Horror Books

When I read the first book, The Becoming, I thought it was an OK book, but one that I might not ever read again. But I had bought the second and third so I figured that I would keep reading. WOW!! This series definitely got better. I read the whole book in half a day, I just could not put it down. I can see this series going for quite a while. I cannot wait to get reading the third one.

This book was disappointing to me after having loved the first book in the series. It was hard to read and seemed to have an awkward way of tying in with book 1. However, the characters are wonderful and I will stick with this series because Anna is alot like Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan character, and like LKH's original Anita Blake (the one in Obsidian Butterfly and her earlier books). I also like Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse character, but prefer the butt-kicking style of Anna, Rachel Morgan, and the original Anita Blake.

Anna Strong's never forgotten her older brother, Steve, who died when she was in high school. And she never quite forgave his perky blonde cheerleader girlfriend who stole Steve's attention from his little sister--and then didn't have the decency to attend Steve's funeral when he died.

It comes as a big surprise to both Anna and her parents that the girlfriend, Carolyn, wants to talk to them. Carolyn tells Anna she needs help finding her missing 13 year old daughter, Trish, because Trish might be party to a classmate's murder. Then Carolyn really drops the bomb--Trish is Steve's daughter.

With her mother more than half believing, Anna must find Trish--before the murderers do. This takes Anna into the world of shapeshifters via one of Trish's teachers and the world of child pornography.

"Blood Drive" is the second book in the Anna Strong Vampire Series. It's very much a stand-alone novel. I know this because I inadvertently took Volume 3 on vacation instead of this book. Even reading out of order, "Blood Drive" held up very well.

The author writes strong, but reasonably real characters and gives them good lines. She's got a solid talent at depicting characters that makes them memorable and leaves either a favorable--or not--impression on the reader.

For 292 pages, Stein also manages to pack in a lot of action. She keeps things moving and manages to solve the main point of each novel, but leave some tantalizing threads hanging that make you want to read on to the next.

One caveat: if you don't like even the mention of child pornography, don't read this book. I believe Ms. Stein handled a difficult situation well, but to some, the subject matter could be disturbing.

I really want to like this series, but the published books seem so unfinished. Seems to me she needs a new editor. Once again, character development is lacking as are development of relationships between characters. She turns her characters into lovers without giving the reader much of a reason for them to be falling into bed with eachother.

There are also some MAJOR plotholes in this story. In fact, this story has one of the biggest plotholes I have EVER read in a published book. I don't want to give too much storyline away but the plothole I am speaking of involves one of the police suspects for murder. The author tries to make us believe that the police would suspect a 14 year old girl for the brutal rape and beating death of her mother??

Carolyn Delaney was the girlfriend of Steve Strong just before his death fourteen years ago. Carolyn has contacted Anna and her parents, claiming her daughter is missing and she needs their help because Trish is also Steve's daughter. It turns out that Trish is a new student at the school where Anna's mother is principal. Not only is Trish missing but her best friend Barbara Fanco is also missing. Soon the FBI is involved and Anna learns that there's a lot she doesn't know about her new world and the other creatures that inhabit it unknown to humans. But one thing she does know is just how vile and corrupt humans can be and she wants Trish safe no matter whose daughter she is -- but finding her and keeping her safe may cost Anna her family and maybe her new life.

It's been two months since the events in The Becoming. Anna Strong is learning to cope with her new dietary requirements by seeking donors chosen by Culebra. Chief Williams has been trying to reach her, but she refuses to make contact, preferring to keep her life as normal as possible. But as she searches for Trish Delaney, Anna finds that ignorance is not bliss at all, it can kill you and it can kill those you love.

I was dissatisfied with Anna behavior in The Becoming. She believed everything she was told by Avery -- even after she learned he lied. Then she cut herself off from the vampire world to go her own way. Now at last, Anna realizes that she can't go on -- that she must connect with others who have powers and learn about her new powers, how to control her hunger, and how the shadow world of other mythical but real beings works. While the mystery and its twisty trail of clues, deaths, and greed is satisfying, I think knowing that Anna has now faced her new status squarely and will be learning to live with her changed nature is encouraging for the continuation of the series.

I do have to warn readers that this is a dark book, not for the vampirism but for the crimes against children. It's a difficult book to read but these crimes do happen -- the details are minimal describing the horror of the realization that this is happening rather than giving graphic details of the actions the characters are viewing. Not off screen enough to approach cozy status but definitely, enough to take the edge off the nausea.

Besides the fact that most of the stories have some kind of "open endings" (which means that they probably just run out of pages and had to end the story wherever they were typing at that moment), I only liked the last two stories, Michele Jaffe's one made me laugh out loud, and the Stephenie Meyer's one was good too. The rest was poor written in my opinion.

Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce
on 07/13/2008

These are not your typical prom nights. Each of the five authors has written a spooky, supernatural story about Prom. Some great authors are included in this collection, and it's certainly worth reading! The stories include a range of supernatural characters, from vampires to demons to fortune-tellers, and one is even based on a work by Edgar Allen Poe. They're all absorbing and interesting.

So much so, in fact, that it would be nice to see more with each story. Though each of the stories was very well-written and included awesome characters, they felt incomplete. I want whole novels, not short stories! Expanding these stories into novels would be great; as they are, though, there are too many loose ends. Perhaps the problem with this book is that I loved it too much!

While it is an enjoyable read, it would be even better to see these short stories expanded on in the future.

This book was a real let down. It was boring and the endings were a not very well written.

It is what it is, an anthology of short stories. With that being said, I really enjoyed Stephenie Meyer's story "Hell on Earth." It was an interesting concept; angels, highschool deamons, and mischief galore. The only story that I wasn't to fond of was Meg Cabot's "The Exterminator's Daughter." It seemed alittle like Buffy the Vampire slayer, a concept that is slightly overdone. Maybe it's just me but I once read an article about Meg Cabot and how she didn't like the Twilight series, calling them antifeminist. So I'm not sure if her story was kind of meant to mock the Twilight series and Stephenie Meyer? So that was alittle awkward to read.
The other stories were good quick reads. This is a book you should borrow and read, then just pass it along.

On a side note: right now I'm reading the "Uglies" series and so far it's been great. Definitely give those books a try.

Well, I'm not really familiar with any of these authors beside Stephenie Meyer (and I love her - I'm addicted to the Twilight saga). I mean, I've heard of most of these authors from somewhere or another, but I've never read anything by them before. That being said, I might be a little biased towards Stephenie...just a little though.
The book, over all, was pretty good. I wasn't blown away. And like some other people have said, the stories were all really open-ended. So, here are my individual review for each story:

"The Exterminator's Daughter" by Meg Cabot and "The Corsage" by Lauren Myracle (I put them together because I have the same comments about for both of them): I give them three stars. I found both of these stories a bit cliche - kind of been-there-done-that...nothing new. Everything was pretty predictable.

"Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper" by Kim Harrison and "Kiss and Tell" by Michele Jaffe: I give them four stars. There was some pretty good action and somethings that I didn't expect to happen.

"Hell on Earth" by Stephenie Meyer: I give it five stars. And I don't think I'm being THAT biased. The story was simpler than "Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper" and "Kiss and Tell" but all the pieces fit together very well. I was impressed.

There...that's my review. Hope it helped! :)

I hate clowns, too - and this one proves my fear is grounded in ratiionality. Floppy shoes, makeup and all, the first clown in Life Expectancy immediately gives the reader chills, and it continues unabated thanks to Koontz' fine detail. Not until the moment Koontz chose to reveal it did I understand the reason for the vile bitterness leading to all the violence which nearly takes Jimmy's life and does injure or kill others throughout the novel. This one is even better at that sudden surprise at the end than most of Koontz - and that's saying something.

This story really pulled me in from the beginning and that is why I continued and with the twist & turns I committed until the end. This is my second Knoontz. I didn't fair as well with Darkest Day of the Year, which I did not complete. As strange as the story (Life Expectancy) is it has a moral lesson; eventhough, it has an element of fantasy which I think make a good combination for a great read; a little realistic but unrealistic like sweet & sour. But in the end we learn how life truly is unpredictable and unexpected, which makes the title quite appropriate for this tale. Enjoy.

The title of my review says it all. This book reminded me of why I love Dean Koontz's style of writing. It's like a 30's movie - great dialogue and character interaction built around a simple theme. I just wanted to slow down and savor this book, but, just like eating a great meal, you can't wait to see what comes next! I would recommend this book to anyone! I passed it to my husband and he agreed that it was the best book he's ever read! If you want to read a book that will just delight you and leave you smiling - this is it!

I enjoy the character discriptions, exciting adventure, and helps me to realize that my problems are not so bad.

Life Expectancy is second only the original Odd Thomas as my favorite Dean Koontz novel.

You've read the description so no rehashing of the plot needs to be done. I listened this this on audiobook and was blown away that the personalities of the characters. You're dealing with a family of bakers while at the same time a circus family complete with insane clowns.

While it definitely sounds over the top (even over the "big top") this novel is suprisingly easy to keep up with. The dialogue is hilarious at times, while the plot will keep you reading long after you should've started doing something more productive.

If you are a Koontz fan and have not read this book then you must do so immediately. Even if you haven't read any other works by him this one would be a good one to pick up along with the original Odd.

Hey...what do I really need to say here? I mean, this is Edgar Allan Poe we're talking about! It's an excellent collection of his stories and poems. Many people are of the opinion that Poe's works are all rather macabre. Although many of his works do fit into that category, he was also a brilliant satirist. For example, I recommend his short story, "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether". Quite hilarious, and very witty. Poe was a highly educated member of society, and was also the 'inventor' of the modern detective mystery with his short story, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." His incomparable literary style has gone unequaled to this day. For those already familiar with Poe, I suggest you read him again to have a fresh look at his works. For those who are NOT familiar with his works, you are missing out BIG time! Poe having been homegrown right here in America, we can be proud of his literary achievements. Check it out.

Allan F. Whitney

I bought this book as a gift for my friend. She loved it.I was so glad I was able to find it here.

Edgar Allan Poe is regarded as the undisputed master of the gothic horror genre. This collection contains all his published works, faithful reproductions from the orginals, that have made him famous. With stories like the the Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell Tale Heart and poems like The Raven, this books is a must have for any Poe fan or any one who is new to Poe.

Edgar Allan Poe is one of my favorite authors of all time. I recall reading the 'Tell Tale Heart' as an 8 year old and getting hooked. I read most any work of his that I could get my hands on, in the process inspiring in me a love of literature and mystery. I loved his works so much, many years later I coupled my biology major with an english minor just so I could have an excuse for reading during the busy college days. This work compiles the literary works of an absolute genius into a beautiful, must have volume. It would be a perfect gift for anyone who enjoys Poe and even for the child who shows growing signs of getting into video gaming...maybe catch the kid before its too late!

Edgar Allan Poe, born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809, died October 7, 1849.

What is it that makes an author famous? I don't mean famous in the sense a news article reports that "Jack Greylea's novels sold 15 million copies last year," but in the sense that he is thought of as being profound, and seminal. That he is quoted, and scholars analyse his works, and he is looked upon as being the original voice of his style, or the font from which many imitators have drawn inspiration.

Edgar Allan Poe is one such. The very hint of his name calls up images of midnight graveyards, of crumbling mansions lit by wax candles, the home of strange and tormented aristocrats, till the description "Poe-like" can draw as vivid a picture in our minds as "elephant-like."

Yet his output was not great. Basically a short story writer and poet, he produced only one full-length novel, which received more censure than praise, and which very few people today can name. Without wishing to run him down as an author (what he did, he did well, but what he did well, was to be Poe) he was a limited writer, and all of his works over twenty-two years can be contained in one thickish book.
So what is the secret of Poe, whereby a scanty writer becomes the cult-centre of a world of horror that carries his own stamp? It lies I think in two things.

Not to place these two in any order of importance as regards his continuing fame - I leave this to you - but I would say....
Firstly, that it was his choice of subject and execution of it. The mournful, weird and macabre, in which man becomes little more than an instrument of darkness, and that usually the worst darkness, that which wells up from within, whose black light shows us as being not the pawns of evil, but the source of evil itself. But to seize on this idea - or any other idea - as inspiration is nothing, merely the starting point from which the quill hits the paper. It is in the execution of his vision that Poe's genius emerges. Not with a great deal of subtlety, nor a much complexity, but with great and disciplined fixity on the horror of his intentions, Poe moves relentless to the nasty culmination of his stories, and they come to us with all the rawness of unconsoled misery. His art was that of the short story writer, and as such he wrote little, but when reading Poe a little is more than enough.

Secondly, that Poe more than any other author is identified as a man with his works. An orphan and an outcast from his adopted family, overly sensitive and reckless, he lived wildly, lied readily, lived in poverty, married strangely to his thirteen-year old cousin, was widowed miserably, and finally died mysteriously at age forty, from uncertain causes that speculation has named as anything from drug addiction to murder. As if this were not enough, his works were controlled after his death by his executor, who attempted to blacken his name. More than any other author that I can readily think of, Poe was his own tormented, tragic hero, and his oppressed characters were him.

In the nineteen-sixties, several of Poe's stories and poems - The Pit and the Pendulum, The Masque of the Red Death, The Raven, The Tomb of Legeia and others - were made into popular, low budget films, cementing Poe's reputation firmly into the mythology of modern horror movies. It's common of course for movies to be nothing like the original written work, but all of these are based on not on fully worked out novels, but ideas that Poe dealt with in comparatively few pages.

Incidentally, the principal actor in many of these was Vincent Price, whose tall, mournful frame instantly springs to mind as well nigh inseparable from Poe's weird gems.

I never thought I'd find a novel that married my two guilty pleasures: baking decadent desserts drenched in chocolate and laden with butter and cream, and vampires. Robin McKinley, best known for her exquisite Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast, marries both of these passions in the luscious Sunshine. Rae Seddon, known to family and friends as Sunshine due to her attraction to sunlight, is a talented baker at a post-apocalyptic coffeehouse in New Arcadia. Her specialties include Cinnamon Rolls As Big As Your Head and Bitter Chocolate Death. Her other great love is researching the Others, those very real supernatural beings that coexist uneasily with humans, including ruthless vampire clans. Until one fateful night, Sunshine's knowledge of vampires came off the Internet and from friends who worked in a special police department designed to combat the Others.

Sunshine has fallen prey to a creeping sense of frustration and restlessness, and takes off to her grandmother's abandoned cabin at a nearby lake. Unfortunately, said lake is known Other territory, and she is abducted by a gang of vampires. She wakes up dressed in a blood-red dress chained to a wall, only to find that she's not alone: she appears to be a late-night snack for a vampire.

The rest of Sunshine follows several different tangents: Sunshine's discovery of her father's supernatural heritage (McKinley's New Arcadia is populated with halfbloods, demons, angels, peris, vamps, and more), her dangerous alliance with Constantine, a master vampire, and her gradual involvement in combatting evil vampire clans. Her relationship with her biker boyfriend Mel is also explored, as is her uneasy relationship with her overbearing mother.

Sunshine brings to mind the kick-butt, take-no-nonsense Buffy the Vampire Slayer layered with a food porn dessert primer. McKinley's Sunshine is full of unexpectedly crude humor that made me laugh out loud, such as Sunshine's observations on being carried by a vampire: "I could no more have breathed with him than I could have ignited gasoline and shot exhaust out my butt because I was sitting in the passenger seat of a car." Despite the at-times childish language, this is a novel drenched in graphic violence and sex, but beautifully realized. McKinley's novel takes a while to develop, but her vision of the future is completely immersive: a world where surviving humans cling to magic wards to protect them from evil, where one small coffeeshop holds out against drug addicts and encroaching vampires, where the special police unit responsible for protecting humans is losing the battle against vampires. I can't wait to read more of Sunshine's adventure if and when McKinley writes a sequel; the cliffhanger ending is a bit of a letdown, especially since the main action happens only in the last fifty pages or so, and we know as little about Constantine as we did at the beginning. Fans of Charlaine Harris, Tanya Huff and Laurell K. Hamilton will thrill to Sunshine's adventures.

This book is Robin McKinley's emotional masterpiece. What other reviewers seem to fail to acknowledge is that in reading this book, if you have ever been able to identify the times in your life you pulled the covers over you head after the alarm went off and those feelings associated with being human and being stubborn, then you can identify with Sunshine. We all prefer to read books that read how things should go. Every character is in a neat little easy pocket and every sub plot is explored and explained thoroughly.

But this isn't a detective novel, it's one woman's thoughts as she deals with a mid 20s crisis and the end of her world as she knows it. She has fears, that aren't rational, that never come true. She has urges, and hopes that in perfect situations, would work out and never bring about a moment of awkwardness, but because this book reads like someone living in a real time, things do get awkward and upsetting and don't make sense.

This book is so human that when I first read it and let myself be absorbed by Sunshine's plight, I put the book down 3/4s of the way through and realised I had FELT sick I had FELT like I was experiencing what Sunshine was experiencing, without knowing exactly that's what had been happening.

I don't think Robin McKinley wrote this intending a classic sequel, to be honest, I don't think she writes any novel with that in mind. If she did, we'd have series from her, not a dozen stand alones. I think she wrote it so that she could put to paper an alternative world where things are more mystical and yet just as simple and human as the world we are in now. I think she wrote it intending to bring a different kind of heroine to life, who didn't know what she wanted all the time, and didn't have some straight arrow path to follow.

If you loved Hero and the Crown and you want more saucy stubborn heroine with more talent in her pinky than the others around her, then you will love Sunshine doubly more. Period.

the book is not really about the event of Sunshine being taken by the vampire but more of the aftermath. it is dragged out a lot. we read about her emotions and life style more than anything else. shes sounds totally traumatized and is unable to connect with anyone she used to love. the scenes that involve her family or boyfriend or even friends are very short and written as if the author doesn't want us thinking about them
the language was nasty too. i actually got this book from my high school library. Imagine that.. and they are questioning The Chocolate War? they should take a look at this book.
if it had been a bit shorter and the unimportant stuff left out i would have liked it. Sunshine's depression and emotional thoughts get a bit boring.

As a choco-holic I had no problem relating to this book; it was awesome! I think those who rated this book poorly simply can't appreciate the writing style. Its understandable because even as heavy a reader as I am Mrs. Mckinley had me re-reading a few pages. But, at least for me, that is part of the appeal: actually having to concentrate on what is on the page. Once you get past the nuances of the style though the plot is terrific: its a classic man vs nature and man vs himself (or herself) under some very odd circumstances. Overall I found Sunshine very enjoyable and throughly developed.

I heard a review of Sunshine on NPR, saying it was a good airplane book. I had a flight and nothing to read, so I picked it up.

The book starts out well. McKinley draws the reader into what seems like a normal world that's just a little off, and it gradually gets stranger and stranger. When the first REALLY BAD THING happens, you are hooked.

Unfortunately, that's when the book loses steam. McKinley has this annoying habit of breaking up conversations between the characters with explanatory background paragraphs. This can be a useful device when used sparingly, but for McKinley it is the rule. Whenever two characters get together you can expect a short conversation to be spread out over a half dozen pages. Snore. Continuity and pace are destroyed. Yes, I appreciate that this is a detailed alternate world, and McKinley has fleshed it all out in her mind. But sometimes an author should let the back story remain back story and just give the reader enough information to glean the rest by the flow of the front story.

And speaking of characters, the BIG BAD VILLAIN is entirely flat. He's out there lurking through the whole book, and we know he's BAD. REALLY BAD. PURE EVIL. And really uninteresting. We know he hates the good vampire. We never find out why, and the heroine seems uninterested as well. The good vampire is also flat. Once McKinley has drilled into our heads for the 100th time that good vampires are impossibly unusual, his character doesn't change. Nor do we learn why he's decided to be good. For McKinley, it's enough to establish who is wearing the white and black hats, then let them duke it out (with lots of stinky, gooey blood).

The book raises many questions that it never answers. That's fine, I don't mind a little mystery, even after the end. But by then the pace has become so tedious that I'm no longer even curious. What happened to Dad? Grandma? Why does the super bad SOF agent just spring up out of nowhere in the last 100 pages, with no explanation of her motivation? But McKinley doesn't concern herself with this. As long as the reader knows which side the characters are on, we can slog on.

Characters come and go for no apparent reason. Some are featured early, and then are just ignored. Others pop up later, and then are forgotten. Since this is told as a first person narrative, it makes the heroine appear self absorbed, and thus less likable. The conclusion is that the author doesn't care about the secondary characters, so they remain cardboard cutouts.

Part of the reason the story fails is that nobody we care about ever gets hurt. I should rephrase that, because McKinley never develops a character enough for us to actually care about. But the bodies that pile up at an ever faster pace are anonymous. So there's no sense that any named character is ever in any real danger. No danger means no suspense. No suspense means rather dull vampire novel.

The shame here is that McKinley has created a rich setting for a great story. But a great story needs great characters, and there are none here. Two approaches would have vastly improved this novel. Either trim off 100 pages of unneeded detail and give the novel some much needed pace, or add 100 pages of character development and give the novel some much needed depth. As it stands, it is frustratingly in the middle.

Ok. I had heard she was a great writer, and I started with this book. At the end I was still trying to figure out the storyline. Too much bizarre sex, and no real live plot. I don't recommend this one. Maybe her other books are better. This one left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Please tell me why I actually paid for this book? Like everyone else here I am invested in Merry. The first two books took me on a rollar coaster ride and I couldnt wait to get to the next book. Now i'm just wishing the end would HURRY up and get here. How about a book that goes somewhere? Better yet, how about a book at all. I think somewhere along the way LKH lost the plot and forgot why she was writing this story. I hope she finds it again. But from now on, I will wait till it goes to paperback and get it at the discount bin. I'm tired of spending 17-25 dollars of my hard earned money for this one - two scene crapola.

Its an exciting book that leaves you breathless literally. when its finnish your upset because you never want it to end.

Ok, this book just confirms it for me, LKH is a money hungry #$#$%!. She's no longer concerned with finishing this damn storyline. As long as people are shelling out $$ she doesn't seem to care that her books are not even worth a #$%# anymore. AND another thing, stop with Merry being tight. I'm sorry, she stopped being tight after the first book. I mean come on, I know it's fiction but the woman just had back to back sex with 2 men about what an hour before Sholto and I'm suppose to believe that she's so tight.... Pulleezee.. I am soooo happy I only spent $3 for the hardcover (used book) or I would have been really pissed. I mean, this book is sooo tiny and to add insult to injury, half of the book is about 1 sex scene, ONE FREAKING SEX SCENE. COME ON.

Like many reviewers, I think this book was too short and filled with way too much sex and not enough plot. The reason I actually read this far in the series is that right from the start, I've been fascinated by the character of Sholto. He was a character with terrible beauty and really seemed to break the mold of the other guards. And I'll admit, I was incredibly curious to see what a full sex scene would be like with him given all his "extras".

So, for me, the most disappointing part of this book was that when Merry finally does get around to having sex with him, it's only after all of his tentacles have been completely amputated. LKH seems to pride herself on "edgy" books, but I really feel like it was a cop out to mutilate the character of Sholto just long enough for Merry to have sex with him (because of course he is magically restored right after the sex is done).

For me, the only interesting part of this book was the Wild Hunt at the end, where we finally get a reprieve from boring sex scenes and get to see some action.

I read this book in one day. I just couldn't wait to get it over with. There was just way too much self-analysis/self-doubt/self-hating, to the point of it taking up pages. This story just didn't grap me and I was so looking forward to it. I will read Hunter's Prayer, hopefully Jill won't be so pathetic in that book. I found Jill's character to be very depressing. Lilith is very good at describing a tortured soul but at some point the character has to be strong on the inside as they are on the outside. Without that it just seems like pages of whining flash backs.

Jill Kismet is the sort of heroine we can all get behind. The book is action packed, but heart felt. It shows a world where the unexplained is dealt with by professionals, in tandem with regular law enforcement. Not the usual separation of the human and the otherworldly. When things go bump in the night, Jill is called in, so ordinary people can go on blissfully unaware. Throw in an odd symbiotic relationship with a demon, and a crush from an FBI werecat, and the story is complex and hard to put down.

I enjoyed this book.

It had the right amount of action and movement to keep me interested until the end.

If you go expecting War and Peace, you'll be disappointed. But if all you want is a fast paced read, this might be the book for you.

This is the first book I have read by Lilith Saintcrow. I felt that Jill Kismet was one tough Hunter and kicked some major booty. She is a demon slayer and performs exorcisms. She has silver charms in her hair and wears leather pants and a leather trench coat, she also has a backup coat. She has been marked by a demon, he gave her some extra powers and she has to visit him once a month. Her former lover and teacher Mikhail is dead, he was killed by a demon.

Jill is on the hunt for a rogue were and a hellbreed woman that are together. She has friends from the FBI that are also hunting for them, her FBI friends are were. They bring along a friend with them, his name is Saul, he is an American Indian and also a Were and her one friend asked if he can crash at Jills house. Jill says it is okay and Saul cleans up her house and cooks for her, they kiss, could this be the beginning of a romance?

You should read the book to find out what else happens in the book, otherwise I will give away the entire story. I did enjoy the book though and I plan on reading the second book in the series, Hunter's Prayer, it is coming out in August or Sept 2008.

Ok, I loved the first Dante Valentine books, in fact I liked books 2 and 3 better than the first one. Then came book 4 and 5, which I wanted pitch across the room and couldn't finish either one! I was so hoping for a fresh start with Night Shift. I'm almost afraid to say, that I really liked this new series, for fear of jinxing it! Yes, Jill Kismet is very similiar to Dante's character, but I'm hoping that she doesn't turn out to be the winey, neurotic mess that Dante ended up being. I love the character of Saul and the other were's, and I even liked Jill, giving her the benefit of the doubt. Perry's character just plain creeped me out at times! The scene (which I won't detail with a spoiler) about the funeral pyre, literally almost made me cry! I am hesitantly waiting for the next in the series. Hoping against hope that Jill 'Kismet' will NOT share Dante's 'fate' and make me want to shred future books!
I would definately recommend this one.

Having been a long-time fan of Ms. Douglas' Midnight Louie series, I decided to try a new genre--fantasy.

This was a truly absorbing read with interesting characters, an exciting plot and a delightful (and somewhat sexy) romance. I also enjoyed Delilah's silver familiar.

I look forward to the further adventures of Ms. Street, Ric, Quicksilver and, of course, the Las Vegas ambiance which Ms. Douglas creates so well.

Jessie

I love books about alternate realities, supernatural characters, and strong women. This book appeared to have all that covered. Ultimately, though, it was a disappointment.

Delilah Street is an orphan, a foundling who grew up in an orphanage in Wichita, Kansas. She knows she was named for the place where she was found...but there is no Delilah Street in Wichita. Hmm. In her universe, the Millenium brought out all of the unhumans - werewolves, zombies, vampires, and who knows what else. Delilah isn't even sure what she is herself.

Through a contrived series of events, Delilah finds herself homeless and jobless and headed for Las Vegas in search of her own double, whom she saw playing (or was she?) a corpse on CSI. Of course, once she gets to Vegas, things just fall into her lap. She ends up moving into an enchanted cottage (if you're into creepy surveillance by your landlord) and meeting a series of attractive men - or whatever they turn out to be.

The best alternate universes seem completely real; their peculiar magic and laws work, and I find myself falling right into them. Not Delilah's world. It was too confusing.

The author created too many mysteries and solved virtually none of them. It's all right to look ahead to the sequel(s), but couldn't she have at least let us off the hook about a few of the dangling plots? I don't mind if we still don't know exactly what Delilah is. That sort of self-discovery is what sequels are made of. But what about her duplicate? Can't we even visit the street she was named for? I fully expected both of those situations to be solved by the end of the book, and they weren't.

And the writing style was too cutesy for me. Delilah is constantly throwing in wisecracks, which just make for disjointed reading. This forced wittiness felt choppy and distracting.

I'm familiar with the author's Midnight Louie series. Her main female character in that series, Temple Barr, irritates me, too, so I suppose I should have been prepared for Delilah. I shouldn't have wasted my time on this book. I doubt I'll read the sequel.

Delilah Street is a paranormal investigative reporter who relocates to Las Vegas from Kansas allegedly to find out about a woman who is her exact double when she sees the woman on a popular TV show. Once there she runs into several other mysteries that are supposed to connect to her search for her body double that she just has to try and solve.

First let me say that the first 50 pages of backstory of this book were pointless and could have been summed up in about 5 pages. Ok, my annoyances with this books are as follows in no particular order: Delilah's phobias, Dehilah's car, Delilah's pets, Delilah's childhood. All of these things get way too much air time during the whole book.

This story is supposed to take place in the future (post 21st century Millenium), but wait, we don't don't how far into the future so the reader has to guess what freaking year it's supposed to be.

Way too much time is spent describing Deliah's obsession with all things vintage-- clothes, movie characters, movies. In fact too much time is spent describing everything and not telling an actual story. The story, such as it is, is disjointed, and confusing. Attempts to connect secondary characters to the the main plot fall flat and leaves the reader with more questions never to be answered because the book has no definite ending to any of the so called mysteries she is supposed to be solving.

This book waste of money and time.

Carole Nelson Douglas is a great writer, but I think that she needs a new editor. The last few novels have had some serious logic holes. I end up looking back to see if I missed a page. For example, at the beginning of this novel, why would Sheena the weather witch send a tornado to blow away Delilah's house? Delilah hadn't done anything to her. In fact, Sheena had ended up with her reporting job and rejected "boyfriend". There was no logical reason why she should be getting revenge on Delilah unless perhaps the rejected guy had asked her to, but it was never explained. It was a convenient plot device, but I couldn't see the logic behind it.

There are also an overwhelming number of mixed metaphors in this novel. I realize this has become part of her writing style, and I like a few here and there for flavor, but after a while I wanted to say "Enough already, let's get moving with the story!" It started to feel as though Yogi Berra had written it.

I also found this book to be too similar to Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series. They both have a strong female lead with some sort of evolving superpower fighting vampires, werewolves and various other creatures that are now out in public instead of skulking in shadows. It was disappointing to read a copy of someone else's imaginary world instead of something uniquely hers.

I have been a fan of Carole Nelson Douglas ever since 1992 when I bought my first copy of Good Night Mr. Holmes (which fell apart and had to be re-glued so many times that I ended up buying the series in hardcover because I reread it so often). She is one of my two favorite authors. Unfortunately, the last few novels have been harder to enjoy. I will continue to read them, but wish that she could go back to the better written (and edited!) stories such as the early Irene Adler (or even early Midnight Louie) novels.

THERE MAY BE SOME SPOILERS BELOW (but nothing major, I believe)


I probably shouldn't read the Amazon reviews for a book before writing my own, but in this case I did, and there's a lot I agree with in the negative ones. The opening is just bizarre: I don't beleive for a minute that the Vampire anchorman would do what he did, and the cow mutilations are just a complete non-sequiter to the rest of the book. That said, let me add some complaints I haven't seen in the other reviews:

1) I don't like the "I'm just a hick from Kansas, so what do I know?" stuff. I've been to Kansas, and all over the rest of the country. Maybe it was once a backwater, but I certainly didn't notice it when I was there.

2) I don't like Ric. The author invokes Nick & Nora Charles several times, but if she is planning some kind of "Thin Man", "couple solves crimes" angle, it didn't work. They *plan* to work together, but in the event, Ric is absent most of the time. Why bother to have Delilah fall for the first nice guy she meets if you plan to have her work alone? For that matter, the other men she ends up interacting with are much more interesting anyway. Why have her tied down already when she flirts so well with Snow?

3) Give us *some* idea of what's possible and what's imnpossible. I thought I understood most of the underpinnings, then new creatures kept being pulled from behind the authors back. First we had vampires, and that was OK, then she introduced weather witches (for very little reason) and then werewolves. I thought I understood what kind of book it was then, but she followed that with CineSims, whatever Nightwine is, fae, and finally zombies. (And Delilah seems to be 'none of the above'..)

4) OK, maybe in the future, US TV will show nude corpses. Why not? HBO probably does it now. But somehow I don't think a nude corpse will become an overnight sensation with groupies and a major Vegas Floorshow devoted to it. And for that matter, why does Delilah run into crazed 'Maggie' groupies when it suits the plot but is able to walk around unmolested (except by her various enemies) at all other times?

5) I didn't believe in Haskell at all. Sure, the LV police dept is probably in the pocket of the werewolves, but there's no evidence that the country as a whole is corrupt. If he wanted to break in and kill Delilah for personal reasons, that's one thing, but to break in and *arrest* her? That puts all of his procedural errors straight into the system.

Anyway, enough of that. Why did I give the book 3 stars instead of 1 or 2? Because even when the plot makes no sense, Delilah has a nice sense of 'self', and her humorous observations on her various predicaments are amusing and endearing. I basically *like* Delilah and would like to see her in a *good* book.

This is the first in the series. The characters are strong and are woven repeatedly through the series. The books just get better and better. It was fun to encounter old friends in subsequent books. Exciting and well worth the time. My husband and I love this series.

Kudos to the reviewer who mentioned that this author mostly "tells" rather than "shows". But rather than having to read the whole book you can sum it up thusly: werewolves like to run. A lot. I mean a whole lot. They like to eat a lot. And sloppily. And drink water. They like to howl. (So far this sounds like my dog.) There is only one female werewolf so while she and her mate (who everyone can see from the beginning she is passionate about and is really quite bored with the milqtoast human she has cursory involvement with.) have sex, I'm not sure what the others do...except maybe fight over her. So, there you have it.

(to other aspiring writers)Do you ever have a moment your life when you have an idea and you think "wow I'm so original for thinking this! My book will be amazing!" Then you read something by someone else who had the exact same idea but what published before you? Yea. That's how Bitten was for me. I enjoyed the read but it kept me up at night wondering how to change my own novel. Her unique element is that the werewolves actually turn into wolves instead of some kind of demented human/wolf creature from Ginger Snaps.

If you like Anne Rice, you will like this. I love the werewolves almost as much as the vampires.

This was an OK read. I just don't understand writers who want to have a strong female protagonist but make her a girl instead of a woman. She wants to be treated just like the guys and even plays the "mine's bigger than yours" games. Then she acts like a spoiled teeny-bopper when someone says or does something she doesn't like - and never seems to "get it".

The male characters are much more believable and likable - hence the three stars. I'll try one more in the series to see if things improve.

This series has inspired me to start saving money to tattoo my body red, get a stone hand, and surgically attach broken horns to my head. Thank you Hellboy.

The Right Hand of Doom is also a collection of stories, with the final few dealing with who and what Hellboy actually is, and why he is important to those on this earth, and those not.

To balance that at the beginning is a young Hellboy story, and through Hellboy versus a variety of supernaturals, from dragons to floating heads.

When hellboy came out I thought he was one of the coolest things to come into the world of comics in a long time. I was takin a liking from the first page to the last and I have alot of the hell boy editions but this one is just as good as the others but it's certainly not the best!

"Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom" is Hellboy at its finest. Like HP Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe, it is in the short story that Mignola really shines with his hell-born characters.

This short story collection contains a host of odd and enjoyable adventures for Anung Un Rama, otherwise known as Hellboy. Making his way through the mythologies and folklore of several countries, he encounters beasties like Japanese vampires, King Vold and Roger. Well-researched, Mignola threads together these various traditionals into a cohesive story, with the Christian God and Devil at the center, and Hellboy bridging the gap.

By far some of the most intelligent and well-written stories in modern comics, Hellboy never disappoints. Non-comics readers as well enjoy Hellboy, and my copy has been well-read by many people. "Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom" is an excellent starting point, and can be read with no previous knowledge of the characters.

"He has eaten the pancakes. He will never come back to us now."

This collection includes the stories Pancakes, The Nature of the Beast, King Vold, Heads, Goodbye Mister Tod, The Varcolac, The Right Hand of Doom, and Box Full of Evil. There are also several pages of sketches at the end. The artwork is awesome, and the stories are usually pretty good. My favorites were Heads (Hellboy steps into a really freaky Japanese folktale) and Box Full of Evil, which is one of the longer stories of the bunch. Pancakes, one of the shortest, was pretty cute. This probably wasn't the best collection for a beginner like me to start with, but it wasn't bad. The only thing I really missed was a better insight into the characters involved - other than the Hellboy movie, I have absolutely not experience with any of the Hellboy characters, and I'm starting find out how different the movie is from the comics.