departments. The artwork is well done and fits the story well. For once this is a book that lives up to all the hype. I can't wait to read the next installment. I reckon if you enjoyed the TV series Carnivale you will enjoy this book. The Preacher Volume 1 is a highly recommended read for adults only so don't buy it for little Timmy or he may have nightmares :-)

Sometimes you reread titles and are disappointed. Other times, they've not faded at all. As much as I enjoy all..er... most of Ennis and Dillon's collaborations, they've never topped Preacher.

Any single volume of Preacher makes for a self-contained read, but this, the first in the series, is still the best. Jesse and his band of merry pals are all introduced and the overall plot ('find God') is thrown up on the table within the first few pages. The rest is joyous wackytime, cluttered with some of the most memorable characters in all comics history - from the truly scary (The Saint of Killers) to the real monsters (Sheriff Root).

Offensive, disturbing and a thoroughly satisfying story.

Blood and Rain
Blood for the Masses

Originally Published in SavageNight Ezine

The Preacher: Gone To Texas
Book 1
By
Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon

Reviewed by
B.L.Morgan

3 Stars

I read graphic novels because it's a quick painless way to absorb some books that I otherwise would not get around to reading. The day I bought Preacher Book 1 I'd just finished reading two large novels and with my work schedule my head needed a rest. When I told the guy at the store I wanted something wild that wouldn't tax my brain he told me that Preacher was the best thing going.

He gave me a non-stop sales pitch for at least the next half hour that was so intense that I ended up saying to him, "Alright, alright just shut up and I'll buy the thing!"

I had to get out of there as quick as I could.

Preacher: Gone To Texas was not as good as the book sales guy said it was. It was good, just not the masterpiece he made it out to be.

The Preacher in the title gains god-like powers by merging with Genesis. After that he teams up with an ex-lover who's a healthy trash-talking woman, and an Irish Vampire. Together they wander across the country and get into trouble. That's about it.

The problem with calling this a graphic novel is that it doesn't have a structure like a novel. There is no ending at all. Preacher: Book 1 is the first of eight issues of The Preacher comic book so there's no end in sight.

That's alright if you're reading a comic book and don't really expect an ending. I however, was disappointed. That said, the dialogue in this book was frequently clever and funny. The artwork was very good. Not the very best I have seen, but very good.

The first Preacher book was good enough so that when I spotted another, #5 in the library, I checked it out. I do expect it to entertain me some.

I would recommend The Preacher: Gone To Texas, Book 1 if you find it at a used book store for under five bucks. I paid $14.95. That salesman caught me in the right mood with some money to burn.

It won't happen again.

I decided to try this book one day when reading through some reviews of it online one day. I figured it might be good for a few chuckles, but I wasn't expecting it to be high on my list of favorites. Surprisingly, I was blown away by this book! The book opens with the death of the heroine, Elizabeth "Betsy" Taylor, unambitious executive secretary and designer shoe queen. Rather than let death stop her, she "rises again" to reclaim her shoe collection from her tacky and cruel step-mother. But Betsy soon discovers she is not like other vampires; she is able to go into religious buildings, she is not bothered by crosses, and she is unaffected by holy water. These abnormal characteristics point to a vampire prophecy of which Betsy may be the fulfillment, simultaneously placing her in danger from those who do not wish the prophecy to come true.

This is a novel in which the heroine is moderately intelligent at best, grating at worst, and simultaneously endearing always. If you love chick-lit style paranormal novels doused in humor, sarcasm, and a tough-as-nails leading lady who refuses to back down from anyone - including the man she is attracted to - this is the book for you!

This is definitely an interesting read. I wasn't sure if I would like it but I will be buying the other books.

This is not normally my type of book not big on romance books,but like vampires and boy was I surprised! Betsy is an amazing charater I laughed and rooted her on! I cannot wait to read book 2! I will not spoil this for anyone who has not read this wonderful book but even if this is typically not your genre of book try it this is a very exciteing book !!

This book is a mix of paranormal and chick lit, so if you don't like either genre you need to avoid it like a vampire avoids garlic. Oops, sorry about the slip into lame similes. I thought this was pretty good. It was cute, almost precious at points, but I liked Betsy's no-nonsense reaction to waking up and discovering that she's now undead. My one complaint is that I found the language to be rather crude at at times. I'm no prude, but the sudden switch to almost vulgarity during the sex/feeding scenes was rather jarring. But it was a fun diversion and the reader of the audiobook was a perfect fit, so I'll definitely be listening to more in the series.

Just the right amount of funny, sexy, and wit! I found this book in the most random of ways.
The main character is a hoot, as are all of her friends and surrounding characters in this book. I was in a book rut... seeming to read everything that sounded the same so this was a nice change. Am glad to have stumbled on this series. I will definitely have to read up on the continuation of it...
This book made me laugh, got me all hot and bothered, and again, laugh, laugh, laugh. You'll love it.

This is yet another high caliber book that Mr. Koontz has read. It makes me wish when I had moved that I had kept my previous DK collection. :( *sniff* now im sad. oh well, i'll work to rebuild it.

This is my 2nd Koontz book and although the first one that I read (The Husband) wasn't my favorite book of all time it definitely had some gripping moments and good twists. This book was boring, horribly paced and the detail was so overwrought it was painful at times where I'm to the point of me mentally screaming "JUST GET ON WITH THE STORY!!" I don't mind details and painting a picture, but this was just unnecessarily descriptive to say the least. Did he really have to plot a way to get away from the coyotes for 2 or 3 chapters?

I can easily say that this was one of the worst books that I've read and I continued to read it in some hope that the 4 and 5 star reviewers knew of some revelation toward the end of the book that would represent a payoff. My payoff is to write this review and possibly warn someone to not read this book unless you have time to kill and nothing better to read.

This felt like a 75 page short story stretched out to an excruciatingly boring novel. I definitely will read more Koontz, but certainly not another Odd book. Odd Thomas a dull mix of Forrest Gump and Rain Man with the Sixth Sense thrown in for kicks. What a bore...

I don't believe I've ever given Koontz a five star rating before. I loved 'Lightning' and 'Phantoms', even newer books like 'The Husband'. This is above and beyond all of his previous works. I've been wanting to read John Saul's 'Nathaniel' for a while and have it right here but I also have 'Forever Odd' and I tell you as soon as I finished 'Odd Thomas' I put 'Nathaniel' back on the shelf and started 'Forever Odd'. I don't want to spoil this for anyone who hasn't read it yet but one thing separates this from other Koontz books, the heroes don't come out in a barrage of bullets into glory. Just amazing, can't wait to read the other 3 books

I've read around ten Dean Koontz books and, despite some of my problems with his writing style, I've obviously been entertained enough to come back for more, time and time again. Well, no more. This book compounded all of his lazy, unprofessional, and imbecilic writing "techniques" and slopped them into one short, but far too long, book -- probably the worst I've ever read in my entire life.

What shocks me, of course, is that so many people not only like this book -- they love it! I cannot for the life of me figure out what there is to love. Here's a "spoiler" for you: Nothing happens in this book! It is basically 302 pages of long lists of the contents of people's drawers, refrigerators, glove compartments, etc. It is written in the first person by Odd Thomas -- an immensely annoying and unrealistic character who only seems less so by the annoyance and unrealism of all of the other characters in the book.

Here's a shocker: Odd -- that's his name, by the way -- comes from a dysfunctional family. So does his girlfriend, "Stormy." Oh, and here's what makes Odd so odd: He can see dead people. Yes, only a few years after the Sixth Sense (a phrase that is used time and time again in this book), Koontz wrote a book where the character literally says "I see dead people." But don't worry, the dead people never do anything interesting.

My theory on why people like this book: They're stupid and the book is short. It's one of the few books they ever read, so they grow an emotional attachment to it. If your IQ is above that of Forest Gump's please pass on this book and move on with your life. There's nothing here for you to see.

Book 1 is my favorite Odd Thomas book, to-date. Awesome story with a memorable character. I thought about Odd long after I put the book down, and it definitely made me want to read more. I started on Forever Odd (book 2) the same evening.

Dean Koontz has created a very interesting character and some witty dialogue and humor. While it might not be as dark as most of his other works, Odd Thomas has an eerie foreshadowing that really works. You have to keep reading to find out what happens.

I must start book 4 soon...

Cheryl Kaye Tardif, author of Divine Intervention and The River

Laurell Hamilton has an extremely vivid fantasy and is able to create situations full of suspense and mystery. Anita Blake is always an incredible character...not only she's a great heroine, but she's also funny!
The plot of this book is very well created and i couldn't almost put the book down!

All right, so I'm up to Book 9 in the series now, and I still haven't lost any interest. Reading these as quickly as I have been has made them seem like one extremely long novel, rather than a series; I can't decide if it's better or worse this way. But the fact that the characters are still fascinating to me and the stories haven't lost anything over the course of -- what, 3000 pages? Something like that -- shows me that this is a series that is worth pursuing, something that I plan to read and enjoy more than once. Maybe next time I'll read them with a little more space in between.

This one was excellent, though slower than the ones before it. Slower partly because it was longer, jumping 150, 200 pages in length over Blue Moon, and slower partly because it was just slower-paced. There was much less action and much more investigating and talking to different people in this one, which was a little disappointing inasmuch as it was Edward's book, and I expected that to be nothing but slaughter. But after reading it, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way, because it was fascinating to examine the disparate attitudes and morals and desires of the Four Psychos of the Apocalypse, Edward, Bernardo, Olaf, and Anita. These four run the gamut of serial killers, since that's what all of them are, and I loved comparing them over the course of the book.

You have Bernardo, who isn't really in it for the kill, but is simply good at what he does and has found a place where he belongs in his role as killer-for-hire. Since he doesn't love the kill, he does as much bodyguard work as anything, and he chafes the worst under the necessity of waiting for a break in the case. Then you have Olaf, who is a true serial killer -- a sexual sadist. He's in it for the kill, but not this kind of kill, so he has trouble with this case as well, but for a different reason: he has trouble because he has a terrible time resisting his own desire to kill Anita. The case becomes something he just wants to get finished so he can get back to what he loves: murder. Then there are our two heroes, Anita and Edward; throughout all the earlier books, Anita has worried that she is becoming too much like Edward, too willing to kill for too little reason. Not surprising, as she has dropped several hints that Edward had much to do with making her the way she is; most of her guns are either given to her or suggested to her by Edward, and her biggest internal struggle -- the conflict between her connection to her two boys, and Edward's most basic philosophy, "You don't sleep with the monsters, you kill the monsters" -- comes directly from her desire to live up to Edward's example in some way. So she has been worrying that she will become as bad as, if not worse than, Edward. In this book, it turns out, she really has reached Edward's level, but not because she sank that low: rather, Edward came up. The empty, cold-hearted killer, who exists only for the thrill of a challenging hunt and a deadly climax, has found love. He has found a family. And when he comes together with these other three murderers, they actually become friends, as much as these people can. Even Olaf -- though his perception of Anita, particularly, is pretty far from what I'd call friendship. But it fit perfectly with his character.

How many writers can do that? How many can not only write a convincing serial killer, but four convincing serial killers, of disparate types, and also portray their interactions in what seems a realistic way? The only other one I've known is Stephen King, who's done similar things in novels with multiple villains -- like It, with Pennywise and Ace and Beverly's father all playing different villain roles at different points. I think it says quite a lot about Laurell Hamilton that her name goes next to his in my mind with this accomplishment.

The story was okay; I liked Obsidian Butterfly, both her story and her power/character, and I liked the mystery surrounding the deaths. I didn't think much of the "god," though his outfit was the ickiest thing in this oft-icky series since the rotting vampire sex or the zombie scenes in The Laughing Corpse. Good to see the theme of horrifying-multi-person-zombie come back around again, thanks to that twisted little nutjob Nicky Baco. I was a little bummed that even after 600 pages of Edward's story, I still never got to see him cut loose and slaughter people by the score; that was Olaf, Bernardo, and Anita. Which was still cool. And I liked Anita's difficulty in dealing with celibacy and her final decision regarding Richard and Jean-Claude -- and it was nice to have a book without the two of them flexing and ma-petite-ing all over the place. Though now I want them back in it, so we can see what happens next!

After reading her other works, this one has the least sex scenes and is the best book in the series.

I really liked this entry in the series. Edward has always been my favorite character (besides Anita of course), and I'd missed him in the recent books, so I was glad to see he had such a huge role in this one. In this book, Edward calls in his favor from Anita and she travels to Arizona to assist him in investigating a series of mutilation murders. We get some insight into Edward's character and a glimpse at his long-buried human side! Jean-Claude only makes one brief appearance in this book, and Richard doesn't appear at all other than in conversation. And quite frankly, I did not miss either one of them! Terrible, I know, since Jean-Claude especially is such a central character, but I've never much cared for him or their relationship. In Arizona, Anita meets another of Edward's occasional back-ups, Olaf, who is a cold-blooded serial murderer who starts out hating Anita but comes to respect her in a creepy way, and I suspect that he will show up later in the series as well. An interesting character.

So, the title says it. I'm done with Laurell Hamilton. Honestly, I did not even finish this book. I stopped with about 100 pages left. I'm sick of the author's fixation on sexual assault. In most of the books she's either had someone get raped, or attempted to be, or put in a porn film against their will. I was well aware that there was some sexually explicit content in these books, but there has been to this point, so little actual consensual sex. So I'm finished.

Other gripes about the book: the werewolf politics yet again. "You came in to my territory without paying me tribute" *snoooooze*

As a medical professional: When Anita was injured in the hospital and hurt, they said her blood pressure was 60/80. Not possible. The numbers can potentially be equal, but the second number cannot be higher than the first. Maybe I'm just nitpicking here, but that's how it goes.

Also irked by one of her lines when Anita was referencing women's weight: "Anything under size 5 isn't a woman, it's a boy with breasts"
Wow. Pretty insulting to your female readers who happen to be petite. Just like,oh your own main character endlessly is described as being so. That's a very catty line and I found it very insulting.

So enough Hamilton for me.I'd rather read an author with either less sex or more HEALTHY sex than this endless victimization of her characters. I'm just glad that this book was borrowed and I've never paid a dime for one of Hamilton's novels.

The author chose to focus more on fashion than on the plot and its characters, thus leaving the story half-baked. I thought I was picking up a book about vampires, not Vogue or Elle! The author went overboard with her obsession for designer labels that it just got beyond ridiculous. The characters weren't well developed, as was the plot. The flow was very choppy. It was painful reading the book but I forced myself to finish it hoping that the author would redeem herself somewhere down the line. Alas, it was not to be. This was a complete waste of time, paper, and ink.

I am a little surprised that "Blue Bloods" only has an average of 3.5 stars because I loved this book. I read all types of vampire fiction, & "Blue Bloods" was one of the most unique takes on the matter of vampires I have read in awhile. At first, I thought that this book would just be some fluff about high society life in New York, but there is so much more to "Blue Bloods." I don't want to give away too much of the mystery, but there were some big shockers as to certain people's true identities, & the mythology is very interesting.

I liked the actually story but there is too much designer clothes descriptions that most cant even pronounce, and this club is locaterd here...I dont care, get to the story. If that stuff would have been left out it would be way better.

Schuyler Van Alen is an outcast in her school, Duchesne, along with her two best friends, Oliver and Dylan. They had never fit in, and were content with the way things were. But now things have changed. Jack Force, the heart-throb of the school, is suddenly paying attention to Schuyler. People are not who--what--they seem. Schuyler undergoes a life changing transformation that will mark her as special for the rest of her life. Can she juggle this all, and the realization that she, or anyone he knows, is no longer safe?

BLUE BLOODS, for me, was an amazing experience and a book worth reading. I was instantly captivated by Melissa De La Cruz's realistic characters and unique plot-line. Jack and Dylan were by far my favorite characters, and I'd really like to see the relationship between Schuyler and Jack progress. The more I read, the more I wanted, and I found that I flew through this novel in one sitting. Vampire fans will not be disappointed, although non-vampire fans will be in for a real treat! I recommend this book to anyone.

Enjoyed the sequel as well!

Something weird is happening to Schuyler Van Allen and some of the students at the elite Duchesne School...they start to experience blackouts, strange and terrifying nightmares, and mystifying feelings of deja vu. Blue lines appear on their skin where their veins should be. Their parents and some of their friends seem to know what is going on, but remain tight-lipped. It takes the death of a fellow student for them to learn the truth--they are Blue Bloods, a race of ancient vampires who are reincarnated into a new body every generation.

Though Schuyler is new to the vampire world, she and her friends Oliver, Dylan, and fellow Blue Blood Bliss are able to see what the mature vampires refuse to acknowledge--something is after the supposedly immortal Blue Bloods, something that is bent on killing them. The only problem is, can Schuyler and her friends get everyone to see the truth before it's too late?

Melissa de la Cruz has combined history, religious elements, supernatural intrigue, and a taste of the upper class to create a modern, sharp, and wholly unique take on the tired vampire story that will compel and intrigue readers. Her characters are varied and grounded, and even as vampires they are not so glittering and unreachable that readers cannot empathize with them.

For the most part, the multitudes of tiny details that comes with many main characters, flash backs, and an ever changing point of view are kept in check, but some minor explanations slip through the cracks, leaving you wondering about such things as when Schuyler found the time to learn the Sacred Language, and other finer points of being a Blue Blood. However, de la Cruz packs the pages full of engaging social dynamics, lively bits of history, and some practical solutions to the world's mysteries, such as the true fate of the missing Roanoke colony and how so many models really stay skinny. The wonderfully innovative ideas and plot twists in Blue Bloods mightily overshadow minor flaws and will capture the imagination.

I adore Goosebumps because I like scary books. The best parts are the funny parts. I get frightened and put the book down and stare at the wall, thinking why am I scared. That's why I give this book 5 stars.

I loved it! It was very interesting, I could'nt put it down! I'm over thirteen years old but i still love it. What i like about the goosebumps series is that every age group usually loves it! This book strayed a little away from what I have known R.L. Stine to write, but it was still good. The title is deceptive though. It says "The Haunted School", but this book wasn't really about ghosts. I think a better title would be "The secret of grayworld"

R.L. Stine is a master of suspense! He once again writes so well it feels as if you are standing there. The details are tremendous and the flow is quick and exciting. This is a GREAT book!

This is my favorite Goosebumps book of all time!

I loved the plot and thought that it was amazing. The story is basically about kids from the school from earlier years to when the book takes place who are trapped inside the wall! How original?

This is the best in the series, and everyone who love(s) this series will love this one.

Tommy Frazers dad just got married.now tommy got a new mom.and he going to a new school.tommy gets lost at that school it is very big.also theres a class room with black and white people in there this is a okay book it has a wierd endening