The Promised Neverland, Vol. 5

Today's post is on The Promised Neverland, Vol. 5 by Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu (Illustrator). It is 195 pages long and is published by Viz Media. The cover has Emma facing the read with her arms out to protect the others has they run away. As it is the fifth volume in the series, you need to have read the first four to understand the story. The intended reader is someone who likes dark stories with plucky children. There is no foul language, no sex, and mild violence in this volume. The story follows Emma, Ray and others as needed. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the manga- ESCAPE!
As Grace Field House goes up in flames, Emma and the other children make their run for freedom. With Mom refusing to give up and an army of demons at her call, this escape from captivity won’t be easy. Just what will Emma have to sacrifice to pull it off…?

Review- The children make their escape safely and now are in the outside world. Emma and Ray knew that it would be dangerous but the dangers surpass their guesses. But the children have good heads and have been training for this, so they are as ready as they can be. It feels like the real story is starting now with the children in the real world and facing it's dangers. In addition they are still being hunted by the demons from Grace Field House, who do not like to lose their future meals. I am very curious about the world outside of the walls and what the children are going to find there. 

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money. 

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 4

Today's manga post is on The Promised Neverland, Vol. 4 by Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu. It is 92 pages long and is published by Viz. The cover has Emma, Norman, and Ray on it. As it is the fourth volume in the series, you need to have read the first three volumes to understand the story. The intended reader is someone who likes shonen manga, tense horror plots, and heist stories. There is no foul language, no sex, and mild violence in this volume. The story is told from third person close of the main characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the manga- Life at Grace Field House is good for Emma and her fellow orphans. While the daily studying and exams they have to take are tough, their loving caretaker provides them with delicious food and plenty of playtime. But perhaps not everything is as it seems…
Just as the plan to escape the orphanage is coming together, Mom viciously breaks Emma's leg and reveals that Norman's days are numbered. Emma and Ray will do anything to save their friend from being eaten by the demons, but can they outsmart their devious foe?

Review- With the escape plans to close, the plot is getting more intense. Mom is on to them and she knows that Emma wants to save everyone. So Mom makes the first move by breaking Emma's leg and moving Norman's due date up. By doing these things, Mom hopes to trap the children in despair and stop them from making different plans. But Ray and Emma will not be stopped so easily. This series just keeping getting better with how intense the plot and the ticking clock behind our characters. There is a good cliffhanger in the volume, so I am very excited to read what is going to happen next. 

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

Land of the Lustrous, Vol. 1

Today's manga post is on Land of the Lustrous, Vol. 1 by Haruko Ichikawa. It is 200 pages long and is published by Kodansha Comics. The cover has some of the characters on it. The intended reader is someone who likes complicated, dystopian stories. There is no foul language, no sex, and some action violence in this manga. The story is told from third person close of the the main character, Phosphophylliye. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the manga- Searching for Purpose
In a world inhabited by crystalline life-forms called The Lustrous every unique gem must fight for their way of life against the threat of Lunarians who would turn them into decorations. Phosphophyllite, the most fragile and brittle of gems, longs to join the battle. When Phos is instead assigned to complete a natural history of their world, it sounds like a dull and pointless task. But this new job brings Phos into contact with Cinnabar, a gem forced to live in isolation. Can Phos's seemingly mundane assignment lead both Phos and Cinnabar to the fulfillment they desire?

Review- This is an interesting start to a series. The world that Phos lives in has ended but life has continued in a very unusual way. So to understand the world she is given the task of making a natural history. The Lunarians are interesting villains as they are a total unknown expect that they want the Lustrous, for some reason know only to themselves. The art is good and the action scenes are interesting and quick. I look forward to reading the next volume. 

I give this manga a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money. 

The Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 2

Today's post is on The Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 2 by James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno (Artist). It is 176 pages long and is published by DC Comics. The cover has Walter in the center and the others around him floating like in water. As it is the second volume, you need to have read the first one to understand the story. There is foul language, no sex, and some violence in this graphic novel. The intended reader is someone who likes end of the world stories with diverse characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- One of the most critically acclaimed and bestselling horror books of 2021 returns for its shocking second act—and now is the perfect time to enter the house! The 10 hardy survivors gathered in the house by their mutual friend Walter thought they’d finally cracked the code on his plans…and now everything they thought they knew has literally changed. Can they free themselves from their patterns? Or are they all just determined to build a prison of their very own?

Review- This comic is like a good TV show, intense, to the point, and doesn't over stay it's welcome. Walter is trying to get some control over his group and he is starting to understand that is not possible, that's humans are too much for him to control and still be loved by his friends. So he must make a choice and live with it. I feel that this was a great ending for a interesting series, there is more that can be done but this is a  strong send off if nothing more happens. The art is good, the writing is good, and the pacing is excellent, not too fast or too slow. I would be interested in whatever Tynion does next. 

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this graphic novel from my local library. 

Sister, Maiden, Monster

Today's fiction post is on Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder. It is 265 pages long and is published by Tor Nightfire. The cover has a ball with wings and tentacles coming from it. There intended reader is someone who likes cosmic horror. There is foul language, sex, and violence in this novel. The story is told from first person in three section with three different narrators. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the novel- To survive they must evolve.
A virus tears across the globe, transforming its victims in nightmarish ways. As the world collapses, dark forces pull a small group of women together.
Erin, once quiet and closeted, acquires an appetite for a woman and her brain. Why does forbidden fruit taste so good?
Savannah, a professional BDSM switch, discovers a new turn-on: committing brutal murders for her eldritch masters.
Mareva, plagued with chronic tumors, is too horrified to acknowledge her divine role in the coming apocalypse, and as her growths multiply, so too does her desperation.

Review- This is a very interesting, well-written, and odd novel that is NOT for everyone. The world is ending, it starts with a virus, that kills most infected, and the ones who survive are changed. Now the survivors either hear things or are hungry for very different food, like brains or blood. So begins the most unusual end of the world story I have ever read. There is so much to talk about with this novel. The writing style is very good. Snyder handles the three different points of view very well, the reader is never lost about who is talking. While I did enjoy this novel, this is NOT for everyone. There are disturbing scenes from the characters realizing how changed they are to their bodies changing again at the end of the world. While not for everyone, this was is a good and interesting novel. 

I give this novel a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this novel from my local library. 

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 3

Today's manga post is on The Promised Neverland, Vol. 3 by Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu  (Illustrator). It is 192 pages long and is published by Shonen Jump. The cover has the children running and defended themselves. As it is the third volume in the series, you need to have read the first two volumes. The intended reader is someone who likes horror, dystopian manga. There is no foul language, no sex, and some mild violence in this manga. The story is told from third person close of the different characters moving as needed. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the manga- Destroy!
In order to escape the orphanage where they are being raised as food for demons, Emma, Norman and Ray begin recruiting allies. But convincing the other children to believe them may not be an easy task. 

Review- This volume is very tense with the adults both moving, against the children and each other. Sister Krone wants to be a mom and she knows that the children are planning to escape. So she proposes a alliance, help for the children to escape and help to bring down mom Isabelle. Of course nothing goes as planned with Sister Krone giving her life to help the children in some mysterious way and mom Isabelle saying that Norman's day is here. The tension is getting greater as the children are very aware of time running out for them and they still know so little about the outside world. I hope that we get the escape soon because Grace Field House is just getting more dangerous for everyone, even Isabelle. 

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

Invisible Kingdom, Vol. 1: Walking the Path

Today's fiction post is on Invisible Kingdom, Vol. 1: Walking the Path by G. Willow Wilson and Christian Ward (Artist). 136 pages long and is published by Berger Books. The cover is beautiful blue sky with a lone figure in red facing a floating building. The intended reader is someone who likes science fiction, political stories, and graphic novels. There is no foul language, implied sex, and mild violence in this volume. The story is told from third person god, following the two main characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- In a distant galaxy, two women discover an inconceivable conspiracy between the world's most dominant religion and an all-powerful mega corporation.
Suddenly the prey in a desperate interstellar chase, they're faced with a life-or-death decision: reveal the truth or risk plunging their worlds into anarchy.

Review- A great start into a graphic novel series about a conspiracy a the highest levels of life and effecting every living species. Vess is a new none on the path to the invisible kingdom, she has a calling towards her religious order and when she discovers something odd in the books of the order, she learns that not everything is what it should be. There is so much to like about this graphic novel, the story is fast paced, the art is great, and the characters are very interesting. I really like the none of the aliens look like a human, other than walking on two legs. They are very alien but that works so well and makes the story have a very different feel than if the reader had a human character to attach to. I recommend this graphic novel and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next volume and continue the chase.  

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this graphic novel from my local library. 

Leech

Today's fiction post is on Leech by Hiron Ennes. It is 323 pages long and is published by Tor. The cover is grey with a bottle in the center, there is a castle in the bottle and black tentacles coming from the top. The intended reader is someone who likes weird, dystopian fiction. There is foul language, no sex, and mild violence in this novel. The story is told from first person of the main character. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- In an isolated chateau, as far north as north goes, the baron’s doctor has died. The doctor’s replacement has a mystery to solve: discovering how the Institute lost track of one of its many bodies.
For hundreds of years the Interprovincial Medical Institute has grown by taking root in young minds and shaping them into doctors, replacing every human practitioner of medicine. The Institute is here to help humanity, to cure and to cut, to cradle and protect the species from the apocalyptic horrors their ancestors unleashed.
In the frozen north, the Institute's body will discover a competitor for its rung at the top of the evolutionary ladder. A parasite is spreading through the baron's castle, already a dark pit of secrets, lies, violence, and fear. The two will make war on the battlefield of the body. Whichever wins, humanity will lose again.

Review- This is a fascinating novel told from the perspective of a parasite that has been living in humans for over 500 years and has made itself the only medical help around the world. The world has been destroyed by war with aliens and between countries. Something has happened to the Institute's body in the far north and so another has been sent, to tend to the people there and to discover what happened. In the frozen, the body discovers that more fell from the stars than just legends. I enjoyed this novel, it was an interesting way to tell a story with the body being in touch with others of its kind and the body's panic when it cannot hear them anymore. Ennes creates a very interesting world with a rich past and dark present. They have a wonderful writing style that gives the reader just enough information to understand what is happening but making the reader curious about what happened and what is going to happen. If you like horror, dystopian novels, I would recommend this novel. 

I give this novel a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this novel from my local library.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin

Today's post is on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird and Tom Waltz. It is 224 pages long and is published by IDW Publishing. The cover is black with a red moon and a turtle in black with his back to the reader. The intended reader is someone who is a fan of the series but you don't have to read all the previous series to enjoy this. There is mild foul language, no sex, and violence in this graphic novel. The story is told from third person close of the Last Ronin. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Who is the Last Ronin? In a future, battle-ravaged New York City, a lone surviving Turtle embarks on a seemingly hopeless mission seeking justice for the family he lost. From legendary TMNT co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, get ready for the final story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles three decades in the making!
What terrible events destroyed his family and left New York a crumbling, post-apocalyptic nightmare? All will be revealed in this climactic Turtle tale that sees longtime friends becoming enemies and new allies emerging in the most unexpected places. Can the surviving Turtle triumph?
Eastman and Laird are joined by writer Tom Waltz, who penned the first 100 issues of IDW’s ongoing TMNT series, and artists Esau & Isaac Escorza (Heavy Metal) and Ben Bishop (The Far Side of the Moon) with an Introduction by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez!
Collects the complete five-issue miniseries in a new graphic novel, an adventure as fulfilling for longtime Turtles fans as it is accessible for readers just discovering the heroes in a half-shell.

Review- This was an incredible graphic novel and a great ending for the original turtle series. The story is in the future and New York is a mess without it's half-shelled protectors. The story is full of emotion not just from the turtle but from the others around him that are still healing from the events that made the Ronin a Ronin. The biggest emotion to me was the turtle dealing with loneness. They were always together or with April/Casey and in the present he has been alone for years and it has taken a toll on him. But he is committed to ending the war and stopping the last Oroku at last. I would strongly recommend this graphic novel. 

I give this graphic novel a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this novel from my local library.

Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer

Today's fiction post is on Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer by Casey Gilly and Joe Jaro (Illustrator). It is 112 pages long and is published by BOOM! Studios. The cover has Buffy with her back to the reader in a ravaged landscape. The intended reader is someone who likes Buffy the Vampire Slayer and dystopian settings. There is mild foul language, no sex, and action violence in this graphic novel. The story is told from third person close, following Buffy mostly. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- It’s the final Slayer tale in this apocalyptic Buffy The Vampire Slayer adventure like you’ve never seen before!
On an alternate earth ravaged by climate change, vampires daywalk unimpeded under a polluted sky. But even amidst the dystopian harmony between the vampire regime and their human cattle, a hardened, 50-year-old Buffy Summers stumbles across hope in the form of a little girl that believes she is the last Slayer. A rebellion is brewing—a new Scooby gang for Buffy, led by a secret leader. Can this familiar face, along with Buffy and the rebellion, turn the tide by bringing back the sun through science… and possibly even magic?
The Multiverse explodes as writer Casey Gilly (Star Wars, My Little Pony) and artist Joe Jaro (Firefly) along with colorist Joana LaFuente (Fence) and letterer Ed Dukeshire (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) bring you a dystopian tale of Buffy Summers as you’ve never seen her before! Collects Buffy The Last Vampire Slayer #1-4.

Review- This is a great, fast-paced story starring Buffy in a new dystopian way. Vampires and other creatures of the night can now walk in the daytime because something made the sun less powerful. In addition in an act of terrorism, all other Slayers were killed, leaving Buffy the last one. She is in hiding because she is a danger the 'peace' with the creatures of the night. But fate loves Buffy and is not going to let her die quietly. I had a really good time with this graphic novel, it had everything I wanted. From good action scenes to Buffy and Spike together again and unique world to explore. The ending is good and quite final but I would like to see more and see what trouble Buffy, Spike, and the new Scoobies can get into. I would recommend this graphic novel. 

I give this graphic novel a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this graphic novel from my local library.

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 2

 

Today's post is on The Promised Neverland, vol 2 by Kaiu Shirai and art by Posuka Demizu. It is 189 pages long and is published by Shonen Jump. The cover has Emma and her friends searching for something in their house library. As is the second in this plot heavy manga series, so you need to have read the first volume to understand the characters and story. The intended reader is someone who likes horror-fantasy manga. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this volume. The story is told from third person close of the main characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Behind the facade of a happy orphanage, the children of Grace Field House are secretly being raised as food for demons! Determined to save themselves and the other kids, Emma, Norman, and Ray begin planning an escape. But their caretaker, "Mom," has brought in extra help to keep the orphans in line...

Review- The kids know that they are racing against time as Mom knows about their plan. They have a traitor in their group, someone who is feeding Mom information about their plans. This volume is more about Norman and Ray, building their characters and motivations. They both want to escape but only one wants to help Emma get the other children out. The new Sister Krone is pretty scary, as she is an unknown and her plans are to replace Mom herself. Mom is not too much in this volume but her shadow is over them and their plans. The reader is reminded of the ticking clock over the children's heads at the end of the volume. This was a good volume with character development and rising tension for the next shipment day. I look to reading the next volume. 

I give this manga a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money. 

Sky Without Stars

Today's post is on Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell. It is 579 pages long and is published by Simon Pulse. The cover is a world with different French landmarks on it. The intended reader is someone who likes young adult novels, romance, and reimagines of stories. There is some mild foul language, no sex, and some violence in this novel. The story is told from three different perspectives of the main characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- A thief. An officer. A guardian.
Three strangers. One shared destiny . . .
When the Last Days came, the planet of Laterre promised hope. But five hundred years later, it’s now a place where an extravagant elite class reigns supreme; where the clouds hide the stars and the poor starve in the streets; where a rebel group, long thought dead, is resurfacing.
Whispers of revolution have begun—a revolution that hinges on three unlikely heroes…
Chatine is a street-savvy thief who will do anything to escape the brutal Regime, including spying on Marcellus, the grandson of the most powerful man on the planet.
Marcellus is an officer—and the son of a traitor. Groomed to command by his legendary grandfather, Marcellus begins to doubt the government he’s vowed to serve when he discovers a cryptic message that only one person, a girl named Alouette, can read.
Alouette is living in an underground refuge, where she guards and protects the last surviving library on the planet. But a shocking murder will bring Alouette to the surface for the first time in twelve years…and plunge Laterre into chaos.
All three have roles to play in a dangerous game of revolution—and together they will shape the future of a planet.
Power, romance, and destiny collide in this sweeping reimagining of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece Les Misérables.

Review- A epic beginning to a trilogy that takes Les Misérables not only into space but into places never explored before. The story follows three very different characters with very different perceptions of life and their futures. Chatine only wants to get away from Laterre, Marcellus wants to be who his grandfather expects him to be, and Alouette wants to protect the hidden past without knowing her own. The three are on a collision course with planned revolution, old secrets, and murder. This was a good read with lots of world building, characters development, and fast pacing. The reader gets a handle on the world of Laterre and the people who live and die there. With the chapter heading telling the reader who perspective they are in, the reader sees Laterre from very different places and that adds so much to the world. I look forward to reading the next volume. 

I give this novel a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this novel from my local library.

Vampire Hunter D Volume 6: Pilgrimage of the Sacred and the Profane

Today's fiction post is on Vampire Hunter D Volume 6: Pilgrimage of the Sacred and the Profane by Hideyuki Kikuchi , and Yoshitaka Amano  (Illustrator). It is 178 pages long and is published by Dark Horse. The cover has D and his horse in the moonlight on it. The intended reader is someone who likes dark adventure stories with stoic characters and strange monsters. There is mild foul language, mild sexuality, and violence in this novel. The story is told from third person god narration. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- The Cruel Desert between the Inner and Outer Frontiers has a mind, and heart, of its own.
Granny Viper is a "people finder," a searcher for lost souls along the roads of the forbidding wasteland of 12,090 A.D. Her latest mission: the safe return to her family of an "abductee," a young woman named Tae, kidnapped eight years ago by vampire Nobility and held in Castle Gradinia on the far border of the Frontiers. Rescuing Tae was only half the battle- Viper knows she can't make the rest of the journey with the across the formidable expanse to the town of Barnabas alone. But the wizened crone makes a fatal mistake in hiring the mercenary Bullow Brothers to help her, and when she turns to the legendary Vampire Hunter D for salvation the two women and D finds themselves in a race for their lives across the blinding desert sands.

Review- Another interesting adventure for D and the world that he lives in. In this novel he meets another dhampir and they have some very interesting interactions. The action is mostly about the characters just trying to survive the desert, which has a will and plans for all of them. The most interesting part of this novel is interactions between D and the other dhampir. They a lot in common and that makes their conversations very important and add depth to the world and world building. The art in this novel really add to the story and we get a good look at D's face in this volume. All in all this volume was a great read and added so much to the world building and to D's overall character. 

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this novel with my own money.

Stillwater, Vol. 1: Rage, Rage (Stillwater #1-6) by Chip Zdarsky, Ramon K. Perez (Illustrator), Mike Spicer (Colorist)

 

Today's post is on Stillwater, Vol. 1: Rage, Rage by Chip Zdarsky, Ramon K. Perez (Illustrator), Mike Spicer (Colorist). It is 136 pages and is published by Image Comics. The cover is red with a woman's skeleton holding a baby on it. There is foul language, no sex, and violence in this comic volume. The intended reader is someone who likes comics, horror stories, and over arching mysteries. The story is told from third person close of the main character, Daniel. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Nobody dies. In the town of Stillwater, that's not just a promise. It's a threat.
Seemingly frozen in time and unable to age, its citizens have learned to exist with the knowledge that they'll live forever. With no one allowed in or out of the town under the threat of severe violence, things seem normal from the outside. But when Daniel shows up in town after receiving a mysterious letter, he'll find out if immortality is a gift or a curse...

Review- An interesting start to a big plot. Daniel gets a letter about an inheritance from an aunt he did not know he had. So with a friend, he heads to a town that is not any map to see what needs to be done. In Stillwater, they find more than just an inheritance. So this comic series starts and it gets to work world building. Each of the chapters end with a flash back to what happened when Daniel was taken from Stillwater. The art is good, the storytelling is solid, and I liked the characters and world. There is a lot going on and the mystery of what is really going on in the background is very compelling. I am looking forward to the next collection coming out and seeing what is going to happen. 

I give this comic volume a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this comic volume from my local library.

Vampire Hunter D: Tale of the Dead Town

 

Today's post is on Vampire Hunter D: Tale of the Dead Town by Hideyuki Kikuchi and art by Yoshitaka Amano. It is 167 pages long and is published by Dark Horse Published. The cover is a close up illustration of D. The intended reader is someone who likes dystopian, horror novels. As it is the fourth novel in the series, it would be helpful to have read the first three novels for context. There is some mild foul language, mild sexuality, and violence in this novel. The story is told from third person god perspective. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- When vampires attack a floating city, only one man can save paradise.
The City, a tiny metropolis of a new hundred sheltered citizens floating serenely on a seemingly random course a few feet above the ground, has long been thought safe from the predation of marauding monsters. It seems like a paradise.
A paradise shattered when an invasion of apparent vampires threatens the small haven. While the Vampire Hunter known only as "D" struggles to exterminate the scourge, a former denizen of the City, the attractive Lori Knight, and the brash John M. Brasselli Pluto VIII seize control of the City, lurching it onto a new and deadly course. D's travails are just beginning.

Review- This is a very fast paced novel with a lot of characters and the reader gets to see a newish side of D, during his interactions with others. It starts with D helping Pluto and Knight fight off some beasts on the frontier. They head to the floating city where somehow a vampire has gotten on board and is feeding on the citizens. This is the first novel that directly references any of the previous novels, the girl from the first novel and what is learn about the Scared Ancestor from the third novel. The plot is more than just find the vampire with all the characters in this novel. From Pluto with his strange body jumping ability to the doctor who has some strange fighting training, there is more than just what the reader has gotten from the previous novels. I hope that future novels are done more in this style. 

I give this novel a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this novel with my own money.

Vampire Hunter D: Demon Deathchase

 

Today's post is on Vampire Hunter D: Demon Deathchase by Hideyuki Kikychi. It is 178 pages long and is published by Dark Horse. As it is the third novel in the series, it would be helpful to have read the first two novels for the worldbuilding. The cover is an illustration of Mayerling and his lady love. The intended reader is someone who likes dystopian, horror stories. There is mild foul language, discussion of rape, and violence in this novel. The story is told from third person god perspective, moving as the story does from one character to the next. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- When a desperate village elder learns that his daughter has been abducted by vampire Noble Mayerling, he turns to the mysterious Vampire Hunter D to save her. However, with not just his daughter's life but her very soul in peril, her father also enlists the aid of the notorious Marcus clan, a dangerous and renegade family of Hunters as infamous for killing off the competition as they are for getting their man.
D's task becomes ever-more daunting as the fleeing Mayerling bends an entire village to his will, enlisting a horrific cadre of human/monster half-breeds. Powerful as D is, can he prevail against the force of sheer numbers of such diabolical adversaries?

Review- An interesting third novel in this series. D is hired to save a young woman who was 'taken' by the local Noble vampire, Mayerling. But the woman was not taken, they are in love, and she ran away with him. But once D takes a job, he will see it through, he also has some competition in a clan of hunters called the Marcus'. They are brutal group that mistreats their own and they do worse to those in their way. Plus Mayerling pays for supernatural bodyguards. This is novel has a lot going on with a large cast of characters but with the narration style it is easy to keep track of who is who and what is going on. D is more like he was in the first novel, just a hunter doing a job, but again there is a feeling of a time shift towards the future, not just in how D is, but how the world is. The reader sees so much of the world and from the strange being that live in it now. This is a very good novel and I enjoyed it. 

I give this novel a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this novel with my own money.

Minority Report

 

Today's post is on Minority Report by Philip K. Dick. It is 38 pages long and is published by Patheon Books. The intended reader is someone who is interesting in classic sci-fi and classic dystopian fiction. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this story. The story is told from third person perspective. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

Blurb- In the world of The Minority Report, Commissioner John Anderton is the one to thank for the lack of crime. He is the originator of the Precrime System, which uses precogs—people with the power to see into the future—to identify criminals before they can do any harm. Unfortunately for Anderton, his precogs perceive him as the next criminal.

Review- An interesting short story about what a world where you could stop a crime from even happening and what if there was a chance that the crime would never have happened anyway. John Anderton has stopped all murders by using precogs, mutant children who can see the future in parts, and boom no more murders. But then his name comes down as a murderer and he has to prove that he would do that. Then the story becomes very political but still interesting. I don't feel that there is any real answers about weather the precogs are right or not. But don't let that stop you from reading this story, it is a classic for a reason. 

I give this short story a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from library. 

Sever

Today's post is on Sever by Lauren DeStefano. It is 371 pages long and is published by Simon & Schuster. The cover is green with Rhine in the center holding her wedding ring not wearing it. As it is the third in The Chemical Garden Trilogy you need to have read the first volumes to understand the story. There is mild foul language, no sex, and mild violence in this novel. The intended reader is someone who likes dark YA dystopian. The story is told from first person close of Rhine There Be Spoilers Ahead. 

From the dust jacket- With time ticking until the virus takes its toll,, Rhine is desperate for answers. After enduring Vaughn's worst, Rhine finds an unlikely ally in his brother, an eccentric inventor named Reed. She takes refuge in his dilapidated house, though the people she left behind refuse to stay in the past. While Gabriel haunts Rhine's memories, Cecily is determined to be at Rhine's side, even if Linden's feelings are still caught between them.

Meanwhile, Rowan's growing involvement in an underground resistance compels Rhine to reach him before he does something that cannot be undone. But what she discovers along the way has alarming implications for her future- and about the past her parents never had the chance to explain.

Review- This was my favorite volume in the whole series, everything comes together as the volume goes and it is a very interesting story. The volume picks up on long after the second one with Rhine in a real hospital recovering from what Vaugh has done to her. Cecily knows that Vaugh is a villain who will kill anyone to get what he wants and Linden is learning that his father is not who he thought. Vaugh is shown to be more reasonable than what we have seen from the first two volumes but he still will murder to get his cure. Reed is an interesting addition to the cast and I liked him, he added one good adult in the mix to offset Vaugh. Rowan is not what I was expecting, Rhine has always seen him as strong willed but when she finds him, she finds that Vaugh got to him first. There is some body horror in this volume, like in volume two but it is not as bad. There are many revelations in this volume but I feel that they made sense. DeStefano does a good job with this world and these characters. I look forward to the next thing I read from her. 

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this book with my own money. 

Fever

Today’s post is on Fever by Lauren DeStefano. It is the second in her The Chemical Garden trilogy. It is 341 pages long and is published by Simon and Schuster. The cover is tan with a girl in the middle holding a tarot card. As it is the second novel in the trilogy you need to have read the first volume to understand the story. There is mild foul language, discussing of sex and sexuality, and mild violence in this novel. The story is told from first person close of the main character, Rhine. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.
Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.
The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

Review- Rhine and Gabriel have escaped and are on the run into a world that neither of them know. Most of the story is about Rhine and Gabriel seeing what the world is really like now and doing their best to not die. Gabriel is sweet and loyal but in over his head and Rhine is getting sick but not with whatever kills young adults, something else, something her father in law did to her. I enjoyed this volume more than the first one, I liked seeing more of the world, I liked seeing Rhine and Gabriel working together and exploring the world in their search for Rhine’s twin. The world is hard and our heroes learn over the course of the story and grow. The ending is good with Rhine seeing her brother and now she has a fight to get free from her father in law. I am curious about how the story is going to end. 

I give this volume a Three out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this series with my own money.

Wither

Today’s post is on Wither by Lauren DeStefano. It is the first book in her Chemical Garden trilogy. The cover has a young woman not looking at the camera on it. It is 358 pages long and is published by Simon & Schuster. The intended reader is someone who likes YA fiction and dystopian stories. There is mild foul language, discussion of sex and sexuality, and mild violence in this novel.  The story is told from first person close of the main character, Rhine. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can't bring herself to hate him as much as she'd like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband's strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?

Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?

Review- This is a very dark young adult story. Rhine only has twenty years to live before something will destroy her body from the inside out. Humanity thought that they had beaten death but that is not the case. The story starts with Rhine being kidnapped to be a bride of a young man, who does not know that is what happened to her. He thinks that she chose to be his bride. Rhine just wants to get back to her twin brother. Add in her ‘husband’s creepy father and you have a tense story. The reader is pulled through this volume by wanting to see how Rhine is going to get out of the house. I did enjoy this novel, it is not the best version of this story that I have read but I am curious about where the plot is going next. 

I give this novel a Three out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this novel with my own money.