Preacher: Gone to Texas By Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon

"Preacher" is a series of comic books, and graphic novels, this is a review for the first graphic novel and comics 1-7, "Gone to Texas". "Preacher" is known for being offensive, extremely violent, and sacrilegious. I can see this as being a valid argument, but really if we spend all our time being outraged and offended, we miss a lot of good stuff. It's fiction, if we take it as such and not a direct attack on God Himself or on the Christian faith, we'll all enjoy a fun ride.

Reverend Jesse Custer has lost his faith and his congregation (in a hail of blinding light and flames), now he's on a search for God Himself. The reason? After the "incident" at his church Jesse becomes aware that he has been given the power to deliver commands that no one can resist. Armed with these new found attributes, he sets out on a quest to find God who is missing from heaven.

Joining Jesse on his quest are Tulip, Jesse's jilted ex girlfriend. Tulip is street smart and carries a 45 mm in her hand bag. Once she sees Jesse she is hell bent on finding out why he left her years ago. And Cassidy, a beer chugging drifter who is impervious to bullets and sleeps all day.

The three set out to find God and the reason behind Jesse's new found abilities. Along the way they meet the truly sick and depraved, both human and not so human...


Bottom line: If you like graphic novels and horror, you'll like this. It's got a little bit of everything, from demons and angels, to decapitations and severed limbs. I thought it was a fantastically good time.

The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton

This is the second book in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. This book begins very soon after Guilty Pleasures ended, and like it's predecessor, this book begins with Anita talking to a perspective client. This time the client is a wheel chair bound billionaire named Harold Gaynor. Harold would like to hire Anita (who is a professional animator) to raise a 300 year old corpse, a task that Mr. Gaynor will pay a million dollars for, and that requires a human sacrifice. Anita refuses the offer, she doesn't do human sacrifice, no matter how good the money is.

Shortly after her meeting Anita receives a call from the police, there has been a murder, they need her supernatural expertise. She visits the murder scene, and it appears as if the murders were perpetrated by a zombie, and a zombie must have a master. Anita believes there are only two local people powerful enough to raise and command a flesh-eating zombie - herself and vaundun priestess Dominga Salvador...

This book like so many others is across several genres, it's part detective fiction, part fantasy (um, there are zombies, crazy zombies), and part horror. But really this book is mostly horror. It's graphically violent. From the descriptions of violent death to the decomposing zombie flesh, it's not for those with a weak stomach. That being said, I did enjoy the story and the action and there was plenty of both. With lots of suspense and twists and turns I found this book easy to read and tough to put down. Hamilton continues to make Anita a character we want to root for and fight along side.

Bottom line: If you like horror and detective fiction, you'd like this book. Just don't read it while eating.

Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton

This is the first book in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. "Guilty Pleasures" is the name of a vampire strip club operated by Jean-Claude, a vampire the protagonist, Anita Blake becomes involved with.

Anita Blake is a 24 year old single woman living in St. Louis, Missouri. In Anita's world vampires, shape shifters, werewolves, ghouls, and even zombies are not only a reality, but known to the public. Anita is an "animator," which means she has the power to raise the dead. Why would someone do this? Many reasons, but Anita is usually hired to settle disputes, solve murders, give families closure. When not at her "day job" (which takes place mainly at night), Anita works as a "vampire executioner," killing vampires by order of the courts and advising the police on any crime with a supernatural twist.

In "Guilty Pleasures", Anita is blackmailed by the master vampire of St. Louis into investigating a series of vampire murders. During the course of this investigation, Anita begins a strange relationship with Jean-Claude (worst name EVER, I could not take him seriously), another master vampire, in order to save her life, but gaining two "marks", which push her close to being Jean-Claude's "human servant." This part of the book was sort of rushed to me and I was not entirely sure why these "marks" had to happen, it seemed as if I'd learn more about it in later books. It was also unclear as to why Jean-Claude would make what was obviously SUCH a big sacrifice for Anita. It seems to sort of just be something that happens and we move on. Luckily the story was engaging enough that this was not that difficult.

This book took a little bit of getting used to for me. Anita is a bit harsh and initially less relatable then other literary female protagonists I have read about. Once I got used to her personality though I felt that I could understand her decisions and while they might not be something I could do, I was able to equate them to her character and she became more real to me. And honestly that was the one thing that stood out for me about this book, how realistic it was. Now, let me better explain. What I mean is that despite a pretty far fetched story and some frankly ludicrous situations, Anita keeps the reader grounded in reality. This realism might be in stark contrast to the situations happening, what whatever it is, it works. I found this book very enjoyable.

Bottom Line: A good story with A LOT of supernatural goings-on. If you can get into a world where zombies and shape shifter and vampires are common place, then you'd probably enjoy this story.

The Historian By Elizabeth Kostova

A review thanks to special guest blogger Rameau:

When a young girl finds a book embroidered with a picture of a dragon and a letter beginning with the words "My Dear and Unfortunate Successor" in her fathers library, she's unaware of the Pandora's box she's opened. She has stumbled on a legacy of evil, an obsession, which is handed down to selected few in each generation. It's a mystery that intrigues the historian within her and leads her on a journey following the footsteps of her parents. That journey starts with a story the girl's father tells her about the disappearance of Professor Rossi, about the expedition to find him together with Helen and about the terrifying figure behind it all: Dracula.

In "The Historian" there are several timelines told concurrently, each revealing a little more of the truth buried under the weight of the history. It's a great way to keep the reader guessing what will happen next, but it's also confusing and prevents any true character development. The history itself is the main point. The girl, her father, Professor Rossi and others are just empty templates for the reader to insert real people into and ask the question: "What if this happened to me?"

The book is also long for a condensed edition, but the short chapters make it easy to read the story gradually. This is also its weakness. If the reader isn't used to dry and factual text, they can feel tempted to abandon the story before it really starts. The slow introduction and the careful layering are essential to the culmination of the plot. When the author finally presents her first description of Dracula instead of a litany of facts, it's shockingly realistic.

Bottom line: If you like facts and history, and if you would like to read about vampires without overly sexual plots, this is the book for you. Just don't pick up any old books with dragon pictures in them.

Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris is the fourth book in the "Southern Vampire Mysteries".
Sookie, on her way home after working at Merlotte’s New Year’s Eve party, finds Eric, half dress and not wearing shoes running for his life. Eric does not recognize her, he appears frightened and confused, two things that Sookie has never seen in the usually confident Viking. Eric knows he is a vampire, but he does not know who he is, or why he's running towards Sookie's house in the middle of the night. Though frightened, Eric seems to know he can trust Sookie and accepts a ride back to her house with her. Not knowing what to do, Sookie calls Fangtasia. Pam and Chow arrive shortly after and explain that several nights ago a group of witches arrived in Shreveport. This group seems to be more powerful than other witches and they either want to take over Eric's businesses or make Eric pay them money to leave him alone, Eric refuses their offer and Pam and Chow watched Eric vanish from his office in Shreveport. Pam and Chow then ask Sookie to keep Eric safe while they solve the problem with the witches. Though reluctant to keep Eric at her house for an indeterminate period of time, Sookie needs the money and soon finds her self very much enjoying having the "new" Eric around. Without his old personality, Eric has become attentive, kind, sweet, and completely devoted to Sookie. At first it seems like a great situation, but Sookie soon realizes that despite how wonderful this new Eric is, she misses the person he used to be...

Spoilers ahead:
For those of us who are big fans of Sookie and Eric this book is like a fantasy, or a big tease, probably a bit of both. It's great to have them finally together, though it isn't real and he's not the cocky, self involved, sarcastic vampire we've all come to love, which sort of takes the fun out of it. Don't get me wrong, I'll take what I can get, it's just not the same. And when he doesn't remember any of it when he gets his memory back is thoroughly annoying. All in all, the Eric/Sookie fans know that Eric would not have behaved that way had he not had real feelings for Sookie, it's just his pride and personality that stop him from showing it ordinarily.

Bottom Line: A great read, lots of fun, nothing that requires much thought. Not for young readers (or readers who don't want sexual situations).

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

This is the first book in Rachel Caine's "Morganville Vampire series". It tells the story of 16 year old Claire Danvers, college freshman and teenage prodigy. Claire has a tough time in college, being two years younger then the other college freshman dorm life is already a struggle, but when the dorm's most popular girl focuses her wrath on Claire, life becomes unbearable. After being pushed down the stairs, Claire realizing that dorm life is just too dangerous and goes looking for somewhere else to live. After answering an ad she finds sanctuary at the house of Michael Glass and his two roommates, Eve and Shane.

This book is different from the all too common young adult vampire novel in a few ways, one is that the vampires are feared, not revered, another is that the book takes place in college, not high school. The story being told through Claire's eyes makes it easy to relate to being a shy teenager (which I was, so maybe that's just me), which is different from so many stories in which the main character is well liked and popular (see Elena from the Vampire Diaries and Bella from the Twilight Saga for examples).
This book is truly a young adult novel in that it has very little sexual context or violence, as in, almost none. The book manages to be entertaining without those elements. There is still some romance and slight violence.

Bottom line: A very "PG" rated young adult book, safe for almost all ages, yet still entertaining. Id recommend it, especially for young readers.

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause

Blood and Chocolate tells the story of Vivian, a 16 year old girl who lives in a typical small town, but Vivian is anything but typical. Most atypically Vivian and her family are werewolves. This book is about Vivian's struggle to assimilate into her high school society, while still maintaining her identity and place in the werewolf pack. Life is difficult enough for her when she meets a human boy (or "meat boy" as the book calls it) who seems to understand her and love her more then even the members of her pack. The choice to date a human is further complicated when Vivian unintentionally becomes "betrothed" to a highly sought after and powerful member of the pack. Vivian is then forced to chose between the human world and the werewolf life, which is why the book is called "Blood or Chocolate".

Even in human form Vivian, her mother and the rest of her "pack", are very different then any human family. The most notable difference is that everyone is very sexual. From their language to each other and the way they interact is very sexual. Another huge difference is that everyone is very aggressive, Vivian's mother gets in bar fights for example, with other women from the pack. The reader gets the picture that this is just the way life is for werewolves, that this is normal, but I found that it just made me unable to relate to their lives. It seemed every thought Vivian had was laced with sexual content. She is also kind of mean and didn't seem to care about anyone but herself, which made me unable to care about her, even when bad things happened to her.

Bottom line: This is a young adult novel that has no place being read by teenagers, and adults will likely find it unsatisfying. I would have skipped it if I was given the chance.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

The Host, a novel by the beloved American novelist, Stephenie Meyer (author of the Twilight series), is a highly entertaining work that needs not be overlooked. Remember the chemistry Meyer created between our fictional vampire and human characters in Twilight? And the effect they left as they lingered in your thoughts all day? Stephenie Meyer does not disappoint, and once again she has brought to life a scenario and characters that you just cant get out of your head.
Published in April of 2008, The Host is classified as a science fiction novel, however it is also classified as a romance. The basis of the novel consists of an alien human race referred to as "souls" who forcefully inhabit earth and embody the humans who live there. Our main character "Wanderer," or "Wanda" as she is later called for short, is a soul that has inhabited a human's body - a beautiful, smart and strong young woman named Melanie. Before Melanie was captured and embodied by this soul, she survived in hiding with her young brother Jamie and boyfriend, the love of her life, Jared.

When the "souls" embody humans, the human mind within is supposed to become erased, non-existent, so that the "soul" can take over complete mental control of this new body and life as their own. Wanderer finds out all too soon that the human inside this new body of hers, Melanie, is a fighter and is very resistant to the takeover. That said, Wanderer and Melanie live simultaneously inside their head, tormenting each other on some levels. However what was once torment eventually evolves into a deep sisterhood love. Because of Melanie's undying presence in her head, Wanderer experiences all the same memories that Melanie has, human emotions, memories and the powerful determination to get back to Jared and Jamie.

The book is a journey of Wanderer and Melanie's search for the two people most important to Melanie, and the events and adventures thereof, eventually finding them along with the secret human colony living with them in underground caverns. Wanderer, although alien to the human race she embodies, becomes a part of them, interwoven by choice into their daily fabric, and their means of survival. Wanderer and one of the humans, a heart-throbbing young man named Ian, find an attraction but cant get past how to deal with love between two different races - human and alien. Love and companionship are tested, and in the end Wanderer finds herself left with a choice she needs to make - whether or not to bring Melanie back to existence and sacrifice herself, for the sake of both of her brother and Jared, who is still so much in love with Melanie. What she decides in the end is shocking, and completely throws a twist into the story.

The end leaves you grasping for more, to be honest I was so disappointed. But only selfishly. I wanted so badly for the story to continue, to find out how life goes after her decision had been made. Meyer definitely severed the novel at a perfect place for a sequel. Let's hope!

I don't have too many spoilers, but I will say that the familiar love triangle that Meyer created in Twilight is present in The Host too. The dynamics of the love and attraction battle between Wanderer, Jared and Ian is addicting, to say the least. It is the kind of story that keeps you up at night reading for hours. Although the book is amazing, the beginning is very confusing and can be hard to get though. Everything makes sense eventually though; it all comes full circle.

My bottom line is that I would recommend The Host, just as much as I would recommend Twilight. Happy reading!

Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

The third installment of Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mysteries, and my personal favorite. I think with this book Harris really hit her stride and fixed some pacing issues with the previous book. Another change was the maturing of the books protagonist, Sookie Stackhouse. When this series begins Sookie is an naive 25 year old woman who has never dated, lives with her grandmother, and certainly has never dealt with the supernatural. How her life has changed. With these changes Sookie is forced to grow up. While she is still the same person, she's more educated about the world and at same time, jaded because of all the things she has been forced to deal with. This book starts out with Sookie and Bill hitting yet another rocky point in their relationship. Bill is preoccupied with a secret project, and soon leaves on a "business trip" leaving Sookie alone with some cryptic instructions, should he not return. Sookie is soon visited by Eric, Pam, and Chow, who inform her that Bill is not where he said he'd be and that he planned to leave her. They also mention that Bill has been kidnapped and they need Sookies help to have any hope of being him home safely. Reluctantly, she agrees and is plunged deeper into a whole other world. A world full of werewolves, shifters, evil vampires, and a club called Josephine's, otherwise known as "Club Dead".

Spoilers ahead:
I love this book, it's my favorite in the series so far. One of the best things about this book is the introduction of Alcide Herveaux. Alcide serves as a reminder to Sookie of what else is out there. The interaction between Alcide and Sookie provides so much hope at this point in the story, and the idea that Bill is not the only one out there for her. Yes, Alcide has baggage (some seriously homicidal baggage), but he's such a great character, and as the reader I really felt how much he wanted to just fall in love with Sookie and have them both forget all the drama and live a normal life, well as normal a life as a werewolf and a telepath can have.

Another great element is the continued development of Eric's character. He shows actual compassion for the first time with he must tell Sookie the bad news of Bill's betrayal. Though he has every reason to be happy that Bill have done this to Sookie, after all, it has the potential to move Eric closer to Sookie as Bill is pushed further away. Instead he is concerned about her feelings, and how this will effect her. I think for the first time she starts to see him as more "human" and less vampire.

Bottom Line: This is where the book series really hits it's stride. A great book, full of interesting new characters and lots of excitement. Definitely recommend it.

Carrie By Stephen King

I read this book the first time when I was in high school. It was the first Stephen King book I read. I had seen that scene from the movie with Sissy Spacek covered in blood, all wide eyed and creepy looking. And considering the length of most of King's books, this one was comparatively short.

Carrie is a story of an awkward, unpopular 17 year old girl who, because of being raised by her fanatical Christian mother, has not been taught about puberty, or about any socially normal behavior. The story opens with Carrie getting her first menstrual period in the shower of the high school gym locker room. Unaware of what is really happening Carrie is convinced she is bleeding to death. Of course all the girl take the opportunity to mock and degrade her, some even throwing tampons and sanitary napkins at her. Even the gym teacher joins in the yelling, until she realizes that Carrie really is frightened because she has no idea what is happening.

After this incident, Carrie slowly begins to discover she has telekinetic powers, powers she has always had (as the book states incidents from childhood), but is just now beginning to control. Meanwhile the "ring leader" of the locker room incident Chris, escapes punishment because her father is a prominent local figure. She begins to plot her revenge on Carrie, who she blames for "causing her problems".

The book is written as a series of documents, rather then in the first person. This provides great intrigue and a desire to have more information. It also, however causes a disconnect between the reader and the title character, who truly lives a horrifically tragic life. This disconnect though feels intentional, for without it the reader would not see this as a horror novel. If it were written from Carrie's point of view it would be too easy to get caught up in grieving for her situation. And that's just not what the book is about, that is a small part of it, but let's face it, it's really about Carrie getting some revenge, right? And who better to be born with these powers, then a girl who has lived a torturous life at the hands of her mother and classmates?

Spoilers Ahead:

Another saving grace is Sue Snell, a girl who does participate with the crowd in belittling Carrie in the locker room, but soon comes to regret this and begins to see Carrie for what she is, a trapped scared girl with no friends. Sue convinces her popular boyfriend to ask Carrie to the prom. The scene at the prom is so much worse in the book then in the movie. The electrocution of the kids on stage, the death of Tommy Ross, who was beginning to actually be attracted to Carrie. The amazing way King makes it sad for the kids burning to death in the gym after Carrie sets it on fire, though the reader knows most of them had made Carrie's life miserable.

The death of Carries mother was another intense moment. The description of her heart slowly slowing down was something that creeped me out for years after I read this.

Bottom Line: An intriguing read, if you like Stephen King, I think you'll like Carrie.