Horror Books

The problem with some anthologies is that there is always one or two weak stories in the lot. While I have my faves out of the stories published, none came across as being weak at all. Other reviewers have already chatted about each story in quite a bit of detail so there is no need for me to do so. I will just end this review with, if you like fantasy, horror, undead, magic, romance novels then this is a must have.

I loved this compulation. I am a big Kim Harrison fan but this introduced me to several other authors who I enjoyed as well. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this genre.

I went based on all of the good reviews.. and boy do I regret it !! These stories had me yawning. I flipped quickly hoping for a decent ending to make up for the rest of the stories. Nope.. Turns out each ending was as bad if not worse than the beginning. Save your money !!!

This book is great! Its basicly 4 differnt mini books in one but each of them keep you on the edge of your seat! I recomend it to everyone!

I personally only really liked one of these short stories. The others were ok but only one stood out. It is a good way to see how different writters catch your attention though.

Dead and Loving It is the first anthology by MJD, the first three stories feature the werewolf pack from the book, Derik's Bane and the fourth features both the vampires from the Undead series and one of the werewolves.

All four stories are romances and are cute and funny to read. From the werewolf that finds his mate in a Santa suit by her scent; to the vampire that finds and almost loses his werewolf love when he doesn't believe her when she tells him what she is; along with a fairy that can't fly and a blind werewolf and a feral vampire and a psychic werewolf who doesn't change.

It's a cute, funny book but I liked Dead Over Heels much more.

This collection of 4 short stories brings together Davidson's Wyndham Werewolves with Queen Betsy's vampires. And sex. Lots of hot, steamy sex.

There were parts I was uncomfortable with - namely the non-con which turned into dub-con in the second story, and seeing George, the feral vampire called a Fiend, fall in love was kind of strange, but cute. So, 4.5 stars. If I hadn't been squicked by the non/dub-con, I would have given it 5 stars.

Mary Janice Davidson continues to outdo herself with every book I read! This one, I could not put down until I finished it, that good!
I liked the short stories approach, got straight to the point and was absolutely addicting. I'd totally recommend this!

It's a great read and hilarious, its definitely not for the prudish. If you have read none of her books then this one might not be the best to start with, but they are all written with a sense of humor no others have duplicated.

I agree with the other reviewer who said not to read all four of the short stories in DEAD AND LOVING IT all at once. Read back-to-back, although a quick read, the stories are all extremely similar--there are even phrases in the stories that have been used, word for word, in the one that came before it.

That said, all four stories deal in some way with werewolves, specifically ones from the Wyndham clan. The stories are short, sexy, and to the point. Although I enjoyed the premise of all of them, the use of the "c" word to describe the female anatomy irked me, so much so that I had to, at times, set the book aside.

However, SANTA CLAWS, MONSTER LOVE, THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A WEREWOLF, and A FIEND IN NEED are all fast-paced stories that die-hard fans of MJD will enjoy. Overall, not a bad book, although the typographical errors and the repetitive phrases (even some entire scenes appeared recycled from the previous short story) keep it from being a true winner.

I have been reading the whole series and this one keeps up with the others. I thought it was great. Definitely one to tell otehrs about.

I am reading all of her books in the series. I really enjoy them.

THE DARKNESS, the tenth volume in the Vampire Huntress series, is a twisted, socially conscious, erotically charged, violent, and thoroughly fun rollercoaster of a novel that grabs you by the throat and never lets go. Banks' ability to craft convincing characters in a fantastic setting makes both the chills and the romance completely believable, and she writes dialogue as well as anyone in the business.

THE DARKNESS, book 10 of the 12-book Vampire Huntress Legends (VHL) series, is captivating. Unexpected character cameos and new allies kept me up all night.

With the battle at Masada behind them, the team recoups in San Diego thinking Lilith's spawn has been defeated. Chairwoman Lilith also believes this to be true and expects He Who Shall Remain Unnamed to stomp her into a puddle of oil or worse. The outcome: she is given the daylight bite and the power to make daywalkers. The anti-Christ has survived, and in order to give him time to mature, Lucifer commands her to distract the Neteru team and restore the dark realms' numbers.

Lilith wastes no time. Fallen Nuit, Sebastian, and Yonnie are given the daylight bite. Yonnie's unexpected visit provides the team with much need intell as he walks the line between the Light and the Dark. When Level Seven's most infamous resident goes to church, the guardians reassemble, gather reinforcements, gain a new friend, discover a new talent, and take the fight to the street once again. Even though Carlos and Damali have learned to lead the team, both are in need of further assistance from the Council of Kings and Queens.

The interaction between Carlos and Damali reminded me of THE HUNTED (book three of the VHL series). I stopped reading several times just to catch my breath. Sensual, touching love scenes notwithstanding, Jamal's "balm" really works, and I'm sure readers of the series already know the power of sincere prayer. Restoration is granted. Ultimately convicted by Banks' beautiful words, I eagerly await THE SHADOWS.

Our favorite Neteru duo is back with their Guardian family....intent on locating the Antichrist and stopping Armageddon. With the help of Yonnie---Carlos's brother, who is acting as a double agent on the dark side--the team is able to gain valuable intel on what is going on with Lucifer and his dark agents in the bowels of Hell. What they have discovered is that councilman Sebastian has used his talents for reanimation to bring back from the dead two of the most evil women in history to fill council seats---giving the Guardian team even more to deal with. But with the help of the Kings and Queens on high, the team is once again able to stem the tide of evil that seems determined to take over the world. Will they be able to find the Antichrist before his birth? Or will Lilith and Lucifer prevail?

This tale shows all once again that Ms. Banks is the reigning Queen of Dark Literature. This novel has been somewhat relieved from the overuse of outdated slang (although, the cliche "fair exchange is not robbery" is still repeatedly used. Why, I must ask???), giving this novel the extra shine it deserves. And I must add...if her affinity for dark tales begins to wane, Ms. Banks most assuredly has a career penning erotica. This series contains some of the hottest sex scenes that I have ever read. A must-read for fans of the series.



DYB

this book is for you. The continuation from the other 3 volumes. amazing artwork, stories and every new and true buffy fan will love it!

The short stories aren't bad, but seeing as "Bad Blood" dominates this volume I'm basing my review on that story. The artwork is not very good in this volume, compared to volumes 1 and 2. It isn't necessarily bad, but the artists don't capture the likenesses of any of the actors. Furthermore, the artwork looks rushed. Most panels in Omnibus 1 and 2 seem like paintings; most of the work in this volume are nowhere near the same quality.

As for as Watson's story, it's full of things that make no sense; either that or quotes that seem to only be there to take up place. Sometimes though the story is interesting, but it took a long time to get through for me. Perhaps Watson isn't a bad writer, but he certainly doesn't have the knack for all-things-Buffy.

If you would-be-buyers don't mind, I'll start this review off with a snippet from my review of the first three BUFFY omnibus volumes. Don't fear, it's as relevant here as it is there:

"Unless you're a completist with oodles and oodles of cash, this is the way to go if you want to collect the older Buffy comics. Before this, they have been collected (for the most part) into smaller trade paperbacks, each of which cost almost as much as this volume. Now, before I get into my review, let me explain the omnibus series, as I've seen a lot of people misunderstanding.when talking about it on message boards: This is not the only omnibus. There are to be seven of them all together(...)"

I didn't expect much when I bought this book. The first two omnibuses were good, but the third was mediocre at best, mostly because it was dominated by one-shot comics written by Andi Watson. Watson, who is probably the worst Buffy writer there is, also wrote the majority of this book. In fact, the first two hundred pages of this volume make up one story called "Bad Blood," written by Watson. It's story about a vampire named Selke who seeks revenge on Buffy for scarring her face. But first, Selke seeks out a plastic surgeon who resorts to magic AND mayonnaise to try to make Selke think he's successfully helping her. The few glimmers of good story you'll find here are snuffed out by the shocking lack of quality in Andi's writing. Everything that makes Buffy more than just your average genre show is not present in Andi's writing. The only thing that will keep you from skipping through these two hundred pages is the fact that Cliff Richards pencilled two thirds of it. There are two other Andi Watson pieces in this volume, but they're short enough that they won't take away from your enjoyment of the book more than "Bad Blood" already did.

Things start to look up a LOT when you get past "Bad Blood." The rest of the book is made up of one-shots and one more miniseries. The miniseries is called The Hollower, and shows Angel taking on a demon that sucks the demon spirit out of vampires. It's written by Christopher Golden, and is mildly entertaining. Hector Gomez's art does nothing but take away from that, but the story was good enough for me to ignore it. There are a few other Christopher Golden tales here that range from mediocre ("Who Made Who," a Spike/Dru story, and "Cursed," a pointless story about how bad Angel was in the past), to GOOD ("Stinger," which great dialogue and a demon with very interesting motivations), to GREAT ("Hello Moon," which Golden co-wrote with Daniel Brereton). The latter comic I mentioned, "Hello Moon," is one of my favorite Buffy comics ever, and I think it alone is worth buying this book.

Something that will make Buffy fans very happy is that this book includes two short stories written by Doug Petrie, who was a writer on the television series. Not only did he write great episodes, he also showed how good he was at writing comics, with the Angelus-centric Ring of Fire, which was featured in the second Buffy omnibus. The first story he contributes to this book is "Bad Dog," which deals with Oz going all wolfy and a nerdy sorcerer seeking revenge. It wasn't as good as I expected, but was way better than some of the other stuff here. Petrie also closes this volume with a short story called "Graduation Day," which catches up with Buffy and Angel right after they parted ways in the ground-breaking finale of the third season. Not only was it a perfect way to have a final statement about Buffy and Angel's relationship, it was also a great note to end the book on.

The art in this book was way better than what we saw in the third volume, but fans should expect about the same quality of writing. There are some great stories here, but most of it is still overshadowed by Andi Watson's work. I'd say it's definitely worth buying (both for the Golden and Petrie comics, and pretty much just to have it), but it's no where near as entertaining as the first two. I know that, with the fifth volume, things will be looking better (as there is no Watson work in sight).

6/10

Again, Jonathan Maberry does not fail to scare the dookies out of you! This second in the Pine Deep, PA trilogy does not disappoint. He's a wonderful storyteller and again, another page turner. His character development is excellent, as is the story.

This book is even better than the first one, at least from a horror fan point of view. Prepare to be scared silly.

Jonathan Mayberry is becoming one of my favorite authors. This books continues where "Ghost Road Blues" left off.

I would like to tell Mr. Mayberry one thing: GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND GET US THE THIRD NOVEL ALREADY!!

You ROCK!

I loved the first book, "Ghost Road Blues" and couldn't wait for this book. One important thing to know: you should read "Ghost Road Blues" before you read "Dead Man's Song", not everything is explained well enough in the second book to be able to pick up the complete storyline. I have already pre-ordered the next book, "Bad Moon Rising". Johathan Maberry is well on his way!!!!

Let me get one thing straight first. One reader of the first book in the Pine Deep trilogy fired some idiotic salvo accusing Maberry of paying people $500 to write favorable reviews. A couple of others picked up that ludicrous refrain for this book. Now, in a world full of intelligent readers there would be no need to respond to such blithering numbskulls. I'm sure Maberry himself feels no need to take such fools seriously. But on the chance that someone may actually be swayed by such bilge I'll go on record as saying my opinion comes free of charge. I've never met Jonathan but if I ever do I'll shake his hand and congratulate him on creating perhaps the best horror tale of the present decade.

Don't let the baseless rantings of attention-challenged cretins persuade you for a second that Ghost Road Blues and Dead Man's Song are anything less than landmark works in horror fiction. If they can't hang with a couple of 500 page novels I would suggest they see their doctor about the possibility of undiagnosed ADHD. Maberry's Bram Stoker Award nomination is no accident. These books are the REAL THING. Immerse yourself in Maberry's meticulously crafted story. Leave the aforementioned cretins to Dick And Jane and coloring books.

John Constantine knows that he needs to build up Swamp Thing's metaphysical and magical might, to face the trials that are to come.

He faces multiple antagonists here, including some vampires that have a quite clever way to keep out of the son, and a slightly odd werewolf.

In this tale, Swamp Thing begins to find out the extent of what he is (with the help of the first appearance of John Constantine). The Swamp Thing movies sucked, the Constantine movie sucked; if you want great horror fiction, look no further.

This is the third trade collecting Alan Moore's groundbreaking run on the character, and is noteable because it introduces John Constantine, who would prove integral to the remainder of Moore's run. However, if you're looking for the snarky magician that was a hallmark of Ennis, Ellis and Azzarello's run, look elsewhere. Part of this is because John is regulated to a supporting character, who really exists to introduce Swamp Thing to the various menances that he will confront along the way. The nature of good horror is to disturb us, to make us feel uncomfortable, and Moore does this in spades. If you don't believe me, check out the story in which he ties cycles of the moon to a woman's menustral cycle.

The saga continues with this third volume in the collected works of Alan Moore's helming of the Swamp Thing comic series spanning issues 35 through 42. Although this middle arc is seemingly lacking in a grand storyline of sorts - important ground is covered with the Swamp Thing discovering new abilities (mainly his ability to abandon his physical body and re-generate a new one), introducing some new characters, espousing on social issues and oodles of horror mainstays (vampires, werewolves, zombies) doing battle with ol' Swampy himself. As far as contributing to the overall story arc this volume is somewhat lacking, but nonetheless makes for a very entertaining read all the way through.

The third collection of the Moore-Bissette-Totleben run on "Swamp Thing" proves to (so far, I haven't read the whole series yet) the most chilling of the run, as the Swamp Thing begins to understand the extent of his power as the Earth elemental, while encountering all manner of horrors, including the first appearance of DC-Vertigo mainstay, John Constantine.

The strength of this collection lies in the unusual approach to some pretty basic horror icons. "The Nukeface Papers" introduces an urban-legend brought to life, while at the same time raising the specter of the dumping of nuclear waste. In "Still Waters", Swamp Thing does battle with a group of vampires that have taken to living underwater, and the hellish offspring they have produced. In "The Curse", Swamp Thing encounters a werewolf with a tragic twist. And in "Southern Change", Swamp Thing must battle the poltergeists of the past, as an old plantation becomes the set of a soap opera set in the Antebellum South, and the cast become vehicles for the unresolved tragedy of slavery.

And through most of this is Constantine, his abrasive manipulation and sense of guilt fully formed (although looking more like musician Sting under Bissette and Totleben's are then later artists depict him). Constantine knows something is coming, and he knows he needs to make Swamp Thing ready for it. But, in what has become typical of the character, Constantine sees no particular reason to simply tell anyone what he's up too. Thus, the bond between Swamp Thing and Constantine is built on necessity and mistrust, which reverberates to this day.

While Moore is matchless in his ability to think outside the box, these ideas would mean nothing if not for Bissette's and Totleben's depictions. The image of a group of vampires draining on a swimmer, and then diving deeper into a city long ago submerged is chilling. The deformed Nukeface, long ago addicted to waste, and rotting from the inside out, is appropriately sobering and nauseating. Slavery, always a disturbing topic, is made more disturbing as modern people are forced into roles that are morally repugnant to them, and forced to live out the past, while corpses of long dead slaves rise from the ground. It's harder to think of a more perfect fusion of writing and art in this medium.

This represents the best comic books have to offer. Fans would be foolish not to at least give these stories a try.

If you are a fan of ABC's LOST, you will love this book. Similar mysteries, freaks of nature, horror, and excitement await you. Six friends on vacation in Mexico decide to embark into The Ruins to find one of the friend's brother. Once there, they find they shouldn't have come at all.

I threw it in the garbage...that's how bad this book is. I didn't want to be responsible for anyone being exposed to this boring, ridiculous book.

The Ruins misses the mark on all counts: (1)Undeveloped characters who you can't keep straight in the beginning and don't care about in the end. (2)Terror??? Where??? Maybe for a pre-teen. Truthfully, that's what I kept thinking, "This must have a pre-teen audience." Really, the people who give this story decent reviews HAVE to be children. That's the only logical conclusion I can come to. (3) Some people have said that this book provides a look at humanity. Oh, come on! If that was the attempt, it failed miserably.

This book was creepy, awesome and suspenseful. I turned over every page with anticipation and empathy for the characters. Towards the end of the book, I could not foresee how it would all unravel, and when it did, I was awestruck!

THE RUINS

Actually, this review is three and one-half stars, please ---

I really enjoyed this book, although it appears I am not in the majority. Being the 980th person to review this book, it seems to have a large audience.

Two couples are vacationing, end up trapped on a hilltop in the jungle with a nasty, deadly, evil, moving, killer vine. The natives will not let the kids down, will not help them, they stand guard and wait for their demise. Why? I don't think the book ever covered that, perhaps it was an old Mayan ritual, but, for some reason, the kids were held captive at the clearing and left alone to contend with the nasty VINE.

This book was well written and very, very suspenseful. I could not stop thinking about it when I was not reading. However, I found some parts of the book just too much. When the vine started to talk and mimic the kids, that was just over the top for me.

The author is a great one with words; I felt as if I was up on that dreaded hill with the kids, sweating, starving, dying of thirst, and just being plain scared to death.

I wish the kids would have fought a little harder. I kept thinking -- as I saw other reviewers did -- USE FIRE ON THAT NASTY OLD PLANT -- burn, baby, burn. This book was depressing in parts, it didn't end as I had hoped.

Do I recommend this book? Yes, I do. I think it is the type of book that one either loves or hates, you be the judge. Use your imagination, keep some water handy, and just enjoy.

Hopefully, Scott Smith will grace us with another book in the near future. If you haven't had the pleasure of A SIMPLE PLAN, it is great!

Thank you.

Pam

I have read many books in this genre and have never read one as boring and slow as this. The book never gets to the point (which is?). There is no story to the book, just rambling continuation of the same thing. Also there is hardly a climax and end to the story. If the movie is anything like this, it must be a bomb too!!

This book covers a variety of zombie related topics and has a lot of varied commentary. It mostly goes into how one specific scenario of an abortive zombie apocolypse might not go down. For the most part, it's kind of a bland, dull read.

The author apparently trains police sometimes in hand to hand skills, which makes him an expert on police and all martial arts, and brings in supporting casts to uphold his claims. Probably in an effort to counteract the usual movie idea of incompetent police, he contends that all police officers (all of them) are heavily armed, highly trained experts in weapons and hand to hand fighting skills who follow detailed procedured without error.
He also oversteps his bounds of knowledge on the topics of martial arts without giving it a second thought. For example, he views the katana as God's own lightsaber, and dismisses European weaponry out of hand with just a couple of unqualified comments. He brings in many "expert" witnesses on asian fighting arts, but the only one he brings on western martial arts is some theatrical fencer, not even close to a martial artist!

For the most part, all the fun reading is in the sparse but regularly included caption commentary.

I'd say get this book if you're big time into police work and zombies, but for anyone else it's a dismissal.

I dunno...

On the one hand, I've always wanted to read a book on "WHAT IF A ZOMBIE PLAGUE REALLY HIT" - but on the other, this book, while satisfying the desire reads as though the author is using the "zombe" thing as filler.

The author has done painstaking research into forensics, police proceedure and so on - almost to much - but the whole zombie question seems added in as an afterthought.

On top of that, the author, while claiming to be a Zom enthusiest, seems to go out of his way to bland down the zombies - not to mention shows a dangerous HICS (Head In Cement Syndrom) regarding how real people would act and react to real zombies.

It is a good read if you want to learn about crime scene proceedure, but only the most ardent zombie fans will get as much from it.

I just received this book today, and so far, IT'S AWESOME!! Jonathan Maberry (of whom I am a big fan and whose nonfiction works on Vampires, the Undead, and evil creatures in general are great for research and general reading) has really topped himself off. He combines down-to-earth facts with a seriousness about zombies unparalleled by other authors, and his sense of humor makes this book all the more enjoyable to read. I intend to use this in my research very soon. Jonathan, keep it up!

Might be a good read if you're just getting into the zombie genre and are not too familiar with police procedures and forensics. I liked all the artwork provided from different artists, and it gives a great start to those who have yet to read any "zombie" books or watch monster movies. But I kind of felt like I was reading someone's research paper on zombie pop culture.
If you've already amassed a library of the great "zombie" books and are already into horror movies you might get bored by page 26 like I did. My 13-year-old son got bored with the book and he's read Brooks, Wellington, Recht, Bourne, Kirkland, and McBride - not even getting to Keene and others yet. My husband got bored too and he's read less than my son has. I was really disappointed because I was really looking forward to reading this.

So you love zombies? NO, I mean you really LOVE zombies? You spend time in chat rooms debating over the best methods to survive a zombie outbreak or zombie apocalypse. You argue with non-believers about how likely a zombie plague actually is. You love the mechanics of the various zombie incarnations and how society and more specifically the police, the military, and the every day Joe would actually react? You have dug so deep that you actually can vividly imagine the whole process of the zombie invasion would take place, including the discovery of "Patient Zero", the initial victim, and the expansion of the plague or whatever process would take place that caused the initial infection and where it goes from there.
This book is for you.

Jonathan Maberry has done exhaustive research, conducting interviews with over 200 experts in various fields who have as much of a fascination with zombies as he does. This book serves as a research tome for not only the zombie fan but those who might direct a zombie flick or write a zombie story. No stone was left unturned in the process of going through a theoretical zombie apocalypse...well, a lot of it argues the validity of the idea of an apocalypse actually occuring if we are talking about a plausible scientific explaination for zombies rather than a supernatural process. Slow vs. fast, spiritual vs. plague infected, it is discussed here and far beyond that.
My favorite parts of this book had to be the smaller insertions, including the ongoing debate of fast vs. slow zombies as discussed by numerous authors, directors, and other experts in the field. There is also a great deal of zombie art in this book with the artists comments on what they were conceiving and thinking about when they created a particular piece.

I have always felt that in many zombie movies the police and military are treated with limited respect-they are made to be less than competent so a zombie apocalypse is that much more likely. This book presents a fair and balanced view of how the police, SWAT, and the military might actually respond. Good stuff for a real zombie zealot but the author still acknowledges the excitment that goes along with the fantasy that is zombies. Perhaps this book peels back too many layers of this onion in exposing what is realistic and possible but the author says more than once in the book, as a reminder to the reader, that we are talking about zombies here, the modern variation concocted by George Romero in Night of the Living Dead, not something we have ever really seen or that has ever actually really existed...as far as we know.

This is the book for the zombie fanatic. Perhaps a little too dense and complex for the casual zombie observer, someone who digs the occasional zombie flick or book. But if you really are fascinated with everything zombie in all its gory incarnations, if you can imagine hunkering down in a bunker cleaning your guns waiting for the undead to break down your reinforced doors, then this book is a great read.

There is not a lot to see here. This is a crossover with the witch bunch of books, and the Talamasca also features. David Talbot and friend Merrick recount some adventures in the past with supernatural entities, and yet another vamp, this time Louis, tries the sun bathing but gets rescued.

David Talbot tells the Talamasca, after Merrick has succeeding in becoming a vampire that declaring war on the vampires because of this would end very badly for them.

I brought as a gift for my sister. I personally never read it but I am giving it 5 stars because I read and saw Interview with the Vampire. Anything Anne Rice outs out is excellent!

I liked this book better than Interview with a Vampire. Not as graphic and better written. I rated it 3.5 to 3.75 stars. It's about Merrick searching out to contact the spirit of Claudia, the child. I liked the story Much Much better than Interview with a Vampire.

Although my knowlege of Anne Rice's characters are limited to Armand, Lestat (to a degree) and Marius, I found Merrick an entertaining read. You know the drill - once I started the book, I stayed up late a few nights to finish it. Well done, Ms. Rice - a good book (IMHO) is still one of life's pleasures. Get a copy and find out for yourself!

Five stars!

I hated this book. I am a fan of Rice's Mayfair Witches series and enjoyed the early works in the Vampire Chronicles, but Rice's later works are long drawn-out snores. The only one of Rice's books that was more likely to induce catatonia was The Violin. I also didn't see the point of having Merrick related to the Mayfairs since the only thing they have in common is being witches. Using dreams of Oncle Julien as a plot device was a cheat and the story would have been better if the Mayfairs had been left out of it altogether. As for Louis and his melodrama, by the middle of the book, I was more than willing to help him commit suicide if for no other reason than I was tired of his incessent whining.

As for my recommendation: if you enjoy tedious whining from someone who chose to live forever, are a masochist, or are an insomniac needing a sleep remedy, then this is the book for you. I, on the other hand, would rather slit my own wrist than read another book by Rice.

This story has more twists and turns than I can ever imagine! Now Light has a murderous girlfriend with her own death god. How does he kill her? Can she help him kill anybody else? How does L manage to survive? Light is a psychopath who needs a psychopathic girlfriend like a guy needs a hole in the head.

I started watching the dvds but then took up reading the books. I would highly recommend the books to any Death Note fan. The books are great and add to the dvds. I truly enyoy having experienced both.

The last volume ended with a bit of a cliffhanger... someone besides Light possesses a Death Note and has made the deal for shinigami eyes. This second Kira is eager to meet the original, and L and the task force hope to intercept copycat before Kira can. Of course, Light is still active on the task force. When the second Kira reveals herself (gasp!) to Light, he must decide how best to use her and her shinigami.

Okay, so getting down to specifics, Misa (the second Kira) reveals herself to the police and then Light, confessing her love for him. She not quite what anyone expected. Compared to super geniuses (Wile E. Coyote-style) like Light and L, Misa isn't nearly as clever, but she's no dummy. She's unpredictable as well, being much more emotional than Light, and having the power of shinigami eyes. Her shinigami, Rem, is the complete opposite of Ryuk - forthcoming, patient, caring, and protective. Light isn't prepared to handle this curveball, and we see him acting more and more on the defensive.

Still, you can't help but feel that L is also struggling with the investigation. There's an interesting exchange between L and Light, where they talk about being friends. While you know that Light is just playing a part, you do feel for L, who seems lonely. He also contemplates his own mortality, knowing that he should concentrate on what he can do instead of letting the fear of death control him.

I think this volume's shift in focus - away from Light and Ryuk and on to L, Misa and Rem - was effective. While L has grown on me over the past three volumes, I liked Misa and Rem almost right away. Perhaps it's that they aren't as calculating as the other characters, but rather plain about their feelings. I'm looking forward to the next volume, especially after this new cliffhanger.

You can't not buy this... It's the kind of book that you have to read. Like the rest of the series... Lol.

With Misa as the second Kira, things get more complicated, with L wanting to stop her, and Light wanting to discover how to work with her. This is made somewhat easier for him when she turns up at his place and confesses serious love.

Her Shinigami also apparently has become quite attached to her, and makes it plain to Light in no uncertain terms that she is not to be harmed.