Horror Books

Sons of Destiny is very suspenseful. You don't know what will happen next. The ending is somewhat of a let down, but still interesting. I liked to think about all the possibilities the author let hanging. However, I'm sure he was far more capable of coming up with a something more plausible. The ending was parallel to the classic "And then I woke up. It was all a dream." It leaves the same impression.

Overall the entire series was totally fun. The characters were clearly developed and you felt like you were Darren. You thought what he thought. Often times, authors don't use realistic emotion. In all the Cirque books that was achieved well. Unique scenery, tons of action, and the complexities of a teen vampire make this book a exciting read.

This is a great book. A brilliant twist, I would have never guessed how this ended, (DONT READ ANY SPOILERS FOR IT). However, I was a little bummed about how the first, like 7 or 8 were erelevant once the quest for the Vampaneze Lord started. The ending was good, the book part of it was good, all of the characters were involved, and the whole thing came full circle, but it made the rest of the books not even matter. It was ONLY about the vampaneze lord, and you could ALMOST read this by itself.

I've read all the books in the series in less then a day. I couldn't put them down, but at the ending of this book, the last one, i didn't just put the book down, i threw it across my room. I loved the book up until the ending, and i love the series up until this book. I think it kills the whole series and leaves me wondering why i even bothered to buy and read the other 11. at the end, he goes back in time and stops everything that i read in books 1-11 non-existent, as in they didn't even happen. I felt as if the ending has said something like, "he woke up and it was all a bad dream!" what kind of ending is that to a series such as Cirque Du Freak. And because of this book i actually don't recommend the series anymore. What is the point of wasting you time reading 12 books, when everything you read ended up not happening.
Not only a waste of my time, but my hard earned money also. Don't get me wrong, i loved the series up until the end. i devoured the books and could not get enough, but this to me seems like Darren Shan was saying, "i don't want to write anymore Cirque Du Freak books, so lets just make everything i wrote in books 1-11 not happen!"
i feel like i was cheated.

I feel that "The Sons of Destiny" was a disappointing book and a poor way to end the Cirque Du Freak" series. I gave this two stars. This is because the book hasa bizzare storyline. also, the end of the book left me dumbfounded and searching for answers. The characters in the book went against their previous established personalities. Lastly, the climax of the book that author Darren Shan was building up to the entire series, wos not very entertaining to read. In the book, Darren Shan muust defeat his one time friend, but now foe, or die. Will Darren be able to trick the evil Des Tiny and save his friends? This horror book will dissapoint other people who have read the "Cirwue Du Freak" series.

this book was really good not what i expected to end the saga but still a great read, the whole saga was awsome.if your looking for a teen vamp story this is perfect it also has some other mythalogical charicaters....
5 stars

I remember reading this book in the 1st grade. I loved it! My favorite story was/is The Green Ribbon. The other stories are pretty spooky too! If you have a child that loves scary stories, then they'll love this!!!

Sometimes you CAN judge a book by it's cover. For the reviewers that seem amazed that these are scary stories, read the title first and then you must be the judge as to whether the children in your life can handle it. It states very clearly that these are scary stories. Also, check out the picture on the cover. It isn't exactly Pooh Bear. My 3 year old LOVES this book, but he isn't scared of much of anything. Now my oldest daughter couldn't have handled this book, even at 7 years old. She's in 8th grade now and wonders why she was so scared of it-lol. She still enjoys rereading this book, even at her age. So you have to judge whether your think your child can deal with it or if it might be a bit too frightening for him or her. But you have to use common sense also. If a book says it contains scary stories then don't act surpised when the stories are, well, scary. I loved these type of stories in grade school myself.


I would not recommend it for very young children or those who are easily frightened because I am sure this will give them nightmares. Now older kids will probably enjoy it very much. My youngest daughter loves it and has loved it since she was in 1st grade. She kept checking it out of her school's library so I broke down and bought a copy recently and I even enjoyed "The Green Ribbon" and "The Night It Rained". We used to read the story of a Dark, Dark Room back when I was in kindergarten and I have always loved that story. This is a fun book to read around Halloween or whenever your child is in the mood for a little scare.

OMG!!! I had this book as a kid and that was over 15 years ago and I knew I loved the story about the girl with the ribbon around her neck. It terrified me and my friends every time we'd read it at Girl Scout Camp. I knew I had to get it for myself because I've been thinking about the past alot and I couldn't remember the name of it, so I typed in scary stories and who knew I'd find it. I remember the book cover, I can't believe I found it; I never thought I'd find my favorite childhood book. That includes another book called Frog and Toad All Year; these two books were ultimately my favorite books as a child. I'm so happy... because now, I'm going to buy it.

I had this book as a little girl and now I bought it for my kids. The illustrations are fantastic!

This book, and the other books by Alvin Schwartz, are some of the most if not THE most memorable books of my entire life. Theres something special about a book if you read it over and over and remember the stories well into your adult life. The way the stories are told is magical, I mean here's this intensly horrifying situation, but the way its worded so simply and easily has a sort of strange feeling to the whole story. this is what keeps me reading this book. i remember in our library in grade school, i would just go straight to these books and just read them right there on the spot and go back to class. I cant really describe the way THE GREEN RIBBON makes me feel, its a very strange, scary, tingly, wondering, warm feeling. not many stories told so simply can do that. MAGICAL.

My son (age 4) really likes this book. It has a great rhyming story, and the illustrations are spectacular. Great pictures of "monsters" amidst beautiful fall color. A joy to read and look at!

Another beautiful book. My kids and I are big fans of Jan Brett's books and this one is just perfect to get into the Halloween Spirit.

I liked this book very much for the lesson it teaches you. My daughter who is 7 told me after reading this book to me, that things are not always as scary as they first seem to be. The monsters were just people, but seemed scary to the kittens because the kittens are so much smaller than the people, and the people had costumes on, which made them seem even scarier to the kittens.
Very easy book to read, and because it kind of reads like a song or poem, it made it fun for my daughter to make her own tune to read it to.

This delightful little book has all the charm and spookiness of the holiday it represents. As a twenty-two year-old adult, I think this book has equal appeal for adults and children.

Jan Brett's luscious, beautiful pictures perfectly depict the gorgeous darkness of Halloween night and the vibrant colors of different costumes (or are they really monsters?) Accompanied with these pictures are the rhymes of Eve Bunting's wonderful poem, with words easy enough for kids to understand but spooky enough to give even adults a chill.

Both the poem and the pictures, like Halloween, are fittingly creepy and even haunting while still being fun. Together, they make this book the perfect package for anyone wanting to enjoy the true essence of all Hallow's Eve. I earnestly invite you to enjoy this, my dears (polishes fang, retracts claws).

I personally found the writing style a little stilted in the book. For example, "A devil prances, fiery red, with horns asprouting from his head." and "Thunder, thunder up above! 'What is it, mother?' 'Shh, my love! It's just the thump of creature feet, A creature in a winding sheet."
It reads more like a poem, not the way we speak naturally. If you like a poetic style, you'll probably love this book. But if you want a more relaxed book, then don't buy it.
But anyway, having said that, my four year old son liked the book. The pictures are scary, but not gruesome. Probably a little too scary for a toddler.
Illustrated by Jan Brett, of course the pictures are well-done, but to be honest it's not on the same level as her other works. There is not nearly as much detail as she usually puts in. (For example, no borders filled with tiny illustrations.) The art doesn't look much different than most Halloween books.

Darren Shan is a half-vampire. His friends, Mr.Crepsley, Vancha March, Debbie Hemlock, and the police chief inspector, Alice Burgess,(and sort of Steve Leanard) are all helping Darren find the Vampaneze Lord. Something tragic and very unneeded happens to Mr. Crepsley and they find out who the real Vampaneze Lord is. Over all I think Cirque du Freak: Killers of the Dawn was the most exiting, gory,and sad book of Cirque du Freak yet.

A LOT happened in this li'l bookadoodle. Darren went to...JAIL! Along with Mr. Crepsley, Harkat, Vancha, and Steve. But that's only a few hours of this dark book. A great battle against the Vampaneze awaits. I liked this book, it was written well, and at one chapter, I actually believed it! (You'll see...) But there was one thing I didn't like...

***WARNING!!!! MAJOR, MASSIVE SPOILER AHEAD!!!! DO NOT, I REPEAT, !DO!!NOT! READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE ALREADY READ THE BOOK. IF YOU DO READ THIS, YOU WILL HATE YOURSELF FOR A LONG TIME!!!!!!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!!***

I didn't like how he killed of ister-may epsley-cray. I liked him, and without him, the Darren we know would not exist. He was a good, important character. I also thought he was a cool vampire, who laughed, was angry, loved someone, and held Darren up, unlike all the other vampires, such as Seba Nile, Gavner Purl, and even Vancha March who all seemed to act and talk the same to me. He really cared about Darren. Fortunately, Darren seems to be strong enought to go on without him. Still, it kinda sucks that he died there.

***OKAY, END OF MAJOR, MASSIVE SPOILER. IF YOU READ THIS BEFORE THE BOOK, WHOOPSIE!!!! TOLD YA NOT TO DO THAT, NAUGHTY PEOPLE. *wags finger* BACK TO THE REVIEW!!!!!!!***

That aside, it was good. I look foreward to the next book, and based on the exerpt I read (it was in the back of this book) we may find out a bit more about Harkat, which is cool, 'cause I like him. I hope things look up...

I like it a bit because it was violent and dramatic for example, in the scene where Mr. Crepsley died trying to save the entire vampire race. He died because there was a threat to the vampire race called, The Vampaneze Lord. This guy was going to lead the vampaneze in a war against the vampires. The difference between them is that the vampires drink as munch as they need and they hardly drink on humans, vampaneze are the ones that we think about from the movies and so on, they drink all of an animals blood because they think their superior.
I think if he put less drama added more plot and violence, it might have been better. I liked the scene where the random vampaneze attacked Darren Shan because it was very bloody and it reunited Darren w/ his best freind since elementary, Steve. If it had more scenes like that it might have been way better.
I gave it this much because he was reunited w/ his old girlfriend and his old best friend (pissed at him for being a ½ vampire this guy is the vampaneze lord). It didn't have as much violence as the others did like in the first one, he jacked Mr. Crepsley's spider and got bit. I liked some of the drama for example, when he made out w/ his old girlfriend (who is like 25 now and his only 19 or 15 and she's a high school teacher). I recommend you guys to read it and everything before and after this! =]

This story is about Darren Shan a Half vampire Larten Crepsley, and Vancha March. Crepsley and March are full vampires who are on the hunt for the lord of the vampaneze. When all else fails one of them has to lose his life so they can kill the lord of the vampanese. The only thing is that the one they kill isn't the real lord of the vampenese.
The author captured my interest by beginning the story with a battle with the police. Children under the age of 13 should not read this book because of all the blood and violence.

This series was great. I've followed all the books up until now. The setting is totally unique, and the characters are likeable. When this book started, there were three characters that really made me enjoy the books. Darren, Vancha, and Mr. Crepsley. Vancha's awesome just because he's so cool. Mr. Crepsley is great because he's the one who made Darren, and he's really loyal to Darren. His sense of humor is gruesome but awesome, and he's kind of the backbone of the story. He helps Darren through stuff that seem impossible. When he dies, though, the book kind of loses its atmosphere of lightheartedness. It was a serious book series to start, just because of the subject matter, but by killing off a character who I felt was one of the main driving forces of the story, Darren Shan's stories feel like they have lost momentum. The book series becomes too melancholy and sad.

Also, there was absolutely no reason for Mr. Crepsley to die. I know that in the book, it actually says that they didn't kill the vampaneze lord, which is another reason why his death was pointless, but it seemed like Mr. Crepsley's death was forced. I think the writer, Darren Shan, felt like he needed to make a character death , which is really unfair to the reader, especially if there is no reason at all. There WAS no reason for him to die his "honorific" death, which was sudden and uncalled for. I really miss Mr. Crepsley, and although I'll still keep reading the series after this book, I am only going to do it to find out what happens. The only way, in my mind, that Darren Shan can redeem himself, is by bringing Mr. Crepsley back from the dead. There just aren't enough satisfying things left in the book series to make them good anymore.

My husband bought me this book as he knows I love getting new books from White Wolf, and plus we are trying to get enough people around to start up a LARP in our area, but I couldn't put this book down I read it from cover to cover, amazed by the content of it all.

The Vampire: Requiem is a nice offspring of the well-know storyteller game, Vampire: the Maquerade.

Fortunatelly, all the vampire's history is built upon the new world view. The combinations of Clans, Covenants and Bloodlines gives a lot more options for the players and storytellers alike. The atmosphere of the game is still gothic horror.

The system is revised and better than the old one. It's a bit more player-friendly in a way.

I didn't like the idea of buying more books than one to start playing.

Altogather, it's a nice book that's worth it's price!

Im new to this game and I think this game is the best one out there. Unlike Dungeons and Dragons this game offers more potential for roleplaying and is more mature in nature. You do need to buy the World of Darkness along with this book in order to play, but that is still cheaper than buying a Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide and Monster Manual in order to play D&D.

Plus this game allows alot more flexibility if you want to play with Werewolves, Mages and other supernatural creatures. It gives you the freedom to create almost any character concept from lord of the night to shapeshifting vampires.

This game is absolutely amazing and I plan on buying the other supplements for it.

To begin with, this is a review by a new player for new players. I like horror role-playing and picked this book up on a whim. I really love the system and the setting and have bought a lot of the White Wolf games since. But I've never played or read Masquerade, so I can't possibly talk about whether the changes have been better or worse. But I can relate to someone who is interested in trying this game for the first time and I'll try to make this review useful to you.

To start at the very beginning, REQUIEM uses the Storytelling System, so you'll want to buy the WORLD OF DARKNESS corebook. This corebook runs through the basics of the system: each dramatic action has a number of 10 sided dice that you roll called your dicepool. Usually this number is the sum of an ability score and a skill, plus or minus situational modifiers. You get one success for each die that rolls 8 or above and you get to reroll 10's. Most actions succeed with a single "success", although many require a certain number of successes over time, or you compete against a target for the msot successes. This corebook explains how to make mortal characters, and other sourcebooks (like REQUIEM) have you start with a mortal character based on these rules and add "supernatural" elements to have a vampire, mage, or whatever. Some people are unhappy that more than one book is needed. I love it for 3 reasons: the corebook is awesome on its own and it allows you to play mortal horror games all by itself (which a great many people have discovered the joy of; I would now only run CALL OF CTHULHU using World of Darkness characters); if you buy more than one gameline, having character generation and the rulesystem repeated in every book seems a waste of time and money; and finally, REQUIEM is already a pretty big book and something would have to go in order to add the extra rules. It would be a shame to wedge in the extra rules since REQUIEM is so well developed its like a work of art.

Speaking of art, I thought I'd note the high production quality of the book. Some people are embarassed that they like a book based on its cover. Not me - as a bibliophile, I like a book that looks nice on the shelf and holds up well in addition to being useful between the covers. REQUIEM is a gorgeous holographic red hardcover with tight binding that has held up well. The pages have a glossy finish to them that makes this tome really stand out in a crowd. I like how each of the game lines has a distinctive cover that draws your eye to which series a book belongs to. The interior art is all black-and-white; some is a little cartoonish, but for the most part it is good and gritty.

So, what's so great about REQUIEM besides a pretty face? Well, the content is well laid out, is clear and orderly, and supports the theme of the game. Maybe the first quarter of the book is nothing but flavor text. This is important; a game designed around "storytelling" should itself tell a good story. Even if it isn't terribly narrative, the reader should feel immersed in the setting before breaking in with rules and numbers. REQUIEM does an excellent job of discussing what vampires are, what are the different biological and sociological groups, how they relate to each other and what they do. No rules-jargon is used at this point; everything is conversational (not that I mean that the wordcount is puffed up, but that you don't need special knowledge to understand everything that is going on). The section is concise, informative, interesting, and colorful, and it leads into character generation very smoothly. I never felt the need to flip forward or backward in order to understand something and I was very excited about the setting by the end of these chapters.

The middle half of the book is devoted to character creation. You start by creating a "mortal" - you assign points as if you were a mortal, and then you add on the bonuses based on your vampiric clan and choose vampire powers. You get discount access to some abilities due to your clan but the others are harder to learn. Each ability is well explained and they all seem fairly well balanced. If you buy status in your covenant you can buy "magic" or get a discount on other merits. The covenant Ordo Dracul gets the most poweful abilities in that they can overcome vampiric curses by changing their physisology but the XP cost is extremely high. Again, everything in this chapter is well-ordered and easy to understand. I was able to make interesting characters right away (no need to buy additional supplements to do interesting things) . The Humanity system is explained, which introduces a tangible mechanic for acting in violence or cruelty; as you act like less of a decent person, humans see through your facade to the predator within. The character can't "pass" as human any more, with caps on dice pools when interacting with people. Feeding and loosing control of the monster within are also discussed. Rules for Blood Potency are given, which is a measure of the relative power of the vampire (the "super stat").

The final section has is on using REQUIEM to play a game. This chapter is more high-level than I hoped for, in that it discusses how to make sample campaigns, how to break up the action into digestible scenes, how to make a coherent plot, etc. It would also have been useful to have some turn-by-turn play examples. This section also details "bloodlines", which is a way to introduce your own tailored kind of vampire with special powers and disadvantages. This is a very useful chapter if you are not experienced with the Storytelling System.

There is also an Appendix which describes the signature city of New Orleans. It seems a little dated since Katrina, but it spells out (to the extent of usefulness) the movers and shakers, what there is in the city, and the vampire history of the city. It is very helpful to have a setting right out of the box, with no additional purchases demanded of you. There is some political intrigue to start a new story, or just to allow your characters to explore the town.

Overall, this is a superb product. The production quality is outstanding, the layout and design shows maturity in the field, and the setting is exciting. Character generation is easy. There is sufficient explanation of every class and ability to make it immediately useful. And there is a setting to start play in right away, which also ties into the free demo for download from White Wolf's website.

White Wolf ended the Original World of Darkness with grand fanfare. They promised after its discontinuation a new line, a new setting, and a new vision where fans of the original lines could tell a whole array of horror stories that had not been well supported by the original setting.

Requiem was to be the first offering in fulfillment of that promise. It fails to deliver.

In all fairness, I must offer three distinct ratings to the three distinct subsections of this game.

Mechanics 4/5

Presentation 4/5

Setting content 1/5

The mechanics are solid, and while some of the names seem a touch hokey (especially in comparison to their counterparts in Masquerade), the actual mechanics function well, and serve their purpose admirably.

The presentation is beautiful, downright breathtaking in many places. The game tries hard to look good, and it shines for it (I find it somewhat amusing to note that the developer, Justin Achilli, actually stated in his live journal that a coworker had put a drop of blood into the ink vat used on the first print run.... very fitting for a game about vampires)

The setting though... The setting is nothing new. It reuses three of the clans from Masquerade with almost no tweaking of their respective themes, and the two original clans have all the vibe of simply being composites of discarded clans. The advent of covenants, admittedly new, in many ways redraws the faction lines that they tried to eliminate by removing the Camarilla. The whole thing comes away feeling like a simplified iteration of Masquerade, with an alternate history founded on the same roots.

The choice to eliminate Metaplot from the New WoD lines hits Requiem hard. Masquerade was arguably the most metaplot dependent of the original world of darkness, and while many felt that this constrained the game by writing material that the individual storytellers could have worked up themselves... it did create a sense of a dynamic, inhabited world. Requiem lacks this. Anyone intending to run this game will have a lot of work cut out for them, because material on individual cities is sparse, and examples to inspire are similarly hard to find.

Overall, this feels like Masquerade with training wheels put on for the newcomers. It's not what the old guard was promised, it's insulting to the newcomers who should have been offered a game of at least equal complexity and quality to it's predecessor, and it just plain doesn't measure up to the high standards that White Wolf has set for itself.

Having gone through all of Shirley Jackson's writings that I could get my hand on, I have to say that "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" is my favorite. On one hand it is a tale of murder, poison, obsessions and isolationism. On another it is about the bond between sisters and the power of fear. Jackson does her signature twist with the end and, although you may see it coming, it is still jarring. Instead of leaving us with the twist, however, she continues on to make a comment on guilt and the aftermath of mob mentalities. What remains with you after you have finished, though, is an intense sense of family and, considering the actual premise of the novel, this is no small feat for Jackson to have accomplished. Jackson's writing is, as always, simple and believable with such an attention to detail that the characters seem to pop off the page. In my opinion, this novel is truly her best.

I read this book in about two or three sittings as the pages flew by. And although I guessed the main surprise, I still loved the way it all unraveled. It made me laugh at times (especially with Uncle Julian) and it made me feel sorry for the characters at times. Merricat was an excellent narrator and I was kind of sad when the book ended. Recommended to those who like a quick read with three dimensional characters.

Although it explores some creepy psychological depths, "We Have Always Lived In the Castle" never really rises to great storytelling - or great story, for that matter. It's a very inward, and at times repetitive, tale about a family that has, for better or for worse, become isolated from its own community. One problem is that after a short while, it generates little interest in the reader for people living in this doomed, backwards household - nor of the people living outside it.

Jackson's dark tale centers upon 18-year-old Mary Katherine "Merricat" Blackwood and her older sister Constance - two survivors of a family mysteriously poisoned six years earlier. The two keep to themselves, preferring to stay away from the villagers who taunt and accuse Constance of the murders.

As the story progresses, some of the circumstances surrounding that awful day begin to emerge - though it's clear that Merricat is an unreliable narrator, at best. Thus, the more details are revealed, the more questions the reader has.

Despite the bleakness, the Blackwood sisters are fairly content in their isolated life. They have one another, as well as their elderly uncle Julian, who managed to survive the poisoning, though now with physical and mental issues.

One day, a long-lost cousin suddenly appears at the Blackwood home. It's quickly apparent that it's rumors of the sisters' fortune Charles is after - making Merricat desperate to stop him, no matter what it takes.

Despite the creepiness of the Blackwoods and their "castle," it's also easy for readers to sympathize with some of their feelings about the outside world -- and wonder just what IS really "normal."

Here is a book that is hard to review. I know that most of the other reviews are glowing, as Ms. Jackson has a fervent fan base and a brilliant writing style. However this story was not really to my taste. First of all, I did not find this to be a horror story, more of a darker drama, perhaps something you would see on the Lifetime network. The tale is of Constance and Merricat Blackwood two girls of 28 and 18 respectively. Merricat is the voice of the book and all is told from her perspective. Merricat is not entirely sane so her perspective and the voice of the book is not always truthful or even realistic. Mentally she is very young for her age, and after a tragedy that befell the house (the poisoning of all of her family save herself, her sister, and a dying uncle) it is clear that the two sisters have locked themselves away from society and in doing so, reality. Constance stood accused of the murders however was acquitted by the legal system, but not the minds or memories of the townspeople. Taunted and harassed by all but their Uncle they shut themselves in and live a strange, ritualistic life. Throughout the story the truth of what happened that evening makes itself apparent, however the oddness of the women makes the truth obvious from the beginning.

When their money grubbing cousin appears and tries to take the girls estate, the truth about all involved comes to light, but it is expected from the beginning. I guess after reading Jackson's other works, I was disappointed at how simple and unexciting this book turned out to be. Rather than being a story, this is a character study of three deeply disturbed individuals whose grasp on reality has been shaky for years. The book itself is beautifully written, and I can see it being a made for TV movie, or perhaps an old black and white film. Unfortunately I was happy this book was so short because I don't know that I would have wanted to read much more about the characters.

I have read a few books by LA Banks, from the romance to the paranormal and she is truly gifted beyond her years. I am also a huge VHL fan. Bad Blood is a great way to start a new series and I cannot wait for the next book which I have already pre ordered. If you are not familiar with her work and the way that she writes then you may not really 'get'it at first, when I first started the VHL series, I was intrigued but lost by minion, then the awakening, then when I read the hunted it all started to come together her series seems to unfold as the books go on. At first you will get that she is just saying evil is evil and good is good, but that is not so, thats more so a personal interpretation when your wanting the climax or the point to come before she gives it. In reading all of the books, you seem to see what one thing has to do with the other and why she was very detailed and giving deep backgrounds because later on, that will come in handy, if you have never read any of her other books, I'd say do that first, then start on one of the series. Otherwise you may not be in tune to her form of writing with all the explaining that does indeed become helpful later on. In the VHL series, the books gets better as they progress just as they should, Minion started off the series a little slow and almost confusing but ended interesting, like the characters, each book is a step of growth, them learning more and you the reader understanding more as time goes on....like life. I believe the Bad blood series will do the same, in the first book people are like okay, I'm a little confused, then the second book will come and the first book will make much more sense, then the third book will come and the second book will make much more sense and you'll start to understand the flow of the story. Ms. Banks is a very talented writer with a beautiful imagination, no matter the genre, across the board her books are hot. If you open your mind and have a little patience, you will be able to cross over into that other world with her characters...while your reading at least lol. I hope you all enjoy.

I liked this book. Sasha and Max are some bad a*s wolfs. You don't want to run in to them in the shadows. I can't wait for the next book to come out.

Combine special ops warriors and werewolves in a story sprinkled with far-ranging plots and conspiracies, then stir in a healthy dose of steamy romance and you get Bad Blood, an enjoyable action packed read and a very promising start to the new Crimson Moon series by L.A. Banks.

There is a fair amount of complexity to the plot and the world with four different kinds of wolf-shifter/werewolf species. The type that draws the government's interest is a demon infected strain. The victims of this virus eventually Turn becoming something in form that is between man and wolf but insane, powerful, vicious and deadly. The government is covertly running experiments to try and use the virus to make super soldiers and while trying to keep Turned wolves out of the hands of the various factions seeking to capitialize on the werewolf virus in some form or fashion. The heroine Sasha Trudeau and her team -- who all carry some type of werewolf virus, but are taking drugs to suppress the Turn -- are unwittingly part of the experiment.

I liked Sasha who is second in command to paranormal special ops unit tasked with hunting down Turned wolves to protect the public. Sasha is independant, capable and smart - she has always been the strategist for her unit. I also really liked the male lead 'shadow wolf' Max Hunter who is a non-demon infected kind of wolf shifter and I liked the Native American elements that his wolf clans' culture brings to the story. Sasha and Max have great chemistry and Max is an appealing mixture of wise, strong and vulnerable. They make a good team but the story is more urban fantasy than paranormal romance in that there is no happily ever after ending for the pair in this book.

I am not familiar with Banks writing or her vampire huntress series, so I can't speak to the comments about this being a repackaging of Banks' same old stuff - though it did reminded me a bit of Christine Feehan's Shadowalker books. I personally found it quite entertaining, and look forward to learning more about the werewolves and the wolf familiars and watching Sasha to continue to explore her shadow wolf heritage as the story continues in Bite the Bullet: A Crimson Moon novel (Crimson Moon Novels).

As a person who (very disappointedly I might add) was never able to get into Ms. Banks vampire series, when I saw this on the bookshelves I had to try one more time and I am very glad I did. This was a much better read for me.

Special Ops soldier, Sasha Trudeau is a part of a unique group of 'beings'; all soldiers for the U.S. government. At some point, they were bitten or scratched by werewolves, and contaminated with a werewolf virus. With that common bond, the team led by their Captain has always done assignments together. Sasha is a bit bemused when she is sent on a mission without them, but this is the military and orders are given and taken without question. So Sasha sets out to perform her duty; trying to contain the level of paranormal activity around the world. But, this assignment is becoming increasingly harder to control; werewolf DNA is the only DNA scientists think is capable of being fused with humans, which causes almost insurmountable risks.

The solo mission in Korea sets Sasha up for some personal drama, introduces her to a new breed of werewolf, and makes her question the authenticity of her pack family. When she returns home, she finds her Captain has turned, which forces her to change her loyalties and her mission. Her perception, of the people to whom she has given much credence, and whom she obeyed without a backwards glance, is being challenged. Sensing something akin to betrayal, bad blood is not only running through the team's veins, it's starting to claim Sasha's mind.

BAD BLOOD, the first of the Crimson Moon Novels, focuses on werewolves, shadow wolves and the U.S. government Operatives. In Banks' indelible style, she manages to pull the readers into the story and let them share the 'run'. She gives the antagonist new powers and shares some almost believable myths, surrounding other-dimension phenomenon. As a confirmed reader of Banks, I've come to expect the thoroughness with which she writes. And while I felt a similarity between her werewolves and her vampires, from the Huntress series, it made me wonder if other-world creatures are as similar in nature as are humans; that was my take anyway... The characters bring the intrigue, mystery, and unabridged 'were-world' existence, to life and the ending will have readers hoping more is housed in another book.

Reviewed by aNN
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

Oddly entertaining and easy to read. John Saul has a way of bringing creepiness into sight. Not one of his best books, but worth the time to read.

A readers dream...great product, excellent condition, prompt service and can't beat the price. Thanks Amazon- I'll definitely be ordering more of these!

Okay, I LISTENED to this on the commute to/from work. It's been quite a while since my last John Saul novels (which I enjoyed years ago...Comes the Blind Fury, Second Child, Nathaniel). I hate to admit it, but I was a bit disappointed with this one. Perhaps it was the dramatized voices on the audio cds, I don't know, but I found myself actually rolling my eyes and at one point and thinking, "Oh brother!". I won't say it's a horrible story, but I was glad when I finished it and was out of my misery.

First, the whole set up that initiates this teenaged-girl-is-kidnapped-by-psychopath thriller is preposterous. Second, there are a few plot holes and some characters that you may not really care about all that much. Third, this is a better John Saul than the last couple of efforts I read but not quite one of his top three either("Creature" being my favorite). Yet, for me, this book represented a guilty pleasure, sort of like enjoying some breezy action movie the critics dismiss as junk.

To summarize,we get set up in the first pages with the ramblings of a madman followed quickly by the story of a family that is on the edge of falling apart. Apparently, the only way to keep them together is to move from a quaint, upper middle class New York suburb into Manhattan(don't ask). So the daughter makes known her desire to stay put, the parents tell her otherwise, the resulting tension contributes to her being alone in the house, and things are set into motion. The kidnap, search, and the mind of the madman are all played out in Saul's easy reading style.

Overall, this was escapist reading. By that I mean, I read it in three
days, quickly donated it to my local library, and it is prety much forgotten. But it was decent enough fun while it lasted.

If you can give into the plot "holes" and enjoy Saul, I think you can try this. If you have not read Saul, I think you can start here but I believe you should search out his supernatural or science based thrillers first. Then you may decide to come back to this and enjoy it a bit more.

I disagree with a few of these reviewers. I thought that this one of his Saul's best. Good story, suspenseful. Worth your time to read.

After the film adaptation of 30 Days of Night received only so-so reviews, instead of waiting for the movie on DVD, I decided to take a look at the original comics/graphic novels created by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith.

Interestingly, 30 days was originally fielded unsuccessfully to studios as a screenplay before Niles hooked up with Templesmith to create the comic. Once the comic came out, even studios that had originally rejected the movie pitch were knocking down the 30 Days creators' doors to get the film rights (according to a 10/18/2007 IGN.com article).

Anyway, when I looked up 30 Days at Amazon, I found that more than just one version existed. There is the original 30 Days of Night; there is #2 called Dark Days; and there is #3 called Return to Barrow. There are even more in the series too, but the above three complete the trilogy created by the original partnership of Niles & Templesmith.

The first is the story of vampires that invade a small town (called Barrow in Alaska) at dusk on the first evening of 30 days before the sun will rise again. The second story is one of revenge; a survivor of the first story hunts and seeks to expose the existence of vampires; and the third story has the brother of a victim from the first story returning to Barrow to discover and expose the awful truth of what originally happened in the town.

The first 30 Days story is what the movie was based on. It's a fast read that took about an hour to get through. As an effect, the way the vampire's lines are written in the text bubbles is crooked, thin-fonted and sloppy; I suppose this was to trying to illustrate the sound of the vampire's voice, but it mostly made for some hard to read, headache inducing text bubbles.

Dark Days and Return were good, but not great like the original. But it was an overall fun series. I'll probably pick up the November 2007 release of 30 Days Of Night: Eben And Stella that picks up and fills an interesting gap between Dark Days and Return to Barrow. Niles is back for Eben and Stella, but Templesmith is out.

As for the movie 30 Days of Night, I'll check that out too after it comes out on DVD and let you if it really 'bites' like others have said it does.

A strong sequel in the 30 Days of Night series. Niles and Templesmith once again prove their talents in the graphic horror genre remain razor-sharp. Though the book is certain to satisfy even the most hardcore fan's appetite for fleshrending monsters of the night, the compelling, character-driven story and award winning art makes this a "must read" for even the causal reader.

After Barrow, a few people (19 according to Return to Barrow and a couple from New Orleans) are left to pick up the pieces. In the quest to do so, a book entitled 30 Days of Night is written, visual evidence is examined, and a war spills out from the shadows atop the world to the streets of L.A. It has to be one of the best sequels I've read in some time.

In Dark Days, readers find themselves treated to some of the same people moving through a new story arch with the same stylized artwork, showcasing what Niles and Templesmith can do. Niles takes the siege of Barrow and puts a lot of pieces from that in play, including the loose ends that came from New Orleans. I liked the blend of the old with the blend of the new, and I especially liked the way the story moved because it was really amazing. I like what Templesmith does in this book, too, because he takes the minimalism we saw in Barrow and incorporates it into the very shadows and brings life to them. Sometimes it seems like the pictures seem to warp, bending with pieces of life all their own. I also like the hidden things that are sometimes placed in pictures, like the billboard for "Crack" flavored soft drinks.
It makes for great bedtime reading.

For those who liked 30 Days of Night, you'll really like the continuation. Even if you didn't like the first installation you may find the second more interesting, with the story coming alive and adding in so much more. Even the size of the book had almost doubled, showcasing just how much is going on.
It is definitely a great choice and then some.

I'm not going to go into a long-winded review. I just want to say that I really enjoyed this graphic novel. Great story and great graphics. I also enjoyed 30 days of Night and Return to Barrow. I am a 36 year old female, so that will give you an idea of the difference types of people that can enjoy this series.
AND, doesn't the guy on the cover look like that horrible little voodoo doll from that old old old movie. The one who came to life when a necklace was removed from it and chased this woman all over her apartment. I think she "killed it" in the oven.

I picked up 30 Days of Night and Return to Barrow almost a year ago and loved them, but had a hell of a time finding Dark Days. It wasn't in any stores in Colorado, and the only place that I found it to be in stock was in a four-story Borders store in Washington, DC, and when I looked for it I could not find it. After and extensive search I found a copy here on Amazon and ordered it. After reading it, I am pleased to say that this is a great- and necessary- continuation of the 30 Days of Night saga.
I don't understand how people can say that there is a lack of character development in this book. Stella goes from tough girl to sensitive woman, and Dane goes from being hell bent on revenge to falling in love with Stella. And the final scenes with the climax of the story (which I will not spoil) is so emotional, at least to me. Plus, Judith Ali's character was another emotional point, helping to add to the sadness of the story by sharing a loss with Stella, the loss of her son, the helicopter pilot in the first story. Excellent decision to add her in.
The art by Ben Templesmith is, as always, wonderful. It's beautiful and grotesque, vague and clear, all at the same time. I will never understand where he gets his ideas of how to draw things and shade/color them. His style is so different that he's really one of the only comic book artists in the business that I actually actively seek work from. His style is so original and it's not cartoonish, like the artists for the 28 Days Later comic book were- it's dark and horrifying, exactly what a horror comic should be (the lack of him on the 30 Days of Night: Spreading the Disease comic was the main reason I was so hesitant to pick that up, and also that Steve Niles didn't write it. But that's beside the point.)
Pick this up if you're a fan, and if you're not a fan, well, start being one I guess. If you've never heard of 30DON, definately pick up the original, this one, and Return to Barrow. 5 stars.

The book started off well, but quickly went downhill. While the writing itself isn't bad, the behavior of the people in the book is simply too unbelievable. Certain parts reminded me of the plot a a cheap porno. Example: while hordes of zombies are literally on the other side of the wall, and could break in at any time, the main character has sex multiple times with a colleague (who was grading papers in the middle of the apocalypse) in various different rooms of a school. Perhaps a bit unrealistic? The ruthlessness of the common American soldier is also unrealistic. They are portrayed as mindless killers who blindly follow the orders of the government to kill all people who refuse to go to a FEMA camp. Members of the military are our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends and relatives. Do you really think they would go around killing helpless Americans simply because they were told to? The ATF would (and has), but as a member of the US military, I can tell you that most of us are normal people who would never obey an order to fire on unarmed Americans. Basically, the characters in this book are just too two dimensional and ruin what could be a good story.

Down the Road is the tale of one man's attempt at surviving a plague of zombies overtaking the nation. George Zaragosa, like many Americans, did not believe the news reports of the dead rising until it was nearly too late. He finally decides to flee his apartment in Austin and head "home" to San Uvalde. This is the tale of that trip. I like how the author works in the book's title more than once throughout the text, the addition is clever and not forced.

As George makes his way through a city torn up by zombies, looters, police and other survivors the reader learns bits and pieces of his past. These story elements are inter-mixed with the ongoing "current" plot as flashbacks and memories. The author handles this rather well, blending something from the survival plot with character development.

Down the Road is a relatively short read, wrapping up in 168 pages or so. I read it in one day while traveling across the state of Wisconsin. The adventure George has throughout the book is a fun and scary read for anyone who enjoys zombie fiction. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the sequel.

I liked this book. Its not nearly as good as some other zombie books I've read, such as Dying to Live or World War Z, but still has the guts (pun intended) of a decent zombie story to satisfy your undead apetite (pun intended, again). It starts off like most books, where the infection is starting and people are getting misinformation, no one really knows what's going on, and our protagonist decides to head out and find his family. Cue chaos.

This book has a lot of anti government rhetoric (you can tell he does not trust FEMA), so if you're sensitive about that sort of thing, you will definitely get offended at his take on government 'help'. Sometimes I felt this was more a book about how the government falls short, under the guise of zombie-lore. But then again, isn't that what most zombie books are? Use of zombies to get across a bigger point? Perhaps this author is a Romero in the making, hmm?

The only reason I gave this book 3 stars versus 4 (would have done 3.5 stars if given the option) is that a lot of sex was thrown in needlessly, I felt. I get that different people respond to stress in different fashions, but the author had the main character having sex just one day into the infestation. Seemed a bit much. I could have bought it if his character were a couple of weeks into it and needed some sort of emotional release, but I would think that just a single day into seeing the undead tearing people apart would leave one wanting to just basically survive instead of having carnal relations! But that's just my opinion. Just sort of seemed like the author threw that in because he thought he could get away with it, not that it actually had anything to do with the plot or the emotional development of the protagonist.

I will say that the ending was what secured that I would read more from the author. I don't want to give it away and ruin it for would-be readers, but I'll say that its a little different than most zombie books, so I will definitely go read any other books from Ibarra.

Summary: political commentary, undead chomping on mankind, sex thrown in unecessarily, but in all, a good book and worth the time to check it out.

Down the Road: A Zombie Horror story is as good as it gets with the idea of a "Hero's Journey." In a time when most zombie stories are concentrated more on the Zombies themselves, Ibarra's story is focussed on this ordinary drama teacher trying to make it back to his ordinary world, under such extraordinary circumstances. The writing is visceral, and he makes you feel like you are a part of the story. For all of you who are familiar with Texas (especially Central Texas) this will be an even bigger thrill. Still, this story is much more about humanity, and how evil people can be, but at the same time how the determination of one man, and the love he has for his wife, can help all of us get... down the road, to the place we call home! An excellent, excellent read!

Didn't really care for this book, felt short and low class. This book will sell at any trailer park gift shop.