'Restoration of Faith' a short story by Jim Butcher 'Restoration of Faith' is a short story by Jim Butcher, it is a Harry Dresden story set before his first book, you can read it at his website here: http://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/restoration/
Hi! Do you keep a Reading or Book Live Journal? Would you like to meet other people who do, in order to make new LJ Friends, and discuss literature, or share common interests? Check out addmy_readinglj in order to do so! (:
Author spotlight on me Hey, if you guys don't mind a little horn tooting, I wanted to send anyone to moondancerdrake's LJ who might be interested. She does spotlights on various authors, and I'm the author getting spotlighted this week. Most of my published stuff is erotica, some bondage\BDSM, and a lot of vampire, werewolf, or were-tiger, so I though it might be something you guys would be interested in.
The series is about a wizard detective in Chicago (the only name under "Wizard" in the phone book.) It's very well-written and has the mystical believably coexisting with present-day society and going unnoticed (well, enough that those who wish to believe such things can't happen can keep telling themselves that.)
In it, different types of each magical creature exists, and werewolves are no exception. I've seen several series where the rules were different than in others, but the second book, Fool Moon, has pretty much every variety of werewolf except the "werewolf bites you and you turn into a lupine killing machine at the full moon" version. I'd recommend the whole series to anyone whether they like fantasy or not, but for anyone interested in werewolves, Fool Moon is must-read.
(The series also has different sorts of vampires, and each "court" has a somewhat different society. The Red Court are the ones we typically come up against, and are most like vamps-as-usual, but with some differences. The White Court feeds on emotions instead of blood. There are others, but I don't want to give everything away.)
Sofar, we (A friend of mine and me) have not been able to get more than 9 pages into this book.
Warning: This book has been confirmed to cause heartburn and loss of color vision due to imagination drainage. (Okay, maybe not the last part, but damn if we didn't get heartburn.)
Manga recs? Any good werecreature manga out there? I've heard of a few but so far have FOUND few that made me want to pick them up. The ones that are currently on my shelf waiting to be read is "Until the Fullmoon" and "Anima" both of which the art is pretty good which is why I picked them up (though the flowery art in Until the Fullmoon kinda bugs me). I need to read these 2 soon.... they've been waiting a while.
Now... any other, say... more creature feature manga than what I've listed? I want to see more snarling WERES than catboys and catgirls. *pout*
New Hey, *another new person* (shocker) and sorry if I'm supposed to introduce myself immediatly and didn't (is there even a way to tell?)- LJ etiquette is still a little out of my reach.
Anyways, big fan of the Vamp novels, and the Were novels, and mostly supernatural novels in general. Love the Sookie series, *did* love the Anita Blake series until the plot, you know, completely and utterly decimated itself in a mess of sex.
I'm currently into that series by Kim Harrison, starts with Dead Witch Walking? Don't beleive they have an overall name for it yet, so... Yeah, not entirely about Vamps, as the title may casually give away, but it's well written and quite funny. If you haven't read it I suggest you give it a try.
Current Mood: curious Current Music:Mandy Goes to Med School by the Dresden Dolls
Recs Please! Hi, I just found this community and it looks as though it hasn't been active in a while, but I figured I'd try posting a query nonetheless. I'm a long-time fan of vampire mythology and stories. Recently, I read a young adult trilogy (The Vampire Diaries) as an attempt to escape my academic coursework (I'm a graduate student) and found that I really enjoyed the release. Since then, I've been scouting Amazon.com for some new books to acquire and read. However, I'd rather move into the realm of adult fiction and steer clear of the young adult stuff, just because I found the teen queen drama stuff in TVD to be kind of annoying from time to time. Also, I love vampire romance, but judging from some of the plot synopses and covers, many of the vampire romance novels out there appear to be like Harlequins with vamps, and I don't think I'm really up for that either. I would love to get some recommendations for novels with deep characters and adult subject matter (and I don't mean hardcore sex necessarily, just not teen angst). Thanks in advance!
Has anyone read... ...the J.D.Robb series? EDIT: Someone cleared up my question of supernatural/futuristic confusion, and I know now that the books are futuristic not supernatural. =) I'd still like to know, as far as murder and mystery go, are they worth reading? Someone offered to buy me the collection...but I don't want them to give me books if I won;t read them.
Lately, I've really been wanting to get into a good vampire novel. Having seen the movie Interview with a Vampire, I figured I would enjoy the book. I tried reading it several years ago, unfortunately I couldn't stand the book and gave up about 2/3 of the way through. The main character spent the entire time whining. I just couldn't take it.
Now, I've heard the other books in the series are really good. The questions I have are: 1. Is the main character (Louis, I believe?)a big part of the other books? 2. Having not read the last 1/3 of Interview, will I be missing any important information that I need for the rest of the series? 3. Based on the reason I didn't like Interview, will I have the same problem with whiney characters in the sequels?
Also, has anyone read any of the World of Darkness novels? 'Vampire: the Masquerade' and 'Vampire: the Dark Ages' are the ones I'm most curious about.
Oh, If you are into comic books, I highly recommend Preacher by Garth Ennis. One of the main characters is also a vampire.
Current Mood: desiring a good vampire book Current Music:Sims - Market Made Murder
Books I've read Right. In No particular order...maybe clumped by author... Edit: This is not a complete list
Rating System READ IT! - A MUST read Westly's Top choice Great - Good for a stormy night, by candlelight with a mug of hot...chocolate Good - It's fun, worth reading if you're in a pinch Okay - Nothing special, but fun to read anyway. Eh - If it's on sale Bad - If you're desperate for a pair of fangs It SUCKS! - Don't bother, and when I say that about a vampire/werewolf book, that means alot. And of course: N/C Not Finished Reading
Stainless By Tod Grimson I was in 9th grade and it was time for summer vacation. What could be better? No more homework and I'd have ample time to read some cool books, I swear nothing is better than a good read. Except I was pretty low on cash and couldn't go buy one. But never to fear my sister always had a new book around her room somewhere, and a good selection too. I found her stash and nothing seemed to catch my interest until I came across Stainless by Tod Grimson. I swear this book played a role in making my summer so sweet. I retreated to my room with the book and jump into my bed. And once I opened it I couldn't put it down. Stainless is a brilliant Vampire Tale about Love,Lust,Hate,Murder Cause and Effect,what people will do for true love and the dirty underground the Music Industry. Set in L.A.(not suprisingly so) we our introduced to the two main characters Keith and Justine. Keith is a famous rock musician and guitarist whose hands were broken by gangsters that pretty much put him out of the game forever. Justine is a Vampire who is centuries old but doesn't look a day older than 23. Justine takes care of Keith in the confort of her Mansion, she bandages his hands and they live like a couple, Justine can take small samples of blood from keith just to hold her over but She and Keith have understanding that every now and then she must kill. Keith drives her out into town and they usually end up killing some degenerate or another. Everything is fine as Justine and Keith have a pretty good routine going on until an Angry Vampire who awakens goes on a killing spree and begins looking for Justine. This pretty much complicates things for the couple.
Things I didn't like about the Novel were: The details could get pretty gorey, not that I'm a wimp,its just that some things were just unecessary like excessive dis-memberment.
Things I liked were: Justine could switch from Innocent to Dangerous in seconds, their was fairly enough sex in the story but they never went over-board. The action doesn't stop and the storyline is gripping. All characters had distinct personalities, are very natural and make a good contribution to the substansial storyline.
*May be an easy read for some* Whether it is or isn't I reccomend taking your time with this book to really enjoy it.
first post to the community.. Dark Fire by Christine Feehan, Rated R for sex and violence
Alright, so I was on amazon.com looking for some good vampire/romance books. I came upon someone's list of recommendations and wrote down Christine Feehan's name. Went to the used bookstore and picked up this book, which took me about a week to read. It was in the romance section. I thought this was weird, but I was looking forward to the vampire secks anyway. (To be honest, I was looking for Dark Prince, but that wasn't available.)
Summary: Rusti is a twenty-something mechanic who can communicate telepathically with animals. She is hired to be the auto repairman for a travelling music group. She meets Darius, a tall and handsome bodyguard who instantly falls in love with her. Darius is the brother of the main singer of the group, Desari, and everyone obeys him, as he's probably the most dominant of the whole travelling group. Rusti is naturally rebellious, so she defies him in his attempts to win her. This seems to make Darius fall in love with her even more. Eventually, she reluctantly returns his feelings; she's a very independent woman, and a free-thinker, so she doesn't come easily. She discovers something about this travelling group: they are creatures known as Carpathians, sort of the higher-up forms of vampires. They sleep during the day, feed on blood at night, are immortal, can shapeshift, communicate telepathically with each other.. One unique thing about the males is that they must choose a "life mate" to share blood with or else they are doomed to turn into vampires. (Female Carpathians don't have the same problem?) Anyway, the story revolves around Rusti who is dealing with Darius's seduction and her own feelings for him, him making her his life mate, and also the danger that befalls the group as a band of vampire hunters tries to track them down.
My opinion: This book was 300-something pages long and took me a week to read. This is only because it was such an easy read. (I usually take my time with novels.) More than anything I found the book sort of annoying. The author reminds the reader that Rusti is independent, sassy, stands up for herself, etc so much that it becomes irritating. I really did not like how much of an attitude she gave Rusti. For a third person story, it almost seemed first person when it came to writing about Rusti. I think the author could've gone about this some other way, without making Rusti sound annoying and bitchy as all hell. I really could not sympathize with her, because I found her so obnoxiously bull-headed. A recurring thing that happens with her is that every time Rusti wanders off from Darius, she runs into severe trouble. Yet every time Darius says "Don't wander too far" she DOES and she ends up in a pinch of some kind... I seriously wanted to bash her in the head with a hammer. Darius is a sexy character, yes. But he seems to have no other motive for living apart from protecting Rusti, who does not even want his protection. So, even though he was sexy and the sex scenes between him and Rusti were kinda hot, I couldn't really sympathize for him. The story itself was not overly original, though I kept reading because I wanted to know "what happens next." The Carpathians were pretty interesting to learn about.. but that's about all that I liked about the book. I think the author's writing style was not my type. I really like Anne Rice's writing style, but I'm trying to explore other authors. I tried reading an Anita Blake book, but I couldn't really get into that either. Anyway, hope this review is helpful to y'all. :)
Bitten By Kelly Armstrong Bitten By Kelley Armstrong, Rated R, ISBN: 0-452-28602-4
Summary: Elena Michaels is like everyone else. She has an adoring, strong working husband, holds a job as a successful journalist, follows her hobbies, and lives in a small apartment. There’s also one small quirk she has… she turns into a wolf. And also happens to be the only female werewolf in existence.
Elena separated herself from her pack in attempts to get away from the problems of her kind, only to be called upon by the pack she tried to leave when problems with non-pack werewolves start arising.
Now, already struggling to survive as a werewolf in a human world, Elena has to figure out where her priorities, as well as her loyalties lie, while also struggling with her own dual identity.
About the Werewolves: The werewolves in this book are quite lupine, quadrapedal and unable to use human speech. Their temperament and personality vary from one to the other, the Pack werewolves seeming generally ‘good’ while non-pack werewolves seeming generally ‘bad.’ Their transformations are unpleasant to watch, as well to experience. They also don’t go by the full moon, in terms of when they need to shapeshift, but they do need to do it once every two weeks or so
Thoughts (Positives and Negatives): Though I liked Elena well enough, I personally had some problems relating to the other characters for some reason. I also have a small problem with the fact that she has to be the very last female werewolf. ::Shrugs:: I just kind of figure that some non-pack werewolves would try to make more femme-werewolves, since a lot of them are, er, fringy. And, simply out of personal preference, I’m not fond of the werewolf society in this book. However… I must say, I am very fond of the writing about when they’re in their lupine forms… their time as werewolves is very, very nice. Also, I will say, there is a scene in this book I find to be really pleasantly scary… but I won’t tell you about that, and ruin it for you unless you ask.
Rating: R for sexual material and violence. Werewolves have a lot of sex. Well, the main character does. There’s also it’s fair share of violence… they are werewolves after all, and there’s some hunting, as well as fighting among werewolves. There’s also gun violence, which I’m noting, since guns seem kind of controversial.
Summing up: Though there are others I like better, I feel that this is still a good werewolf book. (But I tend to like werewolf books anyway, yanno) The parts I’m not fond of can be overshadowed by the cool parts, and though there’s definitely a decent share of sex in it… well, though it might offend others, it doesn’t bother me. I just hope none of my family members decide to give it a read ::Blushes::
Hey Wes... uh, if I decide to give this book's sequel Stolen a reveiw, should I make a new post, or post it under Jade's earlier Question? ~Nash
Current Mood: content Current Music:The Nightmare Before Christmas
Stolen - Kelley Armstrong I apologize if this isn't an appropriate post, but I don't have a review, rather a question for folks. Has anyone read this? Heard Reviews? Perhaps read the first book "Bitten" and have opinions on the style?
If this is unappropriate, by all means, remove the post. I just saw this in stores the other day and was wondering about folks opinions before I got it.
Wolf Moon by Charles De lint Wolf Moon by Charles De lint, Rated: PG-13, Genres: fantasy/romance
Summary: After fleeing for his life from a mysterious Harper (wizard who weaves magic by playing music) Kern finds himself in the care of the residents of a local inn where he makes friends, and meets with the beautiful Ainsy. However, Kern has a terrible secret, one that drew the attention of the Harper in the first place. Kern is a werewolf, and when the Harper tracks him down, Kern must make a decision: flee for his life, as he’s always done, or stay and defend his newfound companions.
About the Werewolves: The werewolf in this isn’t a horrible slavering beast, but simply a man with the ability to change into a wolf. For him, being a werewolf isn’t a curse, and rather holds countless joys. A sweeter, gentler side to the werewolf myth.
Thoughts (Positives and Negatives): Though taking place in a fantasy world, this isn’t the big-picture, adventuring sort of book. In all actuality, it’s more slice-of life, just a simple look at one small part of a larger world. Whether this is a good or bad thing depends solely on the reader’s preference. Also, though to some the book may seem a touch slow at times, the wording has an almost poetic feel to it which makes even the ‘slow’ parts entertaining and interesting to read. And thus, the imagery, as well as dialogue are handled well.
Rating: PG-13 for sexual material and violence. Though there’s comparatively little violence to other werewolf books, it has its share of fangs, as well as one (extremely tasteful, in my opinion) indication of intercourse, and mentioning of what teenaged boys discover what they can do when they hit that proper age.
Summing up: An easy read, this is a nice, fluffy sort of werewolf book, which, with a little easy editing on the reader’s part, could be suitable to share with one’s children. Though I personally like it, I will admit it’s not the best werewolf book around for those who love the ripping and slashing. However, I feel that at paperback prices, it’s definitely worth the time and money if you’re in need of a quick werewolf fix.
This also happens to be the first real werewolf book I’d ever gotten. ~Nash
Saint Peter’s Wolf by Michael Cadnum Saint Peter’s Wolf by Michael Cadnum, Rated: R, Genres: Horror/romance/action
Summary: Saint Peter’s wolf is about the struggles of collector and psychologist Benjamin Byrd, when after one of the artifacts in his collection, a newly acquired pair of fangs set in silver, changes him into a werewolf. This new complication, on top of his work, dysfunctional family life, and new interest in the attractive Johanna Fisher, doesn’t seem all too bad to Byrd however. In fact, he finds that he loves being a werewolf, and is incredibly protective of the fangs that made him as such. Yet, when bodies begin being found and the government comes into play, the hunter becomes the hunted, and Byrd embarks on a long journey both of survival, and self discovery.
About the Werewolves: The means of becoming a lycanthrope is unique, which deserves credit simply on its own. But on top of that I can also say that these are my kind of werewolves; in other words: Don’t expect to see the wolfman in this, and don’t expect to see wolves running about either. These are huge, An American Werewolf in London kinds of werewolves, that have the capability of evil as well as benevolence. It doesn’t matter if you like ‘evil’ werewolves or ‘good’ werewolves, violence or oneness with nature, you’ll find something in this one that’ll make you smile.
Negatives: I have some small issues with the structure of the book, simply because I as a person do not care as much for how it is almost episodic, it’s plot seeming to climax at a couple separate points. There are times when it seemed that the book should end, where something seemed to come out of the left field and cause havoc again. (College English writing courses ruined my appreciation for non-standard plot structures, I think…)
Positives: Despite its negatives, I find the book to be good read, simply for the scenes. If one part of the book doesn’t appeal to the reader, there’s sure to be another part that does, because of the book's diverse setting and content. If someone is in need of a little therapeutic violence, it's got that. But then again, if the reader finds herself in need of some romance, it’s got plenty of that too.
The imagery/description within the book is very well done, and can paint vivid scenes in one’s mind. It ranges from urban areas all of the way out into Jack London-esque wilderness.
The character development, particularly on Benjamin is very good, creating a dynamic, round character.
Rating: R, for sex and violence. It is very gory, complete with everything from disembowelment to decapitation and plenty of blood. Though I myself have a certain soft spot for werewolf hunting/attacks, someone who is made uncomfortable by blood and violence may find that they have issues with some of the scenes in the book, particularly early on. There are also a couple of sex scenes which aren’t too bad or long.
Summing up: Though it has its pros as well as its cons, I personally recommend this book to werewolf lovers!
Okay, I’m not much of a review writer (haven’t written a real one since high school) but I want to give this a whirl because… well, I like werewolf novels a lot, and this is my most recent read (Though I probably need to re-read this since I went through it so fast). I hope no one minds, particularly since I have a more casual review written up, separating it out into areas of interest. If there's a problem with this, I'll take it down and re-do it. ~Nash
The Sookie Stackhouse Vampire Series by Charline Harris Well, to start things off I'm going to do a review of the most recent series I've been reading. It begins with Dead Until Dark In which we meet our heroine, a young woman named Sookie Stackhouse (I love the "southren" name. Sookie's just a cute name) who lives in Bon Temps, Louisanna (When I read it I always pronounce the final 's' despite my three years of french training)
Sookie is Special, Sookie can read minds. She's telepathic, and knows what everyone's thinking. It makes people nervous, and it makes it hard for her to date.
Until one day a pale stranger who's mind she can't read comes in. He turns out to be Bill. Bill turns out to be a vampire. That's why she can't read his thoughts, and she LOVES it.
Y'see, vampires are alright, because they came out of ... whatever vampires come out of a few years ago. The whole world knows about them, even though they don't have the same rights as the living. They can own buissnesses and things, and are adjusting to live amongst the living. They drink Japanese produced Synthetic blood.
Anyway, one of the girls at the bar Sookie works at was found dead. Why? She was dating a vampire. Sookie's dating a vampire.
Uhoh.
------------------------
After tangleing with the local vampires of Bon Temps and Shrevport (Marshall's been there! He says it's a real hole...) Sookie goes on to take on the Followers of the Sun, a Christian based anti-vampire group, fighting with Shifters (Which are shapeshifting beings that aren't werewolves, werewolves are elietists that call themselves Weres, and don't let Shifters call themselves that...) Withces, vindictive ex-es, all while trying to work at the bar, and keep her love life together...
------------------------ It's not really too violent, I mean, the worst I've read sofar was when Sookie blew off someone's upper torso with a shotgun. The longest sex scene I beleive is two pages. And not really graphic. I'm still giggling at how she didn't call his penis a penis, manhood, or whatever funny romance novel words they come up with. Oh, no...it was "Mr. Happy". ::Dies:: Normally sex is summed up in a sentence or two. Language isn't a problem either. There may be a few colorful words, but this is a first person book, from Sookie's point of view, and she was raised to think that swearing wasn't really a good thing.
Anyway, I Highly Recomend this series. Dead until Dark Living Dead In Dallas Club Dead Dead to the World and Dead as a Doornail (Out May 3) (GAH! MUST BE PUBLISHED NOW!!)
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nauseated
curious
desiring a good vampire book
flirty
thirsty