Finished up the Mortal Instruments original trilogy by Cassandra Clare (City of Ashes and City of Glass)! These are the sequels to City of Bones, and they are so good! People, read these books, like, say, ummmm…….right now.
Words (and people) you should know.
Downworlders- Those who are part human and part demon (vampires, werewolves, warlocks, and fairies).
Demons- Creatures from other universes that come to Earth, strictly to suck the world dry of its resources.
Shadowhunters- Demon hunters.
The Accords- An agreement between Shadowhunters and Downworlders to leave each other alone (in a nutshell).
The Clave- Kind of like the congress of the shadowhunter world. They make and enforce the laws.
Valentine- The evil guy who is trying to take control of the Clave, in the worst way possible.
Background alert.
In these next two books, you start to understand a lot more about the Shadowhunter world and why they exist. A man named Jonathon Shadowhunter went to a lake and summoned the Angel Raziel, he then asked said angel to grant him the powers to hunt down demons and return them to their respective universes.
He was granted this wish and the race was born with a cup, a sword, and a mirror. The cup (stolen by the villain, Valentine, in the first book) is how Shadowhunters were originally created, drink from the cup and you were granted powers to fight demons. The sword (which is what gets stolen by Valentine in the second book) has the power of the angel and has many useful purposes to the Shadowhunters. The mirror (which is found in the final book of the trilogy) is the final tool needed to summon the Angel Raziel if his services are needed again.
Ok, so here’s a little synopsis (of both the books).
I hinted in my review of City of Bones that there is a bit of an awkward romance situation…….it continues to be awkward for these next two books, so just prepare yourself. Anyway, at the end of City of Bones, Clary finds her mother, but she is in a coma-like state. City of Ashes starts off pretty depressingly with no change in her mother and an awkward forbidden love…….um, thing with Jace (the super sexy Shadowhunter). Valentine (the evil dude) steals the second Mortal Instrument, the sword, and is planning on reversing its power from angelic to demonic.
Keep up with me…
Valentine hates Downworlders. He wants to end the Accords and have free reign to hunt demons and Downworlders alike. Confusing part……..he wants to make his point by summoning demons to destroy the Shadowhunters?? Hmmmmmm……….. it does make sense, I promise. Basically, he thinks the Clave is corrupt and needs to be set straight by physically seeing the error of their ways. His point- by allowing Downworlders free reign, where do you draw the line? Pretty soon, you’ll lose sight of what you were put on this earth to do and demons will overtake the world. A very extremist view….and not unlike some views held by some of our political parties…….both sides people- don’t get your panties up in a bunch.
Even though these stories are religiously based (Nephilim, Angel Raziel, demons), Cassandra doesn’t get too deep into the religiousness of it, believe it or not. Not until the third installment, where our Jewish friend, Simon (Clary’s besty) starts to have a little trouble with his faith……oh cliffhangers, how I love you.
Anyway, I commented on the wittiness of the dialogue in the first book and it just gets better with time. It literally had me laughing out loud at some points! Cassandra writes beautifully and she makes it easy to get lost in her world, forgetting that you have midterms, papers, and huge projects due the next day.
Check out Cassandra Clare’s website here.
Read more about the Mortal Instruments right over…….here.
And last but not least, follow Cassandra by clicking, oh I don’t know, how about here.
Happy reading,
B
What a fantastic ending to this series.
This is the 6th and last book in the Georgina Kincaid series. If you are not familiar with the series, click here to read my review of the previous books.
We start off with Georgina working as an elf in a mall- how awful!! Anyway, she had to leave her management position at the bookstore because of her scandalous affair with the famous author, Seth Mortensen. The action starts when Georgina is suddenly relocated to Las Vegas. If you have read the series, you know that Hell is usually very formal about their actions. There’s paperwork, meetings, and SOP’s, but this was a rushed move. Increasing the suspicious level, Georgina loves Las Vegas. It’s everything she’s ever wanted, the people are nice, her best friend is relocated with her, and she gets her dream job as a Vegas show girl. Just one thing is missing.
Seth.
Seth has to stay in Seattle because his sister-in-law has cancer and the family needs help.
Curiouser and Curiouser.
Come to find out…..I can’t tell you….it’ll give it all away….but I swear it’s sooooo good. It has to do with reincarnation, which is one of my favorite religious topics. This idea that a soul continues on in this world but in different bodies. What makes someone stay on this world? When do they finally move onto the afterlife? This book touches on these questions.
Ok, I’ll tell you, it’s just too good to keep to myself.
Seth is the reincarnation of Georgina’s husband when she was mortal. The reason she began her life as a succubus. I’m not going to divulge anymore, you’ll have to read them to find out!! I loved this series; there were many thought provoking topics throughout the story, but Mead made it easy to follow.
Seriously, check this series out!!
Learn more about Richelle Mead, this series, and others at http://www.richellemead.com/.
Follow Richelle Mead at http://twitter.com/#!/RichelleMead.
Happy reading,
B
I was literally giddy when I bought this book. I’m sure you all know this is the first of Richelle Mead’s new series and a spin-off of the Vampire Academy series. It stares Sydney (the alchemist), Jill, Eddie, and Adrian- who played more background characters in the Vampire Academy (VA) books. At the end of VA, these characters were presented as the jaded ones within the series. Rose got her happy ending with Dimitri, Lissa is Queen, but what about those who suffered for their gains? This is how the story of our new lead characters came to be.
I do have to admit, the first book in a series is usually on the dull side, compared to the books to come, because of the character introductions and background stories. This one takes a while to get going, but, oh baby, does it get good at the end! There isn’t a lot of danger throughout the book, which is a far cry from VA, where it seemed like Rose was an inch from death every minute. A little over half way through the book, it seems like the whole thing is wrapping up, without a trace of a near death experience.
Then…..oh man…..it gets crazy!! And you’re like, FINALLY!! And this was a different kind of danger than when Rose was facing scary things. Rose could seriously kick ass, Sydney and Adrian?
Not so much.
It was one of those, “How the heck are they going to get out of this?” type situations.
Oh and don’t worry, we do get to see a little bit of Rose!! It’s so cool to read how Sydney perceives her and the others! I actually really liked how the whole book was told from Sydney- an outsider and a complete hater of the vampire world. It’s especially interesting that, as much as I disagree with her thoughts, I started to empathize with her- which I didn’t expect.
Oooooh, you guys just have to read it!! It was so good!!
Follow Richelle Mead at https://twitter.com/#!/RichelleMead
Read about Richelle Mead and her books at http://www.richellemead.com/
Read about Bloodlines specifically at http://www.bloodlinesseries.com/
Oh and I just read that the next book in this series, The Golden Lily is coming out in May 2012!!
Happy Reading,
B
Loved.
This is the first of a six book series and I can’t wait to dig into the others.
If you have read any of my posts, you’ve probably figured out I have a slight obsession with this idea of Nephilim (the offspring of angels and humans). This book fills my constant need- well sorta. Nephilim are the main characters in this series, but the series (thus far) hasn’t addressed the religious issues that usually correlate with the word- angels. The ever-present “good vs. bad” theme plays a heavy roll in the plot, but there isn’t much of a mention of Heaven and/or Hell in a literal sense. There has been a little foreshadowing to the topic however and I’m interested to see Clare’s interpretation.
In a nutshell…….
This story takes place in New York City- where else? Anyway, Clary (our shining star), goes clubbing one night and witnesses the murder of a demon by the hands of a tattooed trio. This event triggers the altering of Clary’s entire life- not to be cliché, but- everything Clary has ever known has been flipped upside down. She learns she is part of the Shadowhunter (aka Nephilim) world. Their purpose in life is to destroy demons and send them back to their worlds (not Hell per say, but different dimensions of the Universe).
Clary’s mother has been taken and it’s her responsibility to get her back. It plays out similarly to a mystery and many times; the reader gets to put the clues together before the characters do. I always like this because it gives me a flippy feeling in my tummy when they finally have that realization moment. There is, of course, a love story, but it gets to be a pretty sticky situation. Go ahead; try to guess what happens- you won’t believe it!
Clary is only fifteen, which is a little younger than I’m used to, but Clare made the dialogue entertaining. The sarcasm and constant one-liners kept me chuckling to myself throughout the whole book, reminding me of how I interacted with my friends at fifteen.
This book was a good foundation and introduction to the Shadowhunter world- witty, entertaining, a page-turner- and I’m already anticipating opening City of Ashes.
Check out Cassandra Clare at http://cassie-claire.com/cms/home.
Read more about The Mortal Instruments at http://www.mortalinstruments.com/.
Happy reading,
B
We pick up right where we left off- Aaron is trying to find Verchiel (the angel gone rogue) so he can find his foster brother, Stevie, who was taken by Verchiel in the first book. While on this quest, Aaron stumbles upon Aerie (a safe-haven for fallen angels and their offspring, Nephilim). While here, he finally convinces himself that he is the One, as they say. It is his responsibility to reunite the fallen with Him.
I absolutely loved this book, even more than the first. We get to meet Sniegoski’s version of the Devil himself (the Morningstar, Lucifer, Satan, whatever you want to call him). In this story, Lucifer is a fallen angel who started the war in Heaven (this is following the Bible to a tee). Now, what I learned as a child is that Lucifer watches over the forsaken, those who have lost their battle with temptation and are not on the righteous path to God, in a place called Hell. However, in The Fallen, Lucifer suffers a hell that is his and his alone. His punishment from God was and is to bear the pain he caused to Heaven as a constant reminder of his sins. This version of Lucifer is one I’ve never heard of before and I have to say, I liked it.
I’d like to think that we live under the watchful eye of a fair and forgiving God. Why would God make a place for the forsaken where they are in a constant state of temptation? Doesn’t it seem a little backwards that he would cast them out of Heaven and the only place left to go is Hell, where souls never have the chance to reunite with their Creator?
Oh and if you have been following, in my review of The Fallen 1, I hint at a few theories I had about Verchiel, the rogue angel. Just want to let you know that I was almost dead-on in my assumptions!! Nevertheless, there were quite a few twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting (keep an eye on the Santiago girl and Stevie- I was shocked at how his fate played out).
One thing I forgot to mention in my review of The Fallen 1 is that I really appreciated the way these books were written. Sniegoski allows us to read from different character’s perspectives, or vantage points if you will. I love this style of writing because when the story is told from one character’s point-of-view, I always wonder what the scenario looks like to other characters.
Read about The Fallen series and other books written by Sniegoski at http://sniegoski.com/.
Follow Thomas E. Sniegoski at http://twitter.com/#!/TomSniegoski.
Look for The Fallen 3: End of Days out September 6th, 2011!!
Happy reading,
B
The Fallen 1: The Fallen and Leviathan = seriously awesome.
This is the tale of a Nephilim (the offspring of a human woman and an angel). These creatures have extraordinary powers that can equal their angelic fathers. Because of their blasphemous nature and angelic heritage, they are exiled from both Heaven and Hell. In this particular story, Aaron Corbet is such a being, but finds that he is so much more. Thousands of years ago, there was a prophecy which told that there would be a Nephilim that would bring peace to Heaven by having the ability to forgive God’s fallen angels (those that fought against Him in the War against The Morningstar as well as those who fathered children with human women). Aaron is such a creature.
Richelle Mead was the author to initially spark my interest in this idea of fallen angels and Nephilim in her Georgina Kincaid series and The Fallen has been feeding my hunger for the topic. I have this obsession with religious art and ideals and this book hits all the high points. He follows, what I feel is, a very Catholic based belief throughout this series. He has characters such as; The Powers (God’s first angels), Archangels, Fallen Angles, Nephilim, The Morningstar (Lucifer), and Leviathan (a monster of chaos that has existed since the days of creation).
This series’ main plot involves Aaron and Verchiel (the current leader of The Powers). Verchiel, being a defender of God, wants to destroy the Nephilim (a debauchery before God). Verchiel is an intriguing character because he reminds me of Lucifer before his fall. He has this idea that he is better than all of God’s creations and this false belief that he is the closest being to God Himself, even though he hasn’t spoken to God in quite some time. I think he is starting to get too wrapped up in his “heavenly” mission and is forgetting his place in God’s Kingdom, as did Lucifer. He begins to make decisions on his own, without listening to God’s guidance and warnings. I’ve already started putting some theories together of where this is going to go.
My warnings are…
The Leviathan part of The Fallen 1 does get a little weird. I encourage everyone to stick with it, everything is explained and the story begins to come full circle.
I love that this is a current recollection of what happened so long ago and I can’t wait to read The Fallen 2 to see if my theories are correct.
Look out for The Fallen 3: End of Days September 6th 2011!!
Check out Thomas E. Sniegoski at http://www.sniegoski.com/.
Follow him at http://twitter.com/#!/TomSniegoski.
Happy reading,
B
12:05 am July 15, 2011…Evansville, IN…Harry Potter premiere.
My adventure started at 8:45 pm the previous night, stopping at a gas station to load up on snacks before getting to the theater. I was in line by 9:30 pm and sitting in my seat by 9:45- not bad.
There were some sweet costumes in honor of the last Harry Potter movie ever; including full-on death eater robes (complete with wands), two sets of the entire Weasley family, Bellatrix’s, Umbridge’s, Harry’s, Hermione’s, Ron’s, and me as Luna Lovegood. I was lovin’ the energy in the air and when the previews started, I’m not gonna lie, my heart started to race.
The movie was quick to get right back into the action. We began right where we left off; Dobby’s death at Shell Cottage, which rapidly moves into the big break-in to Gringotts. The graphics throughout the movie were really well done and the acting was the best it has ever been. The best part, by far, was Voldemort’s attack on Hogwarts. Fifteen years has led us to this single epic battle. It was everything I hoped it would be, action packed and emotionally thrilling. I almost cried at least four different times.
I was also really appreciative of the “limbo” scene between Harry and Dumbledore and the creepy baby thing. Originally, Dumbledore never comes out and says that Harry is the 8th horcrux. As a reader, you just have to assume. In the movie, they recognized the possible confusion because you weren’t exposed to the same information as you were in the books. So, to help the viewer out, Dumbledore says, point blank, that Harry is a horcrux.
There were a few things that steered away from the original written story that did bug me a bit. The most annoying being the part that can be seen in trailers where Harry grabs Voldemort and says, “Let’s finish this the way we started…together!” Followed by a pointless falling/flying scene that landed them in the crumbled entrance of Hogwarts, not the Great Hall. In the book, the students and Death Eaters line the parameter of the Great Hall while Harry and Voldemort duke it out. In the movie, no one was watching the final battle between the two foes and that bothered me- everyone should’ve been watching.
Also, the death of Nagini was supposed to be immediately after Harry reveals himself to be alive. In the movie, it took a while to finally kill the snake, which didn’t make any logistical sense because Neville definitely had the opportunity at the point of Harry’s “awakening.” There were a few other small things, like the kiss between Ron and Hermione wasn’t in the right place and Nagini didn’t kill Snape exactly how it was done in the book. I can say, however, that the changes, for the most part, were not distracting to the story and were sometimes hard to pinpoint.
Obviously, as an avid fan, I am going to have pointless complaints because I want the stories to match up. But, as I said, they are pointless complaints- the movie was extremely satisfying and I loved it. I was thinking today, I began my journey with Harry Potter when I was 9 and I am now 21. I grew up with these books and it’s sad to think that this is all over. I will continue to read these books for the rest of my life and will one day introduce my children to them.
Let me know what you guys think about this epic end to an era and your reactions to the movie!
Happy reading/watching,
B
Quick Questions
B (me): Who’s your favorite author?
Niskala: “Well I have a few without putting one as a favorite. Alexandre Dumas, Robert Louis Stevenson, J.R.R. Tolkien, H.G. Wells, Mary Shelly with some more modern authors, Dean Koontz and Anne Rice.”
B: What’s your favorite book?
Niskala: “I find myself going back to ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’. I love the story of a man trapped (in prison) but through a chance of luck and overcoming incredible odds, escapes. He finds a long lost treasure and in the midst of revenge finds himself and true love.”
B: What motivated you to be an author?
Niskala: “Oddly enough, boredom; I found myself unemployed from a 6 figure corporate job and on the verge of insanity sending out thousands of unanswered resumes. In the sleepless hours of night, I wrote for the hopes of getting tired enough to actually fall asleep. Of course the opposite happened and out popped a Gothic horror novel, Rhinehoth.”
B: How many books have you written? Can you give us a few titles?
Niskala: “Rhinehoth is my first, I wrote a small book called Articles in Horror Volume 1 which is just a group of exactly what the title says. I wrote some articles for an online horror site and put them together in an eBook form. I am close to finishing a SciFi novel called ‘Space Cell 11’ about a space penal colony who the government along with a large corporate contractor abuses the prisoners for slave labor. I give it a good twist on traditional prison escape stories with the big bad corporate entity abusing power as they often will driven by greed. Besides the hind of the escape plot, there is also an interesting plot on human gene manipulation as well as the practical science behind the development of artificial gravity, teleportation and the future of resolving food and fuel shortages.”
B: What are your interests?
Niskala: “My main interests are movies and film. I want desperately to be able to produce movies, but know I need to become a writer/screen writer first to better know and understand the process from the creative aspect to the practical business part. Hopefully through my writing I will be able to get there. I already have produced a few small book trailers, one for Rhinehoth that has helped the novel get noticed.
Other than my career interests I have 4 amazing children and a wife of over 20 years, they are my main passion and interest.”
About Rhinehoth
B: What was your initial inspiration for Rhinehoth?
Niskala: “I saw the recent phenomena of Twilight, I like the stories, but found them insulting to the classic tales of vampires and werewolves. I guess it filled a romance gap for the teens, but I knew like myself, more adult or mature audiences would be craving something modern, but they could call their own. Something more violent with more adult sexual content, even though I purposely do not get too raunchy or graphic with scenes. Just enough to let the imagination run. So in the end, I wanted something to give the feel of the classic Dracula but with a more modern twist.”
B: The story focuses heavily on religious folklore; what kind of background/interest do you have in the subject?
Niskala: “Well my back-ground is from Catholic Schooling, not my entire education but a big part of it. Religion was a very big part of my education thanks in part to my parents making sure I had the best Catholic education possible. Religion is always a factor in everything, commerce, war, literature. “
B: Do you believe in any of the folklore you write about (literally or figuratively) or are the stories purely fictional to you? (Ex.- three crosses “marking” some sort of savior)
Niskala: “Folklore is what it is, I believe in God and that Jesus was sent in one way or another through him. You have to look at two things when it comes to religion and the ancient writings. If you have ever played the game telephone as a kid, you form a line, the first person tells a phrase or sentence and then the next person in line tells the next kid and so on. Eventually when you get to the last person, the story is completely different. Same as adults, we try our hardest to remember the details, the specifics, but the overall story changes a bit. Religion I look at as the same way, the core of the story is there, but things have changed, from print, to translation through an author’s interpretation. The 2nd is the faith in God, the faith that these stories have come to us as the word of God and the small changes made by man has not changed his intention. With all this considered, I have a very open mind. One of my main studies in High School was religion, where I studied all the various religions around the world. One thing I learned is that God is one hell of a salesman and marketed himself to the culture and region of its people. Either that or we as humans created him in our own form to fit into our cultures and regions. So to review and to answer yes and no.”
B: In Rhinehoth, you use a lot of (fictional and factual) history to tell a story in the present; what made you want to combine the two time periods?
Niskala: “I love how history shaped the world, the maps and how we look to the future. History cannot be changed, only by authors of fiction or when H.G. Wells’ ‘Time Machine’ is actually built. I wanted Rhinehoth to have an epic feel. The true history of the period made this possible and would help bring you into the story no matter who the reader is. We all learn history in school, all learned the stories of religion, the Roman’s and the conquering of Europe. I thought this all put together would give a great, interesting back drop and keep your mind going and become engaged with the characters and the time periods.”
B: Throughout history, we have seen this continual battle between vampires and werewolves; what made you want to tell your own version of the animosity? How do you think this animosity began?
Niskala: “I like the obvious tension created by different races and species. Telling this animosity is credible in a story, you don’t have to paint elaborate pictures of explanations, it is right there. Humans have always been brutal to each other with differences to race or color, it is only natural to bring this into a classic telling of a Gothic story. It fits the time periods and even the present. We all try to be accepting of differences in people, but you always have the inbreed instinct to fear the difference in other peoples of race or color. Animals of different species will eat animals that are not their own kind, it is the natural structure of things. So from that I think the animosity has always been there, from its inception.”
B: There you have it- straight from the source, leave a comment and let me know what you think!!
Happy reading,
B
Ok, so I finally finished Rhinehoth! If you are into fantasy, folklore, or horror, this is totally the book for you. A creative and modern twist on a classic tale.
Here’s a quick overview-
A jewel thief (Simon) gets sent to prison (Rhinehoth) in Germany. For about half the book, Simon starts to figure out the secrets and terrible past of Rhinehoth by watching and listening to other prisoners. For example, the guards of the prison are eerily wolf like, there is a doctor who sometimes shows her fangs, and he learns there is a vampire prince locked somewhere in the castle. The signs start to become overwhelmingly obvious to Simon and he begins to indulge these rumors as fact. He eventually learns he is the key to ending the horror that happens behind the walls of Rhinehoth and to do it, he must rescue the vampire prince.
Now, I’m a sucker for religious art, throw in a few fantasy creatures, and I’m hooked. Niskala does exactly that by incorporating Catholic beliefs and items into the story. There is the Calvary mark (three crosses- mirroring Jesus’ crucifixion), a witch’s spell that only a cross can break, and it even alludes to the classic biblical tale of David and Goliath. He also brings other religions into the mix by including reincarnation as one of the main ingredients to destroying the evil prison.
Oh and if you were paying attention –
Yes, ladies and gentleman, this is a werewolf/vampire story- and no, it is not Twilight. Don’t get me wrong, I’m as obsessed as the rest of them, but this is a much more adult and classic tale of the two foes. Niskala indulges the myths that have followed vampires for centuries; they have no reflection, garlic is a deterrent, and they kill people. He also mentions in the story that werewolves and vampires are not mortal enemies; they just don’t trust each other.
Now here come the critiques…..
Niskala’s writing is a bit different than I’m used to. It’s hard to explain, but it took a little while to warm up to it. I eventually figured it out and it became a non issue. I also have absolutely terrible eye sight and the print was very small for me and would hurt my eyes, especially when reading at night.
Overall, I’m a new fan of Niskala. I loved his creative tale of history combined with present, religion, and fantasy. It’s a story that has been told before, but from a new perspective. I encourage all of you to check out Rhinehoth and to keep an eye out for other works by Brian E. Niskala.
I scored an interview with Brian; make sure to check that out on July 8, he gives further explanations on a lot of the subjects talked about above.
Buy Rhinehoth at http://www.amazon.com/Rhinehoth-Brian-Niskala/dp/1449907601.
Follow Brian at http://twitter.com/#!/Rhinehoth.
Happy Reading,
B
I’m sure the majority of you have heard about Pottermore, a secretive site set up by J.K. Rowling herself. Well at 6am (my time) the secret was finally revealed!!
It seems it will be an interactive site where people can digitally create the world of Harry Potter. I have to admit, this didn’t totally get me jumping up and down, but the next part did…
Rowling will be introducing new information about the beloved wizarding world!! This will get me involved more than anything; I can’t wait to see what kind of things she has been holding back.
Ok, it’s not exactly “new book” exciting – but let’s be honest, we all had a feeling that wasn’t going to happen. She has made it clear time and time again there would not be another Harry Potter book added to the series.
Go to http://www.pottermore.com/ to see Rowling give the announcement.
B as in Book 