Interview Alert!!

No Fairytale today, but I wanted to let you know to keep an eye on this blog as on Wednesday there will be an interview with Laura Bickle, author of Embers!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth - Book Review

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

What is it about:

In Mary's world, there are simple truths.
The Sisterhood always knows best.
The Guardians will protect and serve.
The Unconsecrated will never relent.

And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village. The fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

But slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power. And, when the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness.

Now she must choose between her village and her future, between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded by so much death?

What did I think of it:

I had seen this book many times in the bookstore, but the above description sounded like the story was some clone of 'The Village'.
Imagine my surprise when I read in another review that it was about zombies! So I decided to pick it up

This book has lots of things that make a good zombie story, zombie mayhem being one of them. The story is quite good: dark and disturbing at times. So I should LOVE this book and I wanted to, but instead it fell short of that and I thought it was ok. Why is that?

It has to do with two things.

First: Present tense!
I have mentioned before I'm no fan of stories written in present tense. Once in a while there's an author who can handle present tense and write in such a way I don't even notice the present tense being used, but most authors fail in this and Ryan is among them. I kept getting pulled out of the story by the use of present tense. It just didn't feel natural.

Second: The viewpoint!
I read a lot of stories that use one person as the focus of the story and let him/her tell the story to you. Usually I do not have a problem with this and even love it as it gives you a great deal of insight in the workings of the lead character's mind.
In this book however I really missed the viewpoint of other characters besides Mary. This has to do with the fact I kept thinking Mary was not being honest in how she viewed the other characters. I felt like there should be more to the other characters than only Mary's view of them. This too kept me from losing myself in the story.

And lastly (ok, I said two things, but this one isn't really about me not loving the book, but just a pet peeve): Did you see the cover?! Again no zombies!!

All in all I'm really on the fence about this book and I'm not sure I'll read the next book 'The Dead-Tossed Waves'.

Why should you read it:

It is a very decent zombie story, so if you don't mind present tense you might love it.

Character Connection

We all have characters we love. Let's spotlight these fantastic creations! Whether you want to be friends with them or you have a full-blown crush on them, you know you love them and want everyone else to love them too!

Character Connection host by
TheIntrovertedReader.blogspot.com



Voodoo Bride chose the character for today's Character Connection and she picked Derek from 'the Darkest Powers' trilogy by Kelley Armstrong.

Why does Voodoo Bride love Derek, she'll tell you:

"I've heard lots of people say they only started to like Derek at the end of 'the Summoning', but I loved Derek from his first appearance. He's the kind of guy I like reading about in my Urban Fantasy books: Silent, gruff, mysterious and a bit of an loner. You've got to work to get to know him, but you can sense from the start it will be so worthwhile if you do. I also really liked how he wasn't a pretty boy, but even had acne and other teen growing into his body problems. He's far from the perfect, gorgeous looking, charismatic dream of every woman you find in so many other books and that makes him so much more realistic and made me connect with him right from the start."

Soulless by Christopher Golden - Book Review

Soulless by Christopher Golden

What is it about:
Times Square, New York City: The first ever mass séance is broadcasting live on the Sunrise morning show. If it works, the spirits of the departed on the other side will have a brief window -- just a few minutes -- to send a final message to their grieving loved ones.

Clasping hands in an impenetrable grip, three mediums call to their spirit guides as the audience looks on in breathless anticipation. The mediums slump over, slackjawed -- catatonic. And in cemeteries surrounding Manhattan, fragments of old corpses dig themselves out of the ground....
The spirits have returned. The dead are walking. They will seek out those who loved them in life, those they left behind...but they are savage and they are hungry. They are no longer your mother or father, your brother or sister, your best friend or lover.

The horror spreads quickly, droves of the ravenous dead seeking out the living -- shredding flesh from bone, feeding. But a disparate group of unlikely heroes -- two headstrong college rivals, a troubled gang member, a teenage pop star and her bodyguard -- is making its way to the center of the nightmare, fighting to protect their loved ones, fighting for their lives, and fighting to end the madness.

What did I think of it:
This is what a good zombie story should be! No teens falling in love with zombies, but zombies hungry for human flesh, a country in chaos and a hand full of unlikely heroes who try to save the day.

It's suspenseful, has plenty of zombie mayhem, likeable characters and also characters you'd gladly push in front of a herd of hungry zombies. Apart from the really cool zombie mayhem Golden put a lot of work in the way people react to everything that's happening and in doing so he gives a very believable insight in the workings of the human mind during a catastrophic happening like a zombie outbreak.

One big negative thing: The cover!
What's up with that? Does it say zombie in any way?
If I hadn't known this book was about zombies I'd never would have guessed just from looking at this cover and possibly could have missed out on a great book.

Why should you read it:
Zombie Mayhem!

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Do you ever wonder if there is an end to the Forest?" I ask her. I have asked her this before and I already know what her answer will be.
page 83, 'The Forest of Hands & Teeth' by Carrie Ryan.

Zombie, an Anthology of the Undead - Book Review part 2

Zombie, an Anthology of the Undead edited by Christopher Golden

Find part 1 here
So here are my thoughts about the second half of this anthology:

'Second Wind' by Mike Carey - The main character in this story just wants some peace and quiet now that he's dead, but that's something he has to work for. A nice story, but a bit slow at times.

'Closure, Limited' by Max Brooks - A short story about a man who visits a ship that caters to some special needs. Didn't much care for this one. It's mostly talking, not much actual action.

'Among Us' by Aimee Bender - Some impressions on the theme zombie. I thought this one was disturbing, but beautiful.

'Ghost Trap' by Rick Hautala - A diver finds a corpse at the bottom of the sea that is tied down to a block of concrete. A decent, suspenseful story in my opnion.

'The Storm Door' by Tad Williams - A paranormal investigator is looking into a strange possesion case. The story idea was cool and this story showed some potential, but in the end it fell flat and maybe it's just me, but I also found it very predictable.

'Kids and Their Toys' by James A. Moore - A couple of young boys find a corpse which turns out to be a zombie. A very disturbing story! Ugh...

'Shooting Pool' by Joe R. Lansdale - This story doesn't even have zombies!! What is it doing in this book? Or am I really missing something here?

'Weaponized' by David Wellington - The military is experimenting with a new kind of warfare. Didn't much like this one. The story isn't bad, but the writing didn't grab me.

'Twittering from the Circus of the Dead' by Joe Hill - A teenage girl twiiters about a trip she has to make with her family and their visit to a Freakshow. Once you get into the twitter update style of writing this story is quite cool.

So what's the end score?

The second part of the book has 4 stories I liked if not loved, 1 I found quite disturbing and 4 I didn't much care for.

That makes a total of 10 cool stories, 1 decent story, 1 disturbing story and 7 I didn't much care for.
My favourite still is 'Family Business' by Jonathan Maberry.
Not a bad score I think.

Why should you read it:
If you like a good zombie story, this book will surely entertain you!

Soulless by Gail Carriger - Book Review

Soulless by Gail Carriger

What is it about:
Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

What did I think about it:
This book was a pleasant surprise. It's witty and funny and has a very original story. Not many writers seem to have the courage to join supernatural beings with Victorian times, but Carriger rises to the challenge and even manages to sprinkle a dash of Steampunk into the mix with very satisfying results. The story was engaging and there was even enough romance to keep Voodoo Bride happy too. The one thing I could say against the book is that the humorous tone kept me from being worried about the outcome.

There's a second book released named 'Changeless', which is in my 'To Be Read' pile and a third book 'Blameless' will be released later this year.

Why should you read it:
If you like stories set in Victorian times and you like werewolves and vampires you will most certainly like this book.


And coming soon:
A review about a totally different kind of book also named 'Soulless'.