Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Burton & Swinburne in) Review

The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Burton and Swinburne in)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Mark Hodder, please write more, ASAP!
Okay, moving on. The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack is currently my absolute favorite book of the year and is going to be a tough one to unseat. This mystery steampunk action/adventure alternate history story is tight. Hodder's writing style is crisp and even and easily navigated. Other than a few sections where I bogged down in the science-y alt. history stuff, I blew threw this like it was air. Burton and Swinburne feel authentic as characters and every surrounding aspect is put together in such a way that nothing seems totally out of place even if it obviously is.
What's even more impressive is how Hodder takes a cadre of authentic Victorian personas and blends them so well together, even if they never/rarely met in real life. I learned a lot about the characters both their real selves and alternate fictional selves, as well as the era since we see the diverging paths as one thing after another is affected by the decisions of others. Because decisions matter in this book so it's not just pulp fiction. There is a point to it, but I'll leave that for you to find out as you read. But other than there being a point, the book is all grand fun. Burton is swarthy enough to appeal to action/adventure types while also being a human being. And Swinburne, whom I now poetically seem to have developed a crush on, is a nice balancing character. He needs to live unlike Burton who seems to not need to live as much as he is throughout the book.
As far as plot goes, I could barely believe how well the loose ends were tied up in the end. Even some of the smaller details in the plotting and characterisation come to be important for the climax which is at times utterly surprising. As a standalone title, The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack is outstanding. I can only hope it serves as a platform for more Burton and Swinburne in the future. A Must Read book for any steampunk or alternate history reader.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Burton & Swinburne in)



Buy NowGet 32% OFF

Click here for more information about The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Burton & Swinburne in)

Read More...

Saturday, December 24, 2011

500 Comic Book Villains Review

500 Comic Book Villains
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Mystified by the multitude of arcane characters who have come out of the DC Universe woodwork during its latest "Crisis," I was pleased to find this book in Cody's, a bay area bookstore. So many villains have become heroes over the years that I have so far been able to identify 32 characters I had never noticed before. Expanded essays have been written about major characters, such as Marvel's Galactus and DC's Sinestro. Highly recommended.

Click Here to see more reviews about: 500 Comic Book Villains

Here come the heels and hoodlums! It's an entertaining rogues' review, starring Batman's Joker, Dick Tracy's Flattop and Pruneface, Flash Gordon's Ming the Merciless, Spider-Man's Green Goblin, and hundreds more villains connoisseurs of comics have always loved to hate. Written especially for comic book collectors and nostalgia buffs, 500 Comic Book Villains is a chronicle of fictional wickedness that also touches on Arthurian legend and old-time radio and movies, in addition to the comics. It's an encyclopedia of evildoers that lists and profiles the major recurring villains who for generations have lurked in countless comic book illustrations, flaunting the iniquity that is always vanquished at story's end by heroes who represent truth, justice, law, order, and the American way. This terrific collection, compiled by comic book historian Mike Conroy, serves as a fine companion volume to his recently published 500 Great Comic Book Action Heroes, also available from Barron's. More than 300 color illustrations include reproductions of comic book covers and pages. Readers will also find a handy index and a bibliography.

Buy Now

Click here for more information about 500 Comic Book Villains

Read More...

Friday, October 21, 2011

Hell On Heels (Satan's Heirs) Review

Hell On Heels (Satan's Heirs)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
This book is a collection of three stories about three daughters of satan who are offered the opportunity to take over from him if they can complete a task. His three sons have already failed these tasks (in the previous book "Hell with the Ladies") and so now it's the chance for the three women Lucia, Jezebel and Lola.
LUCIA'S STORY by Julie Kenner
The first story follows Lucia Faucheaux, a successful assassin who just has to complete one last job for her father, satan, in order to win the keys to his kingdom. Unfortunately for Lucia she's begun to lose her touch, finding that her emotions are affecting her work. However she decides to carry out this last assassination in the hope that her future life will be better.
Dante Moreau is the only son of the impossibly rich hotel and casino owner, Jacques Moreau. Although having his own security business, his father has requested that he meets with him as there is a problem. Whilst Dante awaits his father he meets a beautiful woman and they start a flirtation which leads, very quickly, to bed and then several romantic days.
However, what happens when you fall in love at first sight with someone who is meant to assassinate your father? And what happens if you're an assassin but your emotions get in the way? This story looks, very quickly, at that situation and how love might win out and provide a happy ending.
The shortness of the story means there's little character development and description although we learn a little about the Monte Carlo setting. Equally their instant jump into bed isn't exactly a slow-burn romance but the story is written fairly well and doesn't drag. Perhaps the overly simple plot, plus the depiction of hell and satan as rather amusing and not actually scary detract a little from its completeness but it was a reasonable read and a good start to these three short stories.
JEZEBEL'S STORY by Dee Davis
This story was a sort-of cross between Raiders of the Lost Ark and Oceans 11, with Jezebel, known as Jessie, searching for a religious artefact which could destroy the world (her father satan tasked her to get it for him and then she could have the keys to hell) along with her ex-boyfriend David Bishop and a mysterious friend of her brother's, Faust. She and David had broken up over his singleminded quest to discover the man responsible for his brother's death and Jessie knows that she is secondary to this mission in his mind. The story starts very well with a setting in Berlin, well described, as Jessie first gets on the trail of the relic "The Protector".
Because the romance with David is a rekindling of a previous relationship the author didn't need to spend as much time on the seduction and other scenes which meant there was more time for plot and action which worked really well in this story. Jessie is fun, tough and brave and she and David evidently worked well together as a team. David has to learn to deal with his obsession over his brother's murder and the two of them face danger when searching for the Protector. Jessie finally has to make a huge sacrifice for David, will she be able to do it, and will it work?
LOLA'S STORY by Kathleen O'Reilly
Lola de Medici is a playgirl, rich and impossibly beautiful who lives the jet-set life but doesn't experience love. Her 'talent' is to steal the souls of men with whom she sleeps which increases her beauty. However as the story opens she's finding the life, after four hundred-odd years, is becoming tiring. Her father, satan, asks her to take one more soul and then she can get the keys to hell and won't have to steal souls any longer. The man whose soul she must take is Christopher 'Crash' St Clair, a man who finds that trouble and problems follow him around and who always tries to help. Initially Lola isn't too successful in seducing Chris but when she finally gets his attention she finds there's more to him than she expected and she doesn't sleep with him; she likes him and doesn't want to steal his soul so hopes he'll leave her alone. Unfortunately he kidnaps her and they spend a night of passion on a desert island, but he retains his soul. Lola discovers that the one island is safe for them but satan is working behind her back to get Chris's soul and Lola may have to give up an awful lot to keep him safe.
This story, like Lucia's story, has beautiful and rich people who are very focussed on looks and image. However, Chris has a lot more to him and the apparently-shallow Lola finds that attractive and it causes her to re-evaluate what is important to her. This story worked very well with insights into the characters of both people despite it being quite a short story. Satan's motivation wasn't very clear in this story and I wasn't completely convinced that Lola would be able to settle into her new life and situation at the end. However it was well written and the setting on an island with a hurricane was interesting.
Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book, [...]. ? Helen Hancox 2007

Click Here to see more reviews about: Hell On Heels (Satan's Heirs)

The daughters of Satan do their best to make daddy proud in three all-new sexy novellas from the authors of Hell with the Ladies. What's a devil to do? Satan's desperate to retire. He needs an heir, and he's turning to the promise of his three beautiful, bold, smart, and irresistibly sexy daughters. All they have to do is prove themselves by successfully completing the tricky tasks he sets before them. Surely one of them will win the Keys to the Kingdom-of Hell! Will it be Lucia, the assassin? Jezebel, the half-demon? Or Lola, the soulstealing baby of the family? The challenge is on and one must prevail-unless they're thwarted by that powerful human emotion called love.

Buy Now

Click here for more information about Hell On Heels (Satan's Heirs)

Read More...

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Have Fun Playing Hand Drums: A Book and Cd for Playing the Djembe, Conga, and Bongo Drums (The Ultimate Beginner Series) Review

Have Fun Playing Hand Drums: A Book and Cd for Playing the Djembe, Conga, and Bongo Drums (The Ultimate Beginner Series)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
The book is well illustrated and the accompanying CD is excellent for learning and playing along with - the exercises are played several times so you can get the feel of the sound and practice with the CD. The exercises and patterns are carefully graduated. There are also a number of play-along tracks to get more experience. I would also recommend this book for players of other instruments to get a good grounding in rhythm sense. This book followed by Richie Gajate-Garcia's "Play Bongos & Hand Percussion Now" is the best course for learning bongos I know of. Gajate-Garcia's book will take you to more complex rhythms and patterns useful for nearly every setting.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Have Fun Playing Hand Drums: A Book and Cd for Playing the Djembe, Conga, and Bongo Drums (The Ultimate Beginner Series)

This book and audio package is for all beginners (children to fun-loving adults) who want to learn how to play the bongos, congas and djembe drums in a fun and musical way. Subjects covered include hearing the beat, listening to drum sounds, playing with groups, creating new rhythms, and The Drum Walk (to help build complete body coordination). Also covered are simple African and Caribbean rhythms to help take you to the next level of hand drumming. The CD contains audio versions of all lessons and inspiring play-along drumming music. Fully illustrated and highly user-friendly, this method is perfect for both classroom use and at-home drumming.

Buy NowGet 26% OFF

Click here for more information about Have Fun Playing Hand Drums: A Book and Cd for Playing the Djembe, Conga, and Bongo Drums (The Ultimate Beginner Series)

Read More...