Horror Books

This is by far a must-own collection for the Tales from the Crypt fans.
It features original comic books from 50s and 60s.

I was too young for the originals, but the reprints in the late-80s/early-90s were amazing.

The only issue I have is that the ink is sooo freakin' glossy that you get glare from overhead lighting.

Johnny Craig is the best artist!

There is an overuse of exclamation points in the writing, which can be irritating but the drawing is top notch and it's worthwhile to purchase for the fan of the old comics. Graham Ingels' work is the best of all.

The story of EC Comics really is one of the most intriguing in the lore of comic history. EC's founder, Max Gaines is really the father of the modern comic, having been the first one to devise the idea of printing newspaper comic strip re-prints into a magazine format. Gaines was also co-publisher of All-American Comics, the sister company to National Periodical Publications, AKA DC Comics, which published titles such as All Star Comics, Green Lantern, and The Flash. Gaines was bought out by his partner and eventually formed EC Comics, which then stood for Educational Comics but later would change to Entertaining Comics.

Gaines was killed in a boating accident, leaving his son William Gaines to reluctantly take over the company. Gaines soon changed the focus of the company and began to concentrate on publishing titles with horror, Sci-Fi, war, and suspense themes. Thus, Gaines created a legend. EC had perhaps the finest stable of artists ever assembled in one company that included Al Feldstein and Harvey Kurtzman who also wrote and edited most of the titles, along with other greats such as Johnny Craig, Graham Ingels, Wally Wood, Jack Davis, Al Williamson, Bernie Krigstein, George & Marie Severin, Reed Crandall, Basil Wolverton, Joe Orlando, and Frank Frazetta.

EC's horror comics were well ahead of their time and were really the pre-cursor of magazines like Creepy & Eerie. The stories in Tales from the Crypt, Haunt of Fear, and Vault of Horror were often quite gruesome and gory. Because of this, EC became the prime target of Psychiatrist Dr. Fredric Wertham who, in 1954 published Seduction of the Innocent, a book that blamed the violence and horror in comic books for juvenile crime and delinquency. A Congressional investigation resulted in the formation of the Comics Code Authority to censor comic books. Books had to be submitted and receive the stamp of approval and subjects like zombies & vampires were prohibited. While the CCA had no legal authority, most magazine distributors would not carry a comic if it did not have the code stamp. EC was forced to cancel their horror titles and shift it's focus to dramatic titles like "MD" and "Extra!", as well as the humor title Mad which was later changed to magazine format.

Much like it's Crypt Keeper, EC would not stay dead, thanks in large part to zealous fans and the efforts of Russ Cochran and Gemstone publishing that began re-printing the EC Comics in various formats in the 70's with the Complete EC Library, and then actual comics in the 80's and 90's. Among the latest projects are the EC Archives which collects several issues of the original EC comics into gorgeous hardcover editions.


Tales from the Crypt may seem tame by today's standards where blood and gore oozes off the pages, but when these stories were originally published back in the early 1950's, they were well ahead of their time in terms of their subject matter and artwork. While most comic art of the 50's was bland, mass produced house art, EC gave its artists unrivaled creative freedom. It's the reason why those issues are so highly sought after by collectors today.

The stories in Tales From the Crypt rarely deviated from the formula...they almost always ended with a shocking, ironic twist with a character getting their just desserts. Even when following this pattern, the gifted talent always kept things fresh and innovative. Inside these 212 pages you'll find stories featuring werewolves, mad scientists, zombies, animated limbs, ghosts, raving madmen (and women) and a host of other terrors. One of the most ghoulish tales is Johnny Craig's "Midnight Snack" in which a sleep walking man discovers he's been digging up bodies and eating them. This was pretty intense stuff for 1951. This book features the talents of legends Wally Wood, Graham Ingels, Johnny Craig, Jack Davis, Joe Orlando, and colorist Marie Severin.


These editions feature re-mastered color and also include special features such as an interview with Nancy Gaines, the widow of EC Comics founder Bill Gaines. The book lists for $50 but you can definitely find it online much cheaper making it well worth the price. If you've never read EC Comics before it's an experience you must have!

REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

I just can't get over how nice these EC Archives are. Printed on high quality paper and done with superb color. These books are a great way to get the old EC comics with out going broke. I can't wait for Gemstone to print the rest. A+ 10 out of 10!

Neil Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors is a collection of his short stories and poems. Like his other short story/poem collection titled Fragile Things, this book too has an introduction with commentary of each of the stories and poems contained within. For me, this introduction is the best part of the book because of his witty insight and inspirational motivations regarding each story. Within the introduction also lies another short story unmarked in the table of contents, a pleasant addition to the entire book.

Gaiman's approach to style is refreshing and full of lessons to one looking to learn the craft of writing. Many of the stories, to me, seemed unorthodox, a deviation to a path I thought I was beginning to understand. His methods are intriguing and entertaining, full of marvelous rewards. To review each story and poem is beyond the scope of this review but I will highlight a few short stories that appealed to me on many different levels.

The Price: An interesting piece about a seemingly stray black cat who turns out to be a guardian of sorts. The story moves in smooth and fluid motion to a surprise ending. Enjoyable, to say the least!

Troll Bridge: This more elaborate and compelling rendition of the old tale brings a sense of mystery and magic into the shadows of common places. Gaiman creates a feeling of anxiety in this darker version of the story but closes in the most uncommon of ways.

Shoggoth's Old Peculiar: An American backpacker across Britain stumbles into a town never identified on any map. A step into the Lovecraftian Cthulhu mythos, Gaiman brings the unknown and surreal into beautiful clarity and keeps it practical.

Only the End of the World Again: Another step into Lovecraft's famous hidden town of Innsmouth but this time from the eyes of a detective. Uncovering a plot to raise the great Cthulhu, the investigator, cursed with lycanthropy, moves to thwart their plans. He discovers that not everyone in Innsmouth can be trusted or ignored.

Bay Wolf: A second tale of the Innsmouth werewolf detective who, while vacationing, it seems, in Malibu, is hired to stop some creature from stalking the beach and murdering the Barbie and Kens of this rich resort. More poem than short story it still reads well and entertains.

We Can Get Them for You Wholesale: A tale of a non-confrontational miser trying to live peacefully and without trouble suddenly finds himself hiring a hitman to solve a problem. But, saving money and getting the better deal turns out to backfire in way I didn't expect. A very good read.

Foreign Parts: This story brings to light an interesting idea about disease. A man somehow contracts a disease more commonly venereal but ends up having a far different reaction. Intriguing, and very interesting characterization.

Tastings: An erotic tale of a different sort of vampire. A male gigolo attends to a female client and reveals an interesting secret about himself, never realizing that he isn't the only one with such a secret.

Babycakes: A horrible piece of flash fiction that poignantly reminds us of the depth of depravity mankind could stoop to, implausible, but always having that little spark of "What if". Well done!

Murder Mysteries: The coup de grace of this entire book. The one sole reason I would have gladly paid the entire cover price for. Murder Mysteries tells of the waking of the angel Raguel whose purpose is to discover the truth of the death of another angel. Set in heaven long before the world and universe is created, or in actuality being created during this investigation, this tale drives home some very powerful ideas of God, Lucifer, and the celestial balance.

A couple other stories were remarkable, such as the poem Queen of Knives, and the story Mouse. I avoided reviewing most of the poems because of my general lack of comprehension with poem structure, meaning, and imagery. Again, Murder Mysteries alone justified my purchase of this book, the rest of the stories were entertaining and made the book that much more enjoyable.

I've had this book forever, and I go back to it from time to time and it is always a fond reacquaintance.

Neil Gaiman is most famous for his Sandman comics, and, more recently, his novels. His short stories are more varied than his novels, having more in common with his comic book work, which is natural considering the similarities between the mediums.

Anyway, these stories run the gamut between regular short stories, you know, the kind that tell a normal story with a twist at the end. Some of the others are more experimental, poems and stories that aren't really stories.

My favorite story of the entire collection is actually a hidden story, not marked on the table of contents. How a story is hidden in a book is a mystery that I will leave for you to discover, dear reader, but once you find it you will not be disappointed.

Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors. Unfortunately, many of the stories included in this anthology lack the brilliance of some of the author's later stories like 'American Gods' and 'Neverwhere'.

Many of these stories are either hit or miss. Some of the best in this collection include 'Troll Bridge', 'The White Road', 'Bay Wolf', 'One Life, Furnished in Early Moorcock' 'Murder Mysteries' and 'Snow, Glass, Apples' (quite simply, one of the most disturbing tales I have ever read. I will never think of Snow White in the same way.) These stories were all as good as Gaiman's later novels and display the unlimited creativity and dark wit that I have come to associate with him.

Some that I can think of that seem to be lacking something are, 'The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories', 'Looking for the Girl', 'Cold Colors' (a headache inducing tale, to be sure) 'Changes', and 'Tastings.' These just didn't seem to click for me.

In any case, there are certainly stories in here that warrant the purchase of the Mass Market Paperback version, not limited to the ones I listed. Neil Gaiman is one of our most interesting contemporary authors, and to miss out on some of the buried treasures contained here would be a mistake.

Not his best work, but certainly worth a read.

This was what most anthologies are. A mixture of hit and miss. The short stories were generally quite good (with a few exceptions) and the poems were universally bland and uninteresting to me.

If you are a professional writer, and you are going to write poems, at least have them conform to some stylistic convention. They can't be the kind of thing that you find in the diary of every emo kid from SoCal to Michigan.

Buy it if you like his work, avoid it if you don't. The only exceptional story in this collection is Murder Mysteries, which is worthwhile to everyone. But reading the whole thing for thirty pages of value is...short-sighted. There are a lot of books in the world.

Harkius

I was very enthusiastic about this short story collection, the first I was reading by Gaiman. My first book by him was Neverwhere and I just loved it, then I read American Gods and just didn't get it.......at least given the whole success it had...it just wasn't for me it seems. But S&M really didn't get my attention as I thought it would, not one short story really got me going or really made me enjoy it.( Except the one with the black cat and the very short poem about Christmas.) I hope no one gets disappointed like me on it, I just think these stories are from a very early era by Gaiman and have not much to do with his more recent style or his novels. If you're starting with Gaiman I recommend Neverwhere, I don't think you're getting anything much better than that one.

This is my first Dean Koontz book, and I can say that it is definitely one of the best books I've ever read.
He begins with a unique character that makes the story more eerie because everything must take place at night.
Once I picked the book up, I couldn't put it down.
I was majorly creeped out, but I loved every second of it.
I definitely plan on reading more of his books

Nearly 1/2 way through the book, I have given up. I just can't take any more of the oh-so-clever internal dialogue of Christopher Snow. This book is at least 5 times longer than it should be due to the interminable wanna-be-funny musings by the protagonist.

So, almost 1/2 way through the book and almost nothing has happened, maybe 2 or 3 major plot points. I found myself speed-skimming to get to some "meat" and still it was too annoying.

Don't know if this is typical of Koontz, but I may not try any other of his books.

Christopher Snow, of the Dean Koontz "Fear Nothing" fame, is still afflicted. His disease keeps him from being in the light. Any light. Otherwise he will acquire melanoma and die. Hence, Christopher "Fear Nothing" Snow is afflicted. Just like a bazillion other Dean Koontz characters.

Returning from "Fear Nothing" there are the biologically altered monkeys. Dozens of monkeys. Hundreds of monkeys. Maybe thousands. Well, maybe not thousands this time, but there were a bunch of monkeys and they were not happy monkeys. They were ticked off. Angry about being altered.

But enough of the monkeys. They really don't play into this much. The cat, well that is different story. A talking (sort of) and intelligent cat who enjoys the company of Christoper's brother who is a dog.

OK, well, I know that this makes sense so far. So now let's throw in an abandoned military fort where strange things are happening. And in the nearby town of Moonlight Bay, children are disappearing. The worst of it, however, is that his dog/brother Orson has also disappeared.

In order to rescue everyone, Chris enlists the aid of his friends and off to the fort we go. Within a short time we cross into another dimension of time and space. We enter a singularity of .... of ... something. We see a Hellish world of the future or maybe not the future ... maybe the past ... no, it's the "sideways".

If anyone can figure this book out please leave me a message. Damned if I can decipher the message.

Nevertheless, it was fast pace and interesting. Maybe a little exciting.

I think I read this book. But, then again, maybe I didn't. I am sure that I bought it and kind of remember reading it ... but, when I looked on the shelf .. it wasn't there. I wonder if this review will be here when I finish it. Not sure. Mondo weird.

Not as good as "Fear Nothing". Definitely weirder.

Densel Myers
Yukon, Oklahoma

This book was great but got confusing in the end to much thing went unfinshed if u read the book u know what Imean if he doesnt come out with a sequal to this book to help clear some of mysterious end he left us he should be smacked all in all good athough I had no idea it was a sequal to begin with

I have read Koontz for about 15 years and when he's good he's very good and when he's bad he's very bad. His stories and writing have continued to improve over the years. I choose him over Steven King these days. I bought this book in the grocery store and read it in two days couldn't stop... Now I am going to read the first one and don't expect that reading them out of sequence will ruin the stories one bit.

I highly recommend this one.

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.

Had to read this book in college and loved it so much that I bought it when I started teaching. Great book!

I remember buying this book in grade school and loving it. Although this book is aimed at grade schoolers, the author is never condescending. The protagonist is allowed to be strong and independent but she also learns about life lessons where you learn about the importance of inderdependence between people and learning to accept them for who they are. It's spooky enough to raise the hair on your neck but it never gets so scary that it turns you off from reading the entire book. The plot is pretty intricate and unpredictable.

I first discovered this book in the 5th grade. I remember not being able to put it down..totally enthralled. I'd never read anything like it. It was SOOO suspensful..VERY creepy. I remember having trouble sleeping..kept seeing that house and the dolls in my head..haha. Yet, I checked it out many more time from the library..I just loved it! Now as a 29 yr old, I checked it out again from my local library and sat down and read it tonight again. For being on the 4th-6th grade reading level this is really high quality fiction. Betty Ren Wright mastered the art of suspense in this gripping story. I HIGHLY recommend to anyone (adults included!). I would caution if you have a sensitive child..I think 4th grade may be a little young. I'd say probabaly ok for 5th or 6th and up.

The Dollhouse Murders
Amy took her little sister Louann to the Regents mall with her friend Ellen.Amy was looking for her sister but it was hard for her to find her because theywent to the mall on a Friday evening and the mall was full of Friday-evening shoppers.Then Amy heard a ripple of childish laghter.Amy darted around the corner a thick carpet was in the center of the walk ,a puppet show was going on.Louann was sitting in the middle of the carpet.Amy grabed louann and pulled her to the main part of the mall.Amy and Louann wanted for there mom to come pick them up.When she got thereAmy said that she was noting to take Louann to the mall ever again.Amy Aunt Clare came from Chicago and stayed in Amys great grandparents house.One day Amy went over there to see her aunt and her aunt asked her if she would like to come stay with her for a foow days because she was lonly so Amy said she would like to.So Aunt Clare called Amys dad and asked him if she could and he said yes.So the next day Amy got all her stuff that she needed and her dad took her over there.Amy found a dollhouse in the attic Amy started to play with the dollhouse.Amy asked her Aunt what happend to her great-grandparents but her aunt didnt tell her so Amy and her friend Ellen went to the libauryto find out what happend to them.Well thay found out thay wear murderd.Amy went home that night and told her aunt that she now what happend to them Aunt Clare was upset she said that thay didnt find the person that killed them.So the dallhouse in the attic began to show what happend to Amys great-grandparents.

The Dollhouse Murders
Amy took her little sister Louann to the Regents mall with her friend Ellen.Amy was looking for her sister but it was hard for her to find her because theywent to the mall on a Friday evening and the mall was full of Friday-evening shoppers.Then Amy heard a ripple of childish laghter.Amy darted around the corner a thick carpet was in the center of the walk ,a puppet show was going on.Louann was sitting in the middle of the carpet.Amy grabed louann and pulled her to the main part of the mall.Amy and Louann wanted for there mom to come pick them up.When she got thereAmy said that she was noting to take Louann to the mall ever again.Amy Aunt Clare came from Chicago and stayed in Amys great-grandparents house.One day Amy went over there to see her aunt and her aunt asked her if she would like to come stay with her for
a foow days because she was lonly so Amy said she would like to.So Aunt Clare called Amys dad and asked him if she could and he said yes.So the next day Amy got all her stuff that she needed and her dad took her over there.Amy found a dollhouse in the attic Amy started to play with the dollhouse.Amy asked her Aunt what happend to her great-grandparents but her aunt didnt tell her so Amy and her friend Ellen went to the libauryto find out what happend to them.Well thay found out thay wear murderd.Amy went home that night and told her aunt that she now what happend to them Aunt Clare was upset she said that thay didnt find the person that killed them.So the dallhouse in the attic began to show what happend to Amys great-grandparents.

I first came across Jim Benton with his sensational The Invisible Fran (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist) and other books in that series so eagerly went in search of more of his work. Of the titles in the Dear Dumb Diary series this looked the most interesting and am glad to say the quality of the Franny K series was still there, in fact an additional nice suprise is this book is about three times the length of any of those. However to be honest Dear Dumb Diary is not quite at the masterpiece level of the Franny K. It's still a worthwhile purchase though.

In My Pants are Haunted we the reader get to snoop inside the diary (if we ignore the warnings, death threats and commands to stop reading now!) of school girl Jamie Kelly's diary. Now this is second in the series so I'm not sure if it is better than the first but it is funny. In My Pants Are Haunted Jamie tells of her war against her beagle who in retaliation for not giving him food scraps under the table seems to be having his vengeance by chewing holes in her pants in order of their coolness. Of course it is not acceptable at all to wear the same jeans two days in a row but as more and more jeans appear with holes in them Jamie is having little choice. So she is amazed when one day her mother buys for her the coolest looking pants ever. However as soon as she wears them to school accidents start to happen, her popularity on the cool scale goes from middle to lower. She loses lab partner and love interest Hudson Rivers, happen immediately it is not long before she starts to theorise the pants are responsible. She's also got the mystery of how the hottest girl in school's brothers and sisters seem to be changing in appearance on a daily basis.

Great illustrations inside as well!

This book is good, but my little pug ate it. So it must have been really good.

funny,I like the page that she picks up the grandma's underpants.

Kids have you heard of the book DEAR DUMB DIARY? Well if you haven't, this book is funny. Also it is interesting because the girls in a middle school fall in love with Hudson, the cute guy in the school. Even though I think he looks ugly in the picture of him on page 7 of the book.
Three girls decide to give another girl a much needed makeover. This is a part of the book I mostly enjoyed. Make overs are when someone changes their way of dressing. The girl who gets the make over, Margaret, wears the same thing almost everyday. Two girls, Jamie the main character and the author of the diaries & her best friend Isabella take Margaret shopping and buy her new popular clothing. After Margaret becomes popular she decides to go back to being herself and to wear her usual clothes and Hudson notices her.That's when the problem begins.
Well,I think you guys should read this book because,when you are feeling down you can change your mood to a happy one.
I recommend this book to girls 7 or older because it is written as a diary.

Do you like funny books? I have a book that will crack you up! My book is called My Pants are Haunted. It is about a girl named Jamie Kelly who writes in her diary. She writes in her diary about school, her parents, her dog Stinker, her friend Isabella, a mean girl Angelina, and a boy she has a crush on named Hudson. She gets new pants for school. She gets holes in her pants. She gets really upset because they were her best pair of jeans. This book is a series. I think this is a funny book. So get down to your nearest book store and get this book.

On a recent drive back to Austin from El Paso (a long drive if you've never done it), my wife and I took turns driving, the passenger reading aloud from Tantalize, something neither of us had done before. We found the book to be a page turner, as well as helping us chew up the miles of asphalt. The only times we took breaks was when we were stopping for gas or food. When we arrived home, we still had about 25 pages left to read and couldn't wait to unpack the car so we could go in on the bed and finish the story, still reading aloud. Way to go Cynthia. You really help make a long drive much more enjoyable as we were able to share and enjoy your book.

I actually liked the book until the last few chapters of it but after I read the very last chapter I just found myself saying "Huh? Seriously, that's how this ends?"

I don't think I really need to explain what the book is about, the other reviews do enough of that but I will say I would not recommend this book to my friends. If you really want to read it, save your money and get it from your local library.

The premise of this book is intriguing. A young girl who is an orphan that helps run a family vampire themed restaurant with her Uncle D. and has a hybrid werewolf best friend who she'd love to be more. Add the death of the chef of the restaurant weeks before unveiling the new theme and you should have a smart, fun book. Sure there were things I see coming a mile away especially with the beginning quote and the uncle's initial, but I set all that aside.

Quincie Morris is the author's ode to one of the heroes of Bram Stroker's Dracula and she is much more capable than Bella in the "Twilight" series, but she's nowhere on par with the best vampire fighting heroine ever: Miss Buffy Summers. I only mention Buffy because an editorial review talks about this novel having "campy humor" like BTVS. But this girl and the dialogue isn't anything like the show.

While I've never read Stroker's "Dracula," I have to say Francis Ford Coppola in his film version of the book does a better job with Quincy P. Morris. His accent, wit, and bravery shine through so well. But this Quincie is missing some good sense and spunk. And I never really felt like she was a Texan. The book becomes a mess in the middle as others indicated. The introduction of too many things paranormal. I felt like I needed a cheat sheet to keep up with the different creatures.

Also there was this feeling that no one in the town seemed to care about the people who were missing or dead. Where was the hysteria? I wish I could recommend this book for the beginning alone, but I just can't. Unfortunately, Tantalize is anything but tantalizing.

Cynthia Leitich Smith's Tantalize is a complete about-face to her earlier Native American-themed books aimed at children and young adults such as Rain Is Not My Indian Name, Indian Shoes or Jingle Dancer. Instead, we have a competitor to Stephenie Meyer's Twilight universe that contains some of the same elements: human-werewolf romances and vampires that can pass as humans. However, the Twilight similarities end there.

Quincie Morris, named after a Texan in Bram Stoker's Dracula (Enriched Classics Series), lives in modern Austin, Texas: a very hip, eco-friendly town that's the state capital. An orphan, she's inherited her family's faltering Italian restaurant, formerly Fat Lorenzo's. However, due to competition, she and her uncle up the ante by rechristening Fat Lorenzo's as a vampire-themed restaurant, Sanguini's. Before the grand opening, their chef is brutally murdered, and it's up to Quincie to find a replacement, and fast. Oh, and not only does he have to be a great chef, but he has to pass as a vampire, too.

Quincie's boyfriend Kieren is half-werewolf and he's frustrated by his inability to morph completely. He's also unable to commit physically to their relationship, even though Quincie tries to goad him into spontaneous sex. As Quincie becomes more and more involved with the new chef Brad, Kieren becomes more distant. Her world is turned upside down as more murders occur in her neighborhood. Quincie's also developed the questionable habit of consuming large amounts of wine at Brad's urging, and he tries to seduce her with exotic dishes and wines.

The novel's shocking conclusion is a fast-paced culmination of sex, dangerous addictions, the price of loyalty, and life and death. There are graphic murders, lace thongs, intoxication and betrayal; no chaste, Mormon-penned romance, this; if you're considering buying this for your tween or young teen, stick to the first Twilight (Twilight, Book 1) novel. Tantalize is incredibly dark, despite the sunny Austin setting (Texans and Austinites will feel right at home), and far more adult than some other "young adult" supernatural romances (it's about on par with the sex and violence in Annette Curtis Klause's Blood and Chocolate). Fans of vampires, werewolves and the supernatural will likely embrace Tantalize, but it's not for sensitive readers (heavy alcohol use, seduction, and graphic violence).

Another difference from Twilight is the inclusion of many literary references to Cyrano de Bergerac, Bram Stoker, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mary Shelley, and Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. This is a sharp, hip novel; foodies will delight in the graphic descriptions of Italian classics to downright repulsive shock cuisine. Although the ending seemed rushed, I hope to read more of the resourceful Quincie's adventures as this has whetted my appetite for more of Smith's masterful blend of the supernatural in a modern Austin setting.

cover is lovely, the description sounds like a fun read but overall the book is a big dud. there are a lot of other books out there by different authors (s. meyers, c.s. harris, patricia briggs, c.warren, k.macalister) who pull it all together with humor and panache. this one ends up a big wanna be. better luck next try.

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.

I listened to this rather than read it but I can't imagine that the print version could be worse. If anyone has abused themselves by listening and reading it I would question their ability to maintain membership in the human race. I weep for the narrator, hopefully he collected hazard pay.

Seven of us listened to the audio version of this book on a car trip to the Boundary Waters. The only enjoyment we received was laughing at the cringe-inducing narrative.

As a friend said, "It is repetitive, redundant, and repetitive."

I will waste no more time thinking about this work.

It has a very interesting topic, but I can't say that it was as good as his other books.

While all of Brown's books are very entertaining I found Digital Fortress to be slow and monotonous. I felt as though Brown was trying to fill up space in several scenes especially at the end. He goes at length to describe the simplest things creating a lot of overkill. With The Davinci Code, Angels and Demons, and Deception Point I never wanted to skip chapters just to avoid reading something I had already read. I found myself constantly avoiding the urge to "fast forward". Not one of Brown's best and I certainly would not call it a page turner.

Since the book has 100+ chapters, although most are incredibly short (say, 1 or 2 pages), I will adopt a similar approach to this review.

Chapter 1: I was given this book by a friend a couple of years ago, who suggested I read it. It stayed on my bookshelf unread until earlier this week. I think I looked at it too soon.

Chapter 2: Some of the characters here are supposed to be experts in cryptography, but they do a horrible job at making passwords. I was able to guess a couple of them, and one is only a single character! The love interest of the main cryptographer keeps writing the phrase "without wax," whose meaning eludes the cryptographer over the whole book. Um, we're in the age of the Internet, people.....

Chapter 3: The technical premise of the book (the NSA has some super computer that can crack all codes.. even those whose design it doesn't know?!?) is laughable.

Chapter 125: If an ad is going to be made encouraging people to recycle paper, they should use a lot of copies of this book in the ad, because that is certainly the best use that can be made of Digital Fortress.