Quest the First -- Book 5

 

Here we are at Book #5 and the final book for Quest the First! Supernatural: Nevermore by Keith R.A. DeCandido.

I don't normally read a lot of tie-in books for TV shows, but I absolutely LOVE this series,and since season 4 has ended and season 5 has yet to start, I was feeling a little Winchester withdrawal.  So when I saw this book on a rack I had to give it a try. It is pretty well done, with Mr. DeCandido doing a good job of finding the voice of the two main characters, Sam and Dean Winchester.

The brothers are in New York City doing a favor for a friend. They are there to see why a ghost is haunting a house of a local who plays in a tribute band. But, while in the city the boys get caught up in a bigger mystery. Someone is murdering people seemingly based on the creepy stories of legendary writer Edgar Allan Poe. The mystery of why this is happening and the race to stop the last murder and find the killer lead the brothers on a bizarre journey that ends up being less about the supernatural and more about the strange ideas people get in their heads. The ritual the killer seems to be trying to reproduce is from a bogus charlatan, but the killer obviously believes it will work and bring Poe back from the dead.

While doing their investigations, they meet some people who know more about the brothers and their father than they do about them. In fact, they have never heard of them and are wondering why their Dad never mentioned them. Can they be trusted? But, the boys need all the help they can get, from where ever they can get it to stop this madman from killing his last victim right in front of their eyes....

This was a quick read, and was good enough that I might try out the other two books the author has written based on the Supernatural TV Show. At least it will give me my Sam and Dean fix while I wait for the 5th and final season to get under way.

This completes the  Quest the First for me, and also I have completed the Journey since it  only required me to read one book during this time. I've really enjoyed this challenge, and look forward to doing Once Upon a Time -IV- next year!

 

 

If you want to join in the Challenge, pop over to Stainless Steel Droppings to see how it all works. Come on, join us, you know you want to!

Quest the First -- Book 4

 

 

Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris is Book #4.

When I went to pick my next book from my TBR pile, I just couldn't resist the next book in the Southern Vampire Series. I really like the main character Sookie, and all of her neighbors, both human and supernatural.

This book starts off with a naked man on the side of the road and never slows down. There are Vampires, of course, but we also get to see more of the Weres and the shifters, learning more of their cultures. This book also introduces us to the Witches and to a new supernatural who, while not getting a full explanation for, seems to be an interesting species and one I'm sure we will see more of.

The naked man turns out to be Eric, the vampire, boss of her ex-boyfriend Bill. But this is an Eric who has lost his memory and seems to be a kinder, gentler Eric than the one Sookie has known in the past. Poor Eric doesn't remember anything, and whoever took his memory may be trying to kill him. Soon Sookie has not only an amnesiac Eric to worry about, but also a missing brother. While investigating what happened to Eric and to her brother, Jason, Sookie is reunited with the Were Alcide, and with his help finds herself heading straight into a supernatural battle involving the vampires, the werewolves, and some witches... And, if that isn't enough, who are those shifters who live isolated in the little town of Hotshot just outside of Bon Temps? You'll need to pick this book up to find the answers to these and other questions.

I'm really liking these books, and I've already picked up the next book in the series. I'm sure it won't be long before I dive right back into the happenings in Bon Temps and the surrounding areas.

If you want to join in the Challenge, pop over to Stainless Steel Droppings to see how it all works. Come on, join us, you know you want to!

Quest the first -- Book 3

 

 

I chose Small Favor by Jim Butcher as my third book.

Being a Wizard should be more fun and less dangerous... unless you are the Wizard Harry Dresden. Trouble just seems to follow poor Harry around. I have really loved this whole series of books, and this one is no exception. If you are looking for a good story with great characters and lots of action and maybe a little mystery thrown in... this is a series for you.

While you can read this book without having read any of the others in the series, knowing the cast of characters and their background does make the story even better. For instance, the Small Favor in the title of the book? It's being asked of Harry by Mab, the Queen of the Winter Court of the Sidhe. Harry has had enough prior contact with Mab to know that she is not someone to cross casually, and he does owe her a favor after the whole attack on the Fairy Realm thing... and while Mab is neither the good or the bad guy, neither Court of Fairy is coming clean with what they actually know.

During the course of the book you will come across Harry's half-brother, who happens to be a Vampire, Sidhe  from both the Winter and Summer Courts of Fairy, other Wizards, a couple of Knights of the Cross, some Knights of the Blackened Denarius (who are Fallen Angels.. yep, those Fallen Angels!),  a little girl who just happens to be the Archive of all Knowledge, some members of the Chicago Mob, and even Harry's friend who is a member of the Chicago Police Force. And all of these people have a different agendas and different ideas about what is right and wrong and different world views. Jim Butcher does a great job of keeping all the plot points rolling along and juggling all the different things that seem to be happening till everything finally comes together in the end.

If you like detectives, wizards, and urban fantasies, you will love this. This book delivers a well-rounded story while still advancing the mystery we have slowly been uncovering in the multi-book story arc.

If you want to join in the Challenge, pop over to Stainless Steel Droppings to see how it all works. Come on, join us, you know you want to!

Quest the First --Book 2

For my second book -- New Moon by Stephenie Meyer 

 

 

This is the second book in the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. I was late coming to this series, but since I enjoyed the first book, was looking forward to dipping back into this world. In the first book, there were hints that the local Indian tribe knew about Vampires in general and Edward's family in particular. In this book, due to circumstances that cause a separation of Bella from Edward, we get to discover more about the why and how of this knowledge.

This book is mostly about Jacob and Bella, and the growing friendship between them. I liked the character of Jacob that we met briefly in Twilight and enjoyed learning more about him. With Jacob we now have the third leg in what is to become a triangle.

Mild spoilers alert:

Edward left Bella to protect her, but she seems to be a magnet for the supernatural. First there is Jacob and the newly forming Werewolf pack, followed by the return of a the female vampire from the first book... who's reason for reappearing is to seek her revenge against Bella for the death of her mate in Twilight! After Bella commits what appears to be suicide, Alice returns. With the help of Alice, Bella travels to Italy and an encounter with the Volturi, the reining 'royals' of the vampire world, to save Edward.

All in all this was an enjoyable romp in a well thought out world. There were enough twists and turns to keep you interested and reading right along. I look forward to the third book to be released in paperback.

Want to join in the Once Upon a Time III Chalenge, stop in over at Stainless Steel Droppings and you too can play along!

Book The First

Quest the First, Book 1! Club Dead by Charlaine Harris.

I actually finished Club Dead on Monday, but we had a lot of running around to do on Tuesday and Wednesday, so this is my first chance to give a quick review. In fact, I'm well on my way to reading my second book for the Quest!

I liked this book, and I like this series. This series has been around for a while, but the idea of a southern vampires just didn't do anything for me... and for some reason the name Sookie made me even more sure I didn't want to read this. LOL! Still, after HBO picked it up for a series and I kept seeing good reviews of the different books in the series, I decided to at least give the first book a try, and to my surprise, I really liked it.

Club Dead is the third book in the Sookie Stackhouse series (or the Southern Vampire Mysteries as they are also called), and I find myself more interested in the characters as the series progresses. Charlaine Harris has taken a barmaid in the deep south and given her a 'gift' and then added a mixed bag of supernaturals for Sookie to stumble across and pal around with. One of the advantages of coming to a series late is that I don't have to wait months or years for the next book in the series to become available. There are currently 9 published books in the series and this is only number 3. Woo Hoo!

Club Dead finds Sookie facing life without her Vampire boyfriend Bill. After being a little cold to Sookie, Bill turns up missing. Seems he has an old flame who may not be the nicest person in the world. Bill's Boss Eric asks for Sookie's help locating Bill using her 'gift' of being able to read 'normal' humans minds. With the help of some otherworldly friends, a little  luck, meeting some Vampire 'royalty', and maybe an Elvis sighting or two, Sookie locates Bill. But, should she rescue him or sharpen up a stake for him herself? You'll have to read this to find out.

As I stated earlier, I really liked this book and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as a fun read. It works as a stand-alone book, but it is better if read as part of the series. While you would understand the story without any other background, knowing the players and their history together makes it an even more enjoyable read. The first two books in the series are Dead until Dark and Living Dead in Dallas. If you decide to try this series, I also enjoyed both of them as well.

If you want to join in the Challenge, pop over to Stainless Steel Droppings to see how it all works. Come on, join us, you know you want to!

A Challenge

To my chagrin I have to admit that I have always had a problem being a consistent blogger. Some people post a couple times a day or several times a week, but it always seems that if/when I get on a good blogging roll, real life would jump up and pop me up the side of the head. All of last year would be a good example of this phenomenon. Still, I love my little slice of cyberspace and, with the return of warm weather to my world,  I find myself looking around here and  thinking  about dusting off the (figurative) debris and seeing if I can be a little more consistent this year.

One of the things I would like to do is to participate more in some of the things happening around and about the blogging sphere. Last year I enjoyed reading everyone's posts about the Once Upon a Time II Challenge. Most of my reading is Sci-fi/Fantasy, and I found a lot of books that I added to my TBR pile from last years challenge reviews. This year I want to join in and play along!

Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings offers up the Once Upon a Time III Challenge. This challenge will include reading books from the categories of  fantasy, fairy tale, folklore, and mythology. And, it just so happens that I have been reading and have in my TBR pile several books that fit neatly into these categories. I plan to participate in:

In Carl's words:

This is really as simple as the name implies. It means you are participating, but not committing yourself to any specific number of books. All reading is a journey, perhaps none more so than reading fantastical fiction. By signing up for The Journey you are agreeing to at least read one book within one of the four categories during March 21st to June 20th period. Just one book. If you choose to read more, fantastic! If not, then we have still had the pleasure of your company during this three month reading journey and hopefully you have read a great book, met some interesting people, and enjoyed the various activities that occur during the challenge. It has always been of utmost importance to me that the challenges that I host be all about experiencing enjoyable literature and sharing it with others. I want you to participate. Hence, The Journey.

Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time III criteria. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.

I had just begun reading Club Dead by Charlaine Harris the day before I saw the challenge go up. Sitting on the sidelines I have New Moon by Stephanie Meyer, and InkHeart by Cornelia Funke. I also noticed that the newest Dresden book has arrived at my local bookstore. I don't think finding 5 books in these categories to read will be a problem! I don't usually do book reviews here, but I think this will be fun, and I look forward to reading everyone else's reviews.

To join in the Challenge, stop over at Stainless Steel Droppings. To see a list of the reviews as they come in check out the dedicated Once Upon a Time III blog.

Come on, join in.... You know you want to.