Review of Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

Bear with me on this one, I'm sick and it may not all come out right.

From Amazon.com:

In the now-classic novel Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice refreshed the archetypal vampire myth for a late-20th-century audience. The story is ostensibly a simple one: having suffered a tremendous personal loss, an 18th-century Louisiana plantation owner named Louis Pointe du Lac descends into an alcoholic stupor. At his emotional nadir, he is confronted by Lestat, a charismatic and powerful vampire who chooses Louis to be his fledgling. The two prey on innocents, give their "dark gift" to a young girl, and seek out others of their kind (notably the ancient vampire Armand) in Paris. But a summary of this story bypasses the central attractions of the novel. First and foremost, the method Rice chose to tell her tale--with Louis' first-person confession to a skeptical boy--transformed the vampire from a hideous predator into a highly sympathetic, seductive, and all-too-human figure. Second, by entering the experience of an immortal character, one raised with a deep Catholic faith, Rice was able to explore profound philosophical concerns--the nature of evil, the reality of death, and the limits of human perception--in ways not possible from the perspective of a more finite narrator.

My Thoughts:

If you've never seen the movie (let's face it, though, who hasn't) this book is amazing. The picture that Louis sets when he describes where he is, or how it differs from today is just beautiful. The pacing can be a little slow in places, but its forgiveable with how much information your getting. It really helps to pull you into the story.

I love that throughout the whole story, when in present tense, the two in the room are always named the vampire and the boy. And though we learn the vampire's name, we never get a name for the boy. Mrs. Rice had a flare for this romantic horror that she brings through with her vampires. They're frightening to be sure, but you can't help but fall for them. I'm a fan, and I can't wait to get to "The Vampire Lestat"

Rating: R for adult themes

Recommended for: Anyone that needs a GOOD vampire novel with strong characters thats been thuroughly researched.

Not Recommended for: Children and young adults, anyone who needs constant fast pace in writing.

Stars: 4/5

Review of The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure by William Goldman

From Amazon.com:

The Princess Bride is a true fantasy classic. William Goldman describes it as a "good parts version" of "S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure." Morgenstern's original was filled with details of Florinese history, court etiquette, and Mrs. Morgenstern's mostly complimentary views of the text. Much admired by academics, the "Classic Tale" nonetheless obscured what Mr. Goldman feels is a story that has everything: "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles."

Goldman frames the fairy tale with an "autobiographical" story: his father, who came from Florin, abridged the book as he read it to his son. Now, Goldman is publishing an abridged version, interspersed with comments on the parts he cut out.

Is The Princess Bride a critique of classics like Ivanhoe and The Three Musketeers, that smother a ripping yarn under elaborate prose? A wry look at the differences between fairy tales and real life? Simply a funny, frenetic adventure? No matter how you read it, you'll put it on your "keeper" shelf. --Nona Vero

My Thoughts:

As someone who watched the movie when I was little and fell in love with it, I honestly didn't know it was a book first. How thrilled I was to find out that one of my all-time favorites was adapted to a film from a novel.

I started reading whatever I could find about the book and I came up with a few simple things. 1) S. Morgenstern, Florin, and all the characters are fake. 2) The book was originally done in the 60's. 3) That he abridged a novel that he created tells me that Mr. Goldman is a genius. And 4) I had to have this book.

After scouring the web (Amazon) I finally found a few used copies of the 25th Anniversary print. I had to continue my shopping further to make sure that the money I was spending wasn't absurd (trust me, if you look it up, you'd be astounded by the price of some of these) and ended up buying it!

Now, I read this book as soon as it arrived, sparing little time for daily life. I was so pleased. The characters I loved from the movie were written nearly word-for-word from the book! Sure, there are a few missed scenes that would have added perfectly, but none the less.

Truly, knowing that S. Morgenstern didn't exist, as well as Mr. Goldman's son, Jason, and an interesting conversation with Stephen King (though they are friends) about the sequel, Buttercup's baby (which you will find Chapter 1 in the 25th anniversary), didn't matter in the least. By the time I set the book down finished, I believed they were all real! Mr. Goldman is a master of imagry!

Book Rating: PG. There are fight scenes and love scenes, all of course, tastefully done.

Recommended For: Anyone and everyone. If you haven't read this book yet, you absolutely need to. If you have read it, yay you! and you should read it again.

Not Recommended For: I don't believe that this book is something anyone should pass up.

My Rating: 6/5 stars!

Review of I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

From the book:

Nine of us came here, we look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having.We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books--but we are real.

Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running, Spending our lives in shadows, in places no one would look, blending in. We have lived among you without you knowing.

But they know.

They caught Number One in Malaysia.

Number Two in England.

And Number Three in Kenya.

They killed them all.

I am Number Four.

I am next.

My Thoughts:

The idea behind this story is brilliant. Nine children from a distant life-bearing planet come to Earth along with their Guardians (cepans). They can run as fast as a car on the highway and they're super strong, but they aren't the only ones that came to Earth. Another bunch of aliens, the Mogadorians, are here to destroy them and then do the same to us.

I loved the history that is given in this story. Its so well thought out. There aren't many details about the race of the Lorien that are left to the imagination, or their involvement in our world.

On the other hand, the language used in the story is awkward, there are many times where you have to read over a sentence or paragraph more than once. Also, the whole story is written in present tense which is a bit odd. The grammar and punctuation are attrocious. There are a lot of places where the comma is a space away from the word it should be attached to. Same with periods. There were also a lot of words with no spaces between them making it hard to read at times. It was really very disappointing that such an amazing idea wasn't looked over more carefully by the editor. Especially considering it was published by Penguin.

Overall, the action sequences were pretty decent, maybe a little drawn out. The characters weren't deep, they were very two-demensional, and it will probably lose a lot of readers due to the lack of self and professional editing.

Rating: YA.

Recommended for: Readers of almost any age. Most of the vocab in it is very simple.

Not Recommended for: Anyone that will get stuck on the technical issues of writing.

Stars: 2/5

Review of Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

From the book:

Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may bery well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

My Thoughts:

OMG I loved this book. Mrs. White's idea was unbelievably original and Evie is super awesome. I loved her wit and her fashion sense and her friends. All amazing. The story is so well written, I actually believe the IPCA could exist!

I went in this story with low expectations. Sure, I had heard reviews, but I guess I was expecting it to be just like every other book with vampires, werewolves and whatever else. Totally and absolutely wrong! Evie is the perfect story teller. She is so witty and innocent. What she sees and how she sees it is amazing. I love that she vies for a life that we find mundane while the world we wish existed is her idea of boring. Its fantastic.

I loved loved loved Lend. He is just so perfect for Evie and his cryptic speak and all that. Loved him. And then there was Reth. The way he is described is great, and the way the whole faerie race was fantastic, but I just couldn't help being a little wary of him. Of course, I think that was the idea. ;)

Rating: PG. It's a great YA novel, perfect for any young adult of any age. Of course, there were a few violent parts, but very tastefully done.

Recommended for: Anyone that loves the fantasy genre and would like something fresh and different.

Not Recommended for: Someone against violence (even the kind that isn't real)

Stars: 5/5 (Oh bleep!)

Review of Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

 From the Book:

Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduatin from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything--including her own life. Is forbidden love worththe ultimate sacrifice?

My Thoughts:

The first thing that hit me about this book, just looking at it was that the cover is beautiful. We've all heard the old saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover" but I can't help it here. Wow. Also, I love the pages dedicated for the chapters. Phases of the moon, rock on! Then there are those weird little triangle symbols at the corners of each first page of the chapters. It all wraps into the story and really helped pull me in.

The first chapter of this story was amazing. It sucked me right in and took me for the ride. It isn't really surprising what Calla turns out to be, but it is a very original twist on a very classic tale. The chapters are somewhat short, but its such a relief to find that stopping point to go find a bag of chips or turn on some music without having to stop in the middle of the action.

Calla has an awesome personality. I love her for it. She has some outstanding morals in a very fast paced world, and I enjoyed her view on us lowly humans. The balance between her duties and her desires gives her fabulous depth and I really enjoyed following her around on her journey.

Right away, I saw the conflict in this story and while it wasn't a big surprise how the story ended, it was still fantastic writing. Mrs. Cremer did a great job and I can't wait until July to read Wolfsbane.

Rating: G. This is a perfect paranormal/fantasy story for a teen or young adult, but I think that even those of us that are a little older than that would love this book.

Recommended for: Anyone that loves a good twist off the usual fantasy story, anyone that loves history

Not Recommended for: People that don't appreciate the fantasy genre

Rating: 5/5

Review of "Strangers" by Dean Koontz

I have been putting off reading Dean Koontz for a while. I wanted the moment to be right. When I would have the time to actually devote myself to reading his works. And apparently I found that time. So, here's the review. Again, based on Anne Riley's reviewing format.

From the back of the book:
A terrifying and truly deadly secret--an eternal riddle come to reality--is what the protagonists of this relentlessly gripping novel sobconsiously share. Not one of them knows what the secret is, nor do they know each other. All they know is that a special terror has come to dominate and warp their lives. For each victim the torture is different.

• For Dominick Corvaisis, in Laguna Beach, California, a writer on the verge of his first success, it means compulsive and increasing dangerous sleepwalking and awakening to cryptic and sinister messages on his word processor.
• For you doctor Ginger Weiss in Boston, it means that unrelated objects--a pair of black gloves worn by a stranger, water swirling down a drain--have the power to send her into sudden blackouts that threaten her surgical career.
• For Father Brennan Cronin in Chicago, an idealistic young curate, it means a precipitate loss of faith one morning when he hurls away the sacred vessels at Mass.
• For Jack Twist in New York, an embittered ex-POW and safecracker par excellence, it means a searing wave of conscience.
• For seven-year-old Marcie Monatella in Las Vegas, it means zombielike trances when she does nothing but draw pictures of a scarlet moon.
• For Ernie Block, ex-Marine motel owner in Elko County, Nevada, it means a new fear of the dark so numbing that the approach of dusk reduces him to cowing paralysis.

These and other Strangers are utterly mystified until a pattern of puzzling clues and tentative contacts begins to surface. What could these disparate individuals have shared that would make powerful and ruthless agents strive so hard to make them forget it? Finding the answer, the Strangers stumble toward one another, leading to a stunning climax that will change their lives forever and provide the reader of this masterfully crafted novel with an experience haunting and unforgettable.

My thoughts:
Wow did this book give me the heebie-jeebies (which is saying a lot!). I really couldn't sit it down and even though I rarely did, it still took me about a week to get through it. Definitely one of those books that you need a dictionary for if you want to understand some of the words.

The books copyright is 1986. So the book is as old as I am. Crazy. Although it is 24 years old, I didn't find the reading to be dated. There were only a few instances where I really could tell this book was written a while back because of references to the wars. Other than that, I think Mr. Koontz did a fantastic job of making the material timeless.

His characters were fantastic and deep throughout the emotional state that he led them through. I felt for all of them and wanted to help them in some way (as though reading through the book faster would ease their suffering. LOL). He also did an excellent job of intergrating all the secondary characters into the story. In a way they seem almost like main characters just in the way they are so needed by the actual main characters. All of them were completely unforgettable.

The way the plot unfolded in this tale was perfect. So mysterious and frightening. And I was absolutely not disappointed by the revalation of this dark secret. Even the "bad guy" was good. You could actually see his way of thinking by the end of the story. He did his homework with this one. While not every term was explained, you could hear the terms the doctor and the curate would use on a regular basis. The thief's gear was explained well, and the people just seemed to fit together perfect. And the twists! I found myself surprised quite a bit throughout the whole story.

Book Rating: PG. I don't think there was any problems with language, though I could be wrong. Maybe an adult situation or two.

Recommended for: Anyone who enjoys a little thrill or mystery, but likes a happy ending.

Not recommended for: Anyone without good knowledge of the English language, or doesn't own a dictionary, or who doesn't care for looking up a few words here or there.

Overall Rating: 5/5

Review: "Blood Born" by Linda Howard andd Linda Jones

From the back of the book

When the human and vampire worlds collide

Luca Ambrus is a rare breed: He is a vampire from birth, begotten by two vampire parents: blood born. He is also an agent of the Council--the centuries-old cabal that governs vampirekind, preserving their secrecy and destroying those who betray them.

When a cryptic summons leads him to the scene of the brutal killing of a powerful Council member, Luca begins the hunt for an assassin among his own people. But instead of a lone killer he discovers a sinister conspiracy of rogue vampires bent on subjugating the mortal world.

All that stands in their way are the conduits, humans able to channel spirit warriors into the physical world to protect mankind. Chloe Fallon is a conduit--and a target of the vampire assassin who's killing them. When Luca saves her life, an irresistible bond of trust--along with more passionate feelings--is forged between them. As more victims fall, Chloe and Luca have only each other to depend on to save the world from the reign of monsters--and salvage their own future together.

My Thoughts

The authors did a great job of explaining the characters and what made them the way they were. This also made it kind of hard to get into the story, because so much of it is bogged down with background information. Also, a lot of that information was repeated several times throughout several chapters (as if we could forget!) I would have liked to have seen all that information spread out a little more, giving the characters a little more mystery, perhaps.

The characters themselves were very original and I loved the premis of the story. Aside from all the info dumping, it was a good story. The only thing I saw as a problem was I knew what was coming before it happened. There weren't enough surprises. There were plenty of hints that could have made me think, "Ah! Now it all makes sense," but there was just a little too much given.

One other thing I noticed, was the characters progressed too quickly, especially given all the information given. I think more time could have been spent allowing them to grow rather than explaining and re-explaining the thought processes of the characters.

What I loved about it was that it jumped around to different characters to get into different heads, good and bad characters, even if several of the same characters were in a particular scene. I also loved the believability of the explainations. The authors did a great job of making it seem like vampires could be real.

Rating: R for adult content and language and mature situations

Recommended for: Anyone still interested in vampire novels, people who love paranormal romances, anyone looking to pass the time with a decent book.

Not Recommended for: Anyone under 18, those who are easily distracted or pay too much attention to writing flaws.

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

Thanks to Anne Riley for the review template!