Horror Books

Hot Dang! Ms Due delivers another blood-chilling sequel in her African Immortals series. Her well-drawn characters and a tantalizing plot make this a must-read for any lover of supernatural thrillers. Since this book centers around the activities of typically-impulsive teenagers I found myself getting really peeved w/ their choices/actions--which demonstrates the author's ability to really draw you into the characters' lives!

Of course the novel ends w/ a great set-up for the next book in the series. I eagerly await!

I was gung ho to read the living blood after MSTK and enjoyed them both.....I guess I needed to reread both books to really keep up with this one...it has been a while...but I barely remembered all of the players even though there were new ones and characters were getting kind of confusing in my memory bank....I'd suggest reading all three of these books back to back other than that it's like treading water....

Tananarive Due did not disappoint. Blood Colony is a true page-turner. Since it has been so long since she published the other two books in the series, I thought I might have difficulty recalling where things left off after book two, but she has done a great job of bringing the reader up to date. I highly recommend this book.

Based on the positive reception and number of raving reviews for Tananarive Due's latest novel, Blood Colony, it is quite evident that my commentary will be in the minority based on my "3-star," middle of the road rating for the book. It is the first time I have ever applied an average rating to one of her novels, especially when I am a fan of the Immortal series. Like others, I pre-ordered my copy to ensure I would have it as soon as it dropped. While I LOVED My Soul To Keep and liked The Living Blood, I found Blood Colony to be just "OK" -- a good novel, but not of exceptional caliber.

The novel opens with an alert 17-year-old Fana fully emerged from the seemingly self-induced years-long trance finally participating in the "world" as secluded as it may be. The Wolde clan, along with selected friends and life brother supporters, have sequestered themselves within the Washington forest and secretly share the "living" blood with third world, remote countries under the guise of it being an experimental pharmaceutical drug. However, there is evidence that an underground distribution network exists in North America. With the blood as its catalyst, an illegal drug called Glow, is in demand with a high street value making it the target of governmental crackdowns with harsh penalties and punishments to those involved with its manufacture and distribution. It does not take long to figure out that Fana (without her parent's permission or knowledge) is the primary source of the blood that fuels Glow's production. Without divulging too much of the plot, Fana runs away from the safety of the complex with good guys, bad guys, and the government hot on her tail. The chase is afoot and we follow along and watch the body count increase at nearly every turn.

It is difficult for me to explain what did not quite work for me with this otherwise well-written and well-conceived novel. Perhaps it is the shift to Fana and away from one of my favorite characters, Dawit, who, in this episode, was relegated to a seemingly perfunctory role of neutered husband. It might have been the continued emphasis on Fana. I suppose it was time for her light to shine (no pun intended) and there is no doubt that everyone (including the reader) is supposed to love Fana as the enlightened one with extraordinary skills who holds the future of mankind in her veins. I "got" that this novel showed her as less monster, more human: she is a vulnerable, typical, confused, misguided teenager who throws caution to the wind and lives dangerously with no clue regarding the life-threatening consequences of her actions. In the span of one novel, she zooms through first crush, first kiss, to a ten-year engagement rooted in a questionable, antediluvian prophecy. Unfortunately, I failed to be enamored or empathetic with her in The Living Blood and still did not really connect with her or her friends (do-gooders to a fault) in this novel. Maybe it was the familiarity of themes used in other novels: the telepathic, humanitarian aspects elicited vibes from Octavia Butler's Patternmaster series, the evil Sanctus Cruor seemed akin to the misunderstood Opus Dei of The DaVinci Code fame.

Another annoyance is Jessica's (and now Fana's) overbearing, blinding insistence to share the blood (regardless of the ramifications to their friends and family) comes off as near fanaticism. Following the "like mother, like daughter" mantra, it is now both the Jessica and Fana's decisions that continue to endanger everyone around them while trying to save the innocent masses from disease, suffering, and death. I know that the light and goodness will prevail (or at least I hope so), but in order to pull it off, this hodgepodge family/team really needs to get it together because throughout this novel, it was more than apparent that they could barely save themselves let alone humanity. Last, buried in the pages, there is the banter and discussions from previous novels surrounding the social and philosophical arguments that continue to buoy the plot: Who does the blood really belong to? Who should benefit from it? Who decides who gets it? Should it be rationed? What is the cost of immortality? Is it really worth it? Where did it really come from?

Despite the shortcomings I have with the novel, I am still a fan of the author and will no doubt purchase and read anything she releases, however I am not nearly as anxious for the next installment of the Immortal Series as I was for previous releases - especially if Fana and Michel are at the center of it. YAWN! Here is hoping the trek back to Lalibela will focus more on the Life Brothers and their collective and individual histories, maybe a reappearance of Khaldun, or other supporting characters that seem to have fallen off the pages during this latest episode.

Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub
July 26, 2008

I dont know if it was just me, i think it was, but I didnt really ENJOY this book as much as I did the first two. The one thing Due is, is descriptive, Without a doubt. she can describe a scenario, a feeling, a moment that you almost feel as if it is happening to you. But I think thats where the book lost its ability to grab attention in description and less storyline. I love Due's series but this book disappointed me. Maybe the direction is just not a direction I hoped it would go. The Life Brothers are no longer the regal elite, they are easily killed now. Its just not the same. Dawit is rarely included and he and Jessica's love doesnt seem the same. I dont think Fana and His relationship was developed much either. I wish they were closer, more nsync, in tune. But, Im no writer, just a reader. Still looking forward to the next book. I hope and wish for the best. I miss Dawit...mi vida lol i love that

I picked up this book on a whim - I've never read anything by this particular author before nor had I ever heard about this title from fellow reader friends. I found it to be a delightful find!

The story line is easy to follow, the romantic scenes were hot and steamy, and it really is a no fuss read. I actually finished this book in one sitting (in flight to family vacation destination) and felt engaged nearly the entire time.

The only little complaint I had with this book was the writers use of the Scottish accent - sometimes it became a little annoying/distracting but nothing that would result in me putting the book down. There is a male/male romance in this story that may not be appealing for all readers, although I thought it was written beautifully and really added to the story.

Overall, great and easy paranormal erotic romance!

WARNING: This book contains EXPLICIT sex scenes that may not be appropriate for more conservative readers.

1314

Darius MacLeod and his brother Demetri were turned by a vampire named Remont. Darius' wife Rose was terrified when she found out. She refused to accept him and ran from him. When she died, Darius blamed himself. For centuries since then, Darius has taken lovers but has never loved again.

London, 1818

Gabrielle Fairmont is being forced to marry Lord Sutherland. He is a cruel and evil man and Gabrielle is desperate to escape her fate. When Daruis and Gabrielle meet at a ball, Daruis is struck by Gabrielle's resemblance to Rose. He is overjoyed that he may have a second chance at love with her. Gabrielle senses a familiarity with Darius as well and is drawn to him. Will she still feel the same when she finds out he is a vampire though? Will she have a chance to? Sutherland has no intention of letting Gabrielle go.

Return To Me is full of excitement, danger, and eroticism. Darius and Gabrielle's relationship is sensual and poignant, as is Demetri and Remont's. Remont and Demetri have a long and tumultuous history but it ultimately develops into something wonderful. The time Darius and Gabriel spent in Darius' bed and Demetri and Remont's heart to heart are very passionate and loving. I love Demetri and Remont, their lives are fascinating and their love is beautiful. Darius and Gabrielle complement each other very well, both in personality and appearance. Return To Me is another shining example of Julia Templeton's wonderful storytelling ability.

Nannette
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

If you're looking from some simple erotica that lacks any sort of complicating depth then this might be the perfect escape for you. If you're looking for a romance with a solid plot, or interesting characters I'd look elsewhere.

Gabrielle Fairmont steps out of a Mary Sue fanfic into this story as a super special, kind, gorgeous damsel in distress that also has super special magic powers and may be the reincarnation of a vampire's tragically deceased wife. Early in the book the author tries to fool us into thinking Gabrielle is a strong, independant figure who shapes her own destiny by plotting an escape from her murderous fiance and learning to survive on her own. This is apparently a fluke on Gabrielle's part, as she spends the rest of the book once vampire hunk Darius rescues her tottering between useless and TSTL (that's 'too stupid to live'). Gabrielle demonstrates the latter element to us perfectly with such brilliant ideas as 'Well I've been having visions of my murderous psycho fiance following me here, and it's daylight so my crew of vampire protectors are all deeply asleep because they burn in the sunlight, but I think now is a wonderful time to go outside the protection of the manor and sit alone in the sunlight on a hill to ponder'. We're supposed to believe this girl survived on her own for any length of time?

The problems with characterization certainly don't end there. Darius, a warrior turned vampire that lost his wife as she was fleeing him, is a flat character. The only thing that stands out about him is that he is 'anatomically impressive' and we are reminded of this repeatedly. Throughout the book the vampires carry a burden of being 'monstrous' except that there isn't really anything remotely monstrous or threatening about them. They feed off their lovers, who retain no memory of being bitten and behave with unfailing civility. Other characters that pass through the story are stereotypical, with good characters portrayed as attractive and 'bad' characters portrayed as being fat, drunk, and anatomically unimpressive. This book carries a naive sense of unerring black and white, so that the characters more resemble caricatures than actual humans.

The relationship between Gabrielle and Darius is virtually nonexistant. They meet, he later saves her, and they start having sex. From then on the book is a constant stream of sex occasionally interrupted by the secondary romance between Darius's vampiric brother and sire. Oh, and there's the whole 'dangerous ex-fiance' matter too, which is both unsuspenseful and largely uninvolved. Gabrielle does have flashes of memories from her past life, but not enough to justify the quick and easy relationship with Darius. The plot here actually had a lot of potential for interesting conflict, but none of it was tapped. There is no conflict or real obstacles for their relationship.

By contrast, the relationship between Remont and Demetri is by far more interesting, but largely overlooked in favor of more Gabrielle/Darius sex scenes. Even this slightly more interesting plot line fails, because we are never given a good reason why Demetri cheats, and the resolution between them is anti-climatic at best.

There are dozens of other complaints I could make, but I've rambled on long enough. To conclude, I found this book to be boring, and uninspired. Don't let the descriptions on the book fool you- this has nothing to do with romance and everything to do with repetative sex.

I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book by Julia Templeton!

Personally, it immediately gets 5 stars just for having a wonderful, beautiful M/M romance along with the main characters' developing story. It was incredibly refreshing to read the scenes between Demetri and Remont and see them work through their relationship.

Aside from that, the love story between Darius and Gabrielle is just beautiful, sweet, and incredibly romantic. And hot. Did I mention hot?

I started reading it the other night and could NOT put it down! I finished it the same night and now am eager to read what else she has written and what she will come up with next.

Often times when I have been absorbed by a story I find it difficult to know where to start. I sit staring at a blank page until I feel confident enough to put down how much the story thrilled and moved me. This was one of those times.

On the battlefield of Bannockburn in 1314, Darius MacLeod lay dying, thinking never to see his beloved Rose or unborn babe when a young man with kind green eyes, approached him. His name was Remont and asked if Darius wanted to live an immortal life, never to age, never to die. Before Darius could answer and about to take his final breath; his brother Demetri made the decision pleading with Remont to change Darius. Several days later when Darius returned home to his pregnant wife Rose, he was a changed man. Several people told Rose they saw Darius receive a mortal blow and wary of his recent behavior she questioned him. Horrified by his confession, Rose ran, falling down stairs killing herself and their unborn child.

Five hundred years later and invited to attend a ball to meet Demetri and Remont, Darius was shocked to meet Lady Gabrielle Wentworth whose resemblance to Rose was astonishing. Feeling as if his heart had sprung to life, he knew he must save Gabrielle from Sutherland. Instinctively knowing in his heart that Gabrielle was the reincarnation of his beloved Rose, he also worried if she would run from him in horror if she discovered what he was.

Gabrielle had been betrayed by her only living relative. Her uncle needing money to pay off his creditors sold her "sight unseen" to the despicable Lord Sutherland, rumored to have murdered four of his previous wives. Gabrielle is a healer with the gift of sight, and knows after marriage, Sutherland will kill her. Meeting Darius, Gabrielle senses a familiarity that she's known Darius, but with her `sight' she also `knows' what he is. During a commotion at the ball, she makes good her escape into the night, but who immediately senses the loss of Darius in whose arms she had felt safe.

*** I was completely absorbed and emotionally drawn in to this exquisitely written and passionate love story. The author held me emotionally captive from beginning to end. Initially showing Darius to be a young man in the prime of life when fate intervened grabbed my heart. He had found his true love with Rose and was awaiting the birth of a child conceived of that love. Though not his decision to be changed, he could never have imagined the tragedy to follow. The authors portrayal of after five hundred years and Darius finally finding the woman he'd never forgotten was portrayed in such a way it brought tears to my eyes.

Characterized as a young woman with special powers, Gabrielle was special from her initial introduction into the story. As serious as the drama of this story was I actually had a chuckle or two when Gabrielle, who kept her powers hidden for the most part, threw a couple of uncomfortable spells towards Sutherland when he was at his most repulsive behavior. My admiration for this autho'rs originality in Gabrielle's ingenuity and resourcefulness after her escape from the ball, in finding shelter and a way to fund her escape out of London was inspired. In another scene, Gabrielle's gift to Darius was so filled with emotion it brought tears to my eyes and is one instance that was truly unforgettable.

Not only was I captivated by the adventure and romance of Gabrielle and Darius, but Remont and Demetri's story also held me spellbound. As the vampire who had turned both Demetri and Darius, Remont came across as truly compassionate and caring and I was rooting for him to find the happiness he deserved after centuries of existence.

In short RETURN TO ME is a remarkable, sensually passionate, well-written and incredible paranormal historical novel that must be read by both paranormal and historical fans alike.

Marilyn Rondeau, RIO - Reviewers International Organization for www.ck2skwipsandkritiques.com

This book was very suspenseful and entertaining but I am sick of books and movies that get you interested and then just end with little/no closure. This is one of those so if you want to know what happens to the characters and have things wrapped up, dont read this because apparently the author got bored and decided to just say 'the end' without finishing. At least that's how it felt to me anyway.

A tightly plotted, suspenseful story that keeps the pages turning. The question of "is she still alive" filled my head for most of the story, and I couldn't put the book down until I'd found out. Nicely done.

SPOILERS below, read at your own risk.

The ending was a little too rushed for my taste. I understand it's because of Cass's current state of mind, but I thought the shift was too sudden. Maybe because, throughout the book we see the story from the perspective of three people. Then, after the rescue, we only see Cass. I'd have liked to see a tiny bit from Kyle, knowing the state of mind Cass was in, and know how he felt about that. I think it would have rounded things out a bit more. Just my opinion. :)

What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles

When Kyle Kirby's brother commits suicide, Kyle must punish the girl who pushed David over the edge. He kidnaps the popular, smart, go-getting Cass McBride and buries her alive! Now, Cass is suddenly alone with herself, her thoughts, and her harsh words. But even she knows there's only one way out of the box she's in--Kyle.

"What Happened to Cass McBride?" is told through first person via Cass's eyes and Kyle's which is an interesting turn. You see clearly the motivation behind each one's actions. The detective searching for Cass is told in third person, but is necessary to move the story closer toward the resolution of finding Cass and catching Kyle. The story is intriguing and draws you in.

As Cass must analyze Kyle, she must also self-analyze. She is not merely speaking to his psyche to gain freedom. When she learns the details of David's suicide, she realizes she is to blame and she is fraught with guilt. Cass really transforms through her ordeal, and although no one could be the same after an experience like that, we know that Cass McBride will be a stronger, better person afterward.

Although, a powerful book, there isn't a lot of emotion. I feel for Cass McBride and the situation she finds herself in, but I'm not in the box with her. I remain safely detached from the situation. Still, the story is compelling and the characters motives are well explained and understood and you will empathize.

It was an interesting book and can hold the attention of youths and adults alike, but as an adult reader, I finished quickly and consider myself having read a great "young adult" novel.

What Happened to Cassie McBride is a suspenseful, page-turner which will not disappoint Young Adult readers. Gail Gillies has a intriguing way of making her characters come alive as well as encouraging teenagers to keep reading. Her creative characterization and foreshadowing motivate the reader.
I have read four of Gail Gillies's novels for reluctant readers, and everyone of her books is powerful, suspenseful and thought-provoking. I encourage all teenagers, even those who would rather be on the internet, to read one of her novels; you won't be disappointed!

Reviewed by Ian McCurley (age 13) for Reader Views (6/07)

Cass McBride is an ordinary, popular teenaged girl with a sometimes cruel sense of humor and a conniving mind that will do anything to become better than the other girls, from becoming the first junior homecoming queen, to leaving notes under her desk for her friends to find, read and laugh. One of these notes got her into BIG trouble. That day, she had been asked out by David Kirby, a nerdy guy who normally she wouldn't give the time of day to. Not wanting to hurt his feelings, she said "Some other time," and then left the hurtful note that pointed out how much of a dork he was and other unsavory things. Not expecting him to find the note, she set it under her desk for her friend to find. But David found it. The next day, David Kirby's body was found hanging by a rope from a tree in his front yard with a note pinned to his body. Not his shirt, but his body. The note said, "Words are teeth, and they eat me alive. Feed on my corpse instead."

Seeking revenge, David's brother, Kyle Kirby, takes Cass from her suburban home and puts her in a box, or rather a crate. He places this crate in a greenhouse several feet underground. No one but him, because he is the gardener for the estate on which the greenhouse is situated, would stumble upon her. Kyle, however, left her with a tube of air and a walkie-talkie. The reason he leaves her alive, for now at least, is so that she can understand what she had done to his brother. And now, using the persuasive skills learned from her conniving salesman of a father, Cass must make him see that it wasn't her fault; that he should release her. Though at first she thinks she is powerless, Cass discovers that she has one weapon: words. So the questions are: Was it Cass who "killed" David Kirby? Or was it David and Kyle's mother who blamed David for her less-than-perfect life? And an even bigger, more important question, will Cass survive being buried alive?

Gail Giles writes wonderfully in that she shows the way words affect us using the story of a tragic suicide and a kidnapped young girl. She also shows that when people have no solution, they blame others only for the sake of themselves. "What Happened to Cass McBride" is for readers 15 and up.

The third book in the Mayfair Trilogy just draws it all together and makes you want more! Anne Rice exceeds all expectations!

Taltos in my opinion is the worst of the three mayfair witch books. Unfortunetly you must read it if you have gotten this far in the trilogy. Once again Rowan is annoying!!! It was interesting to find out the true history of the taltos, but somtimes it was a little much. i found myself skimming~ That is soooo not like me, especially since I love this series. The death of Aaron really upset me. All in all it is a great story, however I really think that Rice Fluffed this book up with alot of unneccessary stuff and totally skimped on the ending! The ending STUNK, in my opinion. I am still holding out for another book in this series..............Or maybe a movie!!!!!!!

The end of this story of spirits and incest, and some back story on the whole Taltos development. It turns out that there are a few of these, and one of them becomes and important character in the book.

Mona finds out she is carrying Rowan's husband's child, and they decide to have it.

Supernatural types end up running away togethre.

I've read this only once but I do remember loving it. Along with The Witching Hour and Lasher this trio is a truly one-of-a-kind read. If you are into dark fiction with a hauntingly beautiful twist, you simply must read this and the other 2 books.

I love Anne Rice. She writes in great detail and creates rich, beautiful characters with the Mayfair Witches as well as the Vampire Chronicles. This book is not one of her best to say the least. I'm not that sure it's even an ending the Witches series because the ending leaves you in the air. There was less excitement with this book. I suppose that is due to the fact that the treachery in the Talamasca is resolved very early in the book, leaving little to become excited about in the remaining chapters in the book. I feel that she tried to do too much in this book, resolving past issues from the Witches series and going into more detail on the Taltos species. All in all, it wasn't a bad book because Anne Rice is such a superb writer and it is entertaining to read but in comparison to The Witching Hour and Lasher, this book falls short.

Why the title you may ask? I'm a little bit accostumed to the great quality of White Wolf's products. I ordered this with the Vampire the Requiem rule-book, and they arrived 3 days past schedule and with some little scratches on them. Amazon has to take better care of the stuff they ship.

I don't want to come off all old school, but all these guys have done is D&D-ify what was a great system. The original WOD was about storytelling, not about having a rule for every situation. These guys have completely lost the beauty of the original game in a forest of rules. At one point they present hardness rules to explain why a drill bit can penetrate a safe. OMG! Do we need a rule for this, do I need a specific set of numbers for the drill and for the safe. How about we just roll to see if it works, set a difficulty and go. The explosion of d20 moneymaking by creating 'new' rules makes everyone think that that's what we want in roleplaying, but in fact most people I know just want a simple system to highlight the action and drama, and some great ideas to get you going. This book has a plethora of rules and no real original ideas. I won't be buying anything else in the series for sure. Try Burning Wheel if you want some ideas, its still rules heavy, but at least it's not just a poor ripoff of something that was great. Anyone got those old White Wolf rulebooks, keep them, or sell them on Amazon, they are RPG gold.

Ok so it's not a fantasy setting but a horror setting. With a little twiking, it can be that or anything.
I played the world of darkness setting from the beginning so when the new one (this one) came out I spent over two years before I would look at it let alone buy it. BIG mistake! This is one of the most eleqante systems out there. What makes this truly amazing is that even my 70 year old mother can learn this game in under a couple of hours and yet the game does not suffer from being too simple (ie "4th edition D&D). Perhaps what makes this game stand above D&D is that YOU make the character you want. There is no rolling of the dice to determine your scores. You want a 5 strength? then do it.

All the details you need to begin a quest or improve on your current chronicle. Highly recommended.

This book, was a through, compelling and fun intorduction to the World of Darkness role-playing game. I found the instructions easy to follow and their simplicity was only amplified by the written examples of when you would use such rules during game play. A+++

I think this is a good under rated book for teens who are into dark fantasy and romance like Twilight. The story is centered around Vivian, who lives with her werewolf clan while they try to coexist with humans. It shows the character change as Vivian goes from hating and feeling superior to humans and then leveling with them.

This may just be the nerd in me speaking but I find werewolf novels to have less logic problems than vampire novels. For example - in a vampire novel, what would happen if a vampire sucked another vampire's blood? Or what about someone with a blood-related disease? So I tend to prefer werewolves in the long run.

I know the ending is rather controversial with people simply because it fails to be cliched. The heroine does not end up with her first true love and the message may come out mixed. Does this mean that love can conquer all or does this try to give teens a better message about the real world? Love is wonderful but it can't conquer real issues like debt for example, which is one of the biggest causes of divorce in America. I'm a realist so I prefer this ending rather than the lovely dovey, pink bubbles and hearts endings that seem so popular now.

Plot: B Okay, so the basic story "human meets creature" is overdone but the spin, especially the end is good.
Characters: A The main characters have different sides and they're rounded out.
Readability: A It reads simple and sweet.
In short: A Buy it. Its a nice good read.

Ultimately this book had promise. It started off well and the characters were engaging, but it started to fall flat when the romance between Vivian and Aiden suddenly happened with little to no build up. But that seemed to be the case with the entire story. None of the action had much tension. Furthermore, characters were introduced with little purpose that left me wondering why they were brought into the story. Scenes were included that didn't facilitate the plot (the one at Aiden's house with his father in particular). And shouldn't something have happened between Vivian and Kelly? What was the point of having tension between them if it was never going to go anywhere? On top of that, the behavior of the characters seemed inconsistent, particularly that of Aiden, who in the end acted nothing like one would expect.

Which brings me to the ending. --Spoiler-- Like the previous reviewer pointed out, the message was essentially "stick with your own kind." It's not that I think every story needs a happy ending. I wouldn't have had an issue had it just not worked out between Vivian and Aiden, even if the reason was the same (that Aiden couldn't handle the truth). But the ending essentially reaffirmed his prejudice by showing Vivian choosing one of her own kind - and one she hadn't shown any interest in for the entire story - because that was who she "belonged" with. That's a weird message to leave your readers with.

Overall, this book started off well, but lack of suspense, inconsistent characterization and an ending that left a bad taste in my mouth made it not quite the supernatural-thriller-romance I had hoped for.

I agree very much with E.R.'s review of this book- it is a wonderful story with a very engaging plot. I disagree with it being banned, especially when in comparison to today's television programming, but I'll leave it at that.

If you don't mind a book containing what I believe is on par with today's teenage community, then I suggest reading this book.

I myself have always liked vampires more, but this book drew me into werewolves, which was a difficult task to accomplish.

The third in my top 3 fiction novels, this deserves at least a screening. Also, please look into Companions of the Night and The Silver Kiss - both vampire fiction, both amazing books.

Three stars because I take into account a heroine, Vivian, that's not Mary Predictable Sue, the unique circumstances of the book, the understanding of wolves, and the decency of writing ability. I somewhat enjoyed the book.

Only somewhat enjoyable because Vivian is so far gone as a wolf, stuck on her instincts, that she couldn't converge into a realistic teenage lifestyle to deepen her character and the story.

Instead, forced by the constraints of too much wolf and not enough human, an unlikely romance forms between herself and Aiden, this romance is totally void of any substance and human emotions excluding lust. This relationship is a big part of the premise for the book. But it's a cracked foundation that lends a helping hand on knocking off the two stars in my rating.

Also it seemed to me that most of the characters were too extreme. There were no likable human qualities- only vices. It didn't feel like Vivian was a person. To add to that I felt the book was too methodical. Everything was planned to work out with the ending and so I lost the hint of a grip on the already bad characters. They became puppets.

Overall I think this book had a lot of potential but I didn't really enjoy reading it.

Annette Curtis Klause, Blood and Chocolate (Laurel Leaf, 1997)

After all the flap over the film version of this novel (and its subsequent bombing at the box office), I figured I'd give the book a shot to see just what all the fuss was about. And fussworthy it is, though I'm not entirely sure I found it such for the same reasons as most folks. I will warn you at the beginning of this that in order to talk about what really bugged me about this book, I will have to reveal its ending, in part; I will cloak it as much as possible, but certain portions of this review could be considered major spoilers. Thus, if you are planning on reading the book and haven't yet, skip to the last paragraph.

Vivian Gandillon is a werewolf. At the opening of the book, her pack's inn is set afire, and the surviving members of the pack are forced to flee; they end up in suburban Maryland. (Yes, suburban Maryland.) Everything's going about as well as can be expected until Vivian meets Aiden, a human high-school student with whom she instantly feels a connection. Soon, they're dating and the inevitable question arises: should she reveal her true nature to him, or keep it a secret? Would he accept her and love her for what she is, as no human has loved a werewolf as long as the pack's memory can discern?

All well and good, and the book does seem as if it's going toward the whole Romero-and-Juliet "love as thou wilt" path, but Klause does a one-eighty at the end of the book and drops the "loving outside your [race, creed, color, fill in the blank] is bad, mmmkay?" moral in our laps. I really had hoped, as human beings, we'd gotten past that sort of neanderthal thinking. What had been a previously interesting, if not terribly well-written, novel suddenly, in its last few pages, turned deeply offensive. It's probably worse that in order to do so, Klause had to have her main character also do a one-eighty and simply give up all her beliefs in order to make the moral work. (She does give a reason for this, but it's a bit of a stretch, to understate the case.) I just couldn't bring myself to buy it, though it did fit in with many of the book's other flaws, such as its inconsistent characters and generally loose, lackadaisical writing style.

Still, despite all this, as with most plot-based books of this stripe, it's written in such a way that one can't help but keep turning pages in order to see how this is all going to come out. (This, again, makes the ending all the more of a pain; you've gone through all this to get to... that.) And because of this, I've certainly read worse books in the recent past, from the point of readability; I can't think of one, however, that seemed as much of a letdown as this one was. **

As other reviewers have stated, this is a nice quality book, with a heavy binding and nice colorful illustrations. My low rating for this book comes not from the production of the item but from its content.

I remember loving Scooby-Doo when I was a kid, and now my son is into this show. We prefer the original series shows to the later ones, in part because they are simpler and more innocent: the monsters are not real, they are just people made up to look like ghosts or whatever. It was a fun show that dealt with greed and misdeeds in a light-hearted way, without murder and supernatural forces. Also, at the end of the original stories, the cops always showed up to portray the kids as being on the side of justice, not vengence.

However, in this book there are several stories where the monsters ARE real. In "Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders", the space aliens are really from outer space, they transform into lizard-like forms near the end of the story and get picked up by a space ship. In "Scooby-Doo and the Witches Ghost", the story involves real witches doing real magic and a real ghost who does away with the bad guy at the end. He is not arrested, but is sucked into a spell book along with the evil witch-ghost (see p. 199 in the images). These two stories in particular are not in line with the light-heartedness of the orignal series. They are more frightening (for a kid) than the classic Scooby-Doo tales, and I don't find them appropriate for my young son.

The age range for this book says 4-8, but I think age 4 is maybe too young to be faced with real monsters (just my opinion).

This compilation of 8 stories is perfect for my children. They love Scooby-Doo and you can't beat the price for this set.

The stories are very long but the kids absolutely love Scooby and usually pick this book out for bedtime reading. The only problem I have is that each story has a different font and some of the fonts are squiggly and hard to read and make my eyes water and blur and it's hard to focus. It's weird but if you have the book you'll know what I mean!

My nephew loves Scooby Doo, but he has a rather short attention span, so I was a little worried that this book wouldn't be read much. However, he will sit still for a full story, so this book turned out to be a great gift.

Quality of this book is way better than expected,pages are sturdy, very colorful pictures-great stories for little & big kids.

I have read almost all of Saul's books and this one proved to be very disappointing. I was very excited to begin reading it, but ended up dragging myself through it just to finish it. Most scenes that were meant to be scary or thrilling were really just disturbing. I found the religious aspects of it to be in bad taste. This is definately not his best work! If you're looking for a great Saul book, try some of his others and leave this one alone.

I haven't read much John Saul since the early days when he ranked right up there with Koontz, King and Straub. This book was just okay for me. I think that maybe the big boys either need to step down or listen to their fans who think they should be putting out the same, if not better, caliber work than when they were in their heyday. "The Devil's Labyrinth" is your run of the mill John Saul, evil people putting young people in peril. The creepiness factor is gone though. Entertaining enough to keep me interested but I expected more.

THE DEVIL'S LABYRINTH intrigued me, and I'm happy to say I was not disappointed. The story itself should satisfy fans of religious-themed horror stories, and I'm surprised so many reviews here didn't find it suspenseful. The final chapter alone will have you on the edge of your seat. S.L. Chessor author of Poodlums, Boogeymen and Booglers and My Tongue Fell Out. Poodlums, Boogeymen and Booglers: A Poetry Collection

Having read a few John Saul books I've gotten used to the way he writes. While reading you ask yourself questions like 'what happened to this guy?' 'how did that happen?' 'where is the ending?' That last one I ask myself constantly in Saul books. The ending is always abrupt, it comes from nowhere things are rolling along you turn the page and boom it's over. I was totally into this story the whole way through but the end just came out of nowhere. This book was about as good as "creature" which I loved. Altho I still have too many questions, my advice...don't over think with Saul. This books moves well, keeps you entertained and does have a very strange plot if you like that kind of thing. Overall I give it 4 stars but be weary of the ending (it sneaks up on you)

This is the first John Saul book that I have ever read. I felt that the story was poorly manipulated and the characters were flat. The plot was silly. Overall, I felt this was a very rough outline that was not well thought out.

After I finished it, I discovered an error on the back of the book. That's sloppy.

Wow! Just yesterday I posted a review of "High Stakes" a tale of a human girl who meets and falls in love with a rich vampire. Although the story claimed to be laugh out loud funny, it wasn't. Imagine my delight when I dove straight into "How to Marry A Millionaire Vampire" to find out it had a similar plot with a much better drawn plot and characters. I thought for sure that this was going to be another vampire chick lit story but it was so much more! Shanna is a dentist in the Witness Protection Program after testifying in court against Russian mob members who have killed her friend. They are still after her and during an attack on her dental clinic, Roman shows up and rescues her. Roman is a weathly scientist vampire. He has formulated and produced a synthetic blood that has saved millions of human lives. During a recent product 'testing' he lost one of his fangs. If he doesn't want to be permanently lopsided, he must convice his dentist on the lam to fix his tooth. This story has so much adventure that it is hard for me to classify it simply as a Paranormal Romance. The romance, while definitely there, supplements rather than overwhelms this story. There are several sex scenes and actually that was a scene or two more than I need in my books, but I really feel like I witnessed the love grown between the two characters. (Another point seriously lacking in the previous book I mentioned). One thing that seems to make or break a book for me is the cast of supporting characters. I adored most of these characters. Roman's cast of security guards, the Highlanders are an absolute delight. They brought humor to the story as well as a special sensitivity. Roman's harem was another fun side bar to the story, and brought out a lot of Shanna's insecurities. This book is certainly not laughable chick lit, but I admit to one scene in particular that did have me actually laugh out loud! Only because a five for me is AMAZING do I give this book a super well deserved four. This little gem is better than similar series such as the before mentioned "Vegas Vampires" and Lyndsay Sand's Argeneau vampire romances. I can't believe I almost missed this one, I had it on my wish list for ages before I stumbled upon a copy and picked it up. I encourage you not to wait as long as I did. This is a seriously fun winner.

I believe this was one of the best vampire books i've read. Funny, charming and dangerous all at the same time. Especially with the fight Shanna has with dealing with her father. Very good plotline.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the following books in the series. Kerrelyn Sparks is a fantastic writer, she truly draws you into the world of these Vamps. I was thoroughly impressed with the characters, and although the series doesn't centre on one particular pair, each book is dedicated to one main Vamp who finds his true Love, it is a fantastic journey that i was more than happy to undertake, and i am thoroughly looking forward to any further books in the series.

This book started me on the series. I loved this book and the characters. Sands gives a lighter side of vampires and her books are fun and enjoyable. Her characters are sometimes wacky but always lovable. I always hate to wait for the next book.

I loved this book! Loveable characters, humor and interesting concepts on how her vampires live/survive within the human world. Would recommend this series to anyone, good, light hearted, easy reading.

Wow, what a great series. It is cool getting to learn Buffy's Backstory, which started in Volume 1 and continues through this one. I thought that the Dru and Spike stories were a waste as the plot of each one is nothing but "let's get something to eat" in each one. It is great that all of these collections have been put together in one nice book.

If you are a Buffy fan then this is a must have. Ever since the show ended I've been finding different things such as vampire novels, buffy comics, angel comics etc. just to get my slayer fix. This is a great collection of previous comic stories in one place.

Following Buffy from her parents' decision to get a divorce, moving to Sunnydale and even into the evil Angel era, this excellent collection of tales of the Slayer will help to keep your thirst for Buffy to a manageable level. The art in this one is uneven - the first story is done in a very unusual manner - that is, in a very cartoonish manner - and it was rather a shock. I ended up rather liking it, but I think this is an issue that will definitely be a polarizing one: people will either love it or hate it and froth about it. :-) However, I liked the story it told and I especially liked how Angel was lurking all over the place in the story. Some of the stories were rather fun, such as Maguffins (McGuffins? MacGuffins? - I can't remember how it is spelled now and I'm too lazy to go check!) - taking place in the summer between Season 1 and Season 2, two mischievous imps are sent to Buffy as a "test." As they destroy her father's house, she must figure out how to stop them. We also get a rather ... interesting story with Dawn, set at the same time that Buffy is in Las Vegas - a case of mistaken identities leaves Dawn with a Djinn that causes no end of troubles.

The addition of Dawn into these stories is one that Joss Whedon says he thought long and hard about, and one which is also likely to be a polarizing force among fans. He said he finally decided to go with having her there because although she wasn't REALLY there, Buffy REMEMBERED here being there ... plus it gave him a chance to have the artists and authors writing these stories come up with some fun ones, such as the story just mentioned above.

All told, an excellent addition to the Buffymorbilia of a true Buffyaholic. Don't miss it!

If you missed any of the comic books, this'll get you what you need. My only complaint is that comic books are too darned short! I am always left wanting more!

When Dark Horse Comics began publishing in 1986, they took a strategic path far different than most of the other independent publishers of the day. Dark Horse was clever enough to go after licensed properties that already had a built-in fan following. Titles such as Aliens, Predator, Terminator, and the many Star Wars titles gave them a huge leg up on their competition. That's why they are still around over twenty years later while companies like Eclipes, First, Comico, and Malibu are but distant memories. Another property which has proven to be enormously popular for Dark Horse has been Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

This is the second omnibus edition of slayer tales and reprints several issues from the Buffy comic as well as various trades/graphic novels into this 320 page tome. The stories are set at various points in Buffy's career although they are all set in during season three of the TV series or earlier. In fact the first story, "A Stake through the Heart" predates Buffy's move to Sunnydale although after the destruction of the gym at her old school. In this tale writer Fabian Nicieza makes the controversial move of retconning Dawn into the Buffyverse before her actual creation. Buffy and Dawn are dealing with their parent's separation and their eventual move. Buffy is already feeling guilt over her parent's marriage troubles and Angel makes things worse by accidentally releasing malignancy demons to torment her.

"McGuffins" is a short story from Dark Horse Comics Presents. Giles sends Buffy a "present" as a test...a pair of nasty little gremlin-like creatures who run amok in her house. Buffy cannot win this one with her fists. She'll have to use her wits to defeat the little pests.

Two of the stories are Spike and Dru adventures and don't even feature Buffy at all...kinda strange since she's the title star but oh well..."Queen of Hearts" finds Spike and Dru gambling on a riverboat and discovering their host is a demon who leeches the luck off his customers. The pair have a bad breakup in "Paint the Town Red" as Spike nearly destroys Dru. He takes a break from her, heading off to Turkey but Dru isn't going to let him go so easily.

"Ring of Fire" takes place during Season Two when Angel is going though his evil period. He, Dru, and the wheelchair-bound Spike have found a set of ancient Samurai armor that belonged to a demon named Kelgor. They plan to use the armor to raise the demon and Buffy, Kendra and the rest of the Scoobys have to stop them.

Finally in "Dust Waltz" two ancient demons, Lillith and Lamia come to Sunnydale for an ancient Hellmouth ritual called the Dust Waltz where each chooses a champion to battle to the death. Since Buffy has killed Lillith's champion, she is forced to fight in his place.

There isn't a standout story in the book but there are no stinkers either. "Stake through the Heart" is probably the weakest as it is a slower moving, depressing story that seems out of place with the tone of the stories from early in Buffy's career. It reads more like a story from Season Six. The Spike and Dru stories are quite fun as the pair is basically off just carousing and having a good time. The art is strong throughout although I was never particularly fond of regular series artist Cliff Richards. I much preferred the lighter style of Luke Ross on "McGuffins" and Hector Gomez on "Dust Waltz." The Dark Horse Omnibus editions are a bit more expensive than those from Marvel and DC, but they have the advantage of being in full color.

REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON