Brawn Stroker's Dragula, by Nicole Antonia Carro

I bought Brawn Stroker’s Dragula, by indie author Nicole Antonia Carro on a whim. When I read the title, I was expecting something incredibly camp and lightweight, but that is certainly not what I got. Instead, I found a tale full of people I could call friends, and situations I hope my friends never find themselves in!

The Blurb:

Ybor City, Florida. November 1999

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, lowly female impersonator Chris Reynolds brings a mysterious stranger home. In the four-day weekend which follows, Chris and his friends become embroiled in the secret world of Dr. Stephen Bartow, a reluctant & incompetent vampire who only wants his humanity restored so he can return to his one true love. Yet they are all in danger when a demon from Dr. Stephen’s past returns to destroy them.

One romantic evening gone wrong for Chris and his alter ego Dee Flaytable is forever transformed into a formidable creature of the night– fabulous and seductive, her siren’s song captivates every audience. But can she triumph in the face of true evil?

When the Vampire Queens battle, who will win?

My Review:

As I said at the outset, I picked this up looking for a light, quick read, but ended up staying up to 2:30 a.m. to finish it. The tale is told through the journal entries of Chris Reynolds, and Dr. Stephen Bartow, which I found interesting.

In 1999 Florida, Chris lives in a slightly skewed reality, performing as a drag-queen. He has talent, but he's no RuPaul, and he knows it. His off-and-on boyfriend, Billy, plans to be a preacher and is afraid to come out of the closet.

Chris himself can’t tell his parents what he does for a living, as they would crap their southern middle-class baptist pants. His female roommate is his shield, giving him the appearance of heterosexuality for his folks, who were so afraid he was gay that her being black is no problem. When Chris is accidentally turned into a vampire, things go horribly awry.

This is far more than a tale of a Drag Queen of the Damned. Carro takes on obsession, rape, grinding poverty, racism, homophobia, and all stops between.

This particular book actually follows Dr. Stephen's tale more than Chris's, but i think it works well, as without knowing what happened to Stephen, we can't know why Chris has to fight the Evil Vampiress. Through Dr. Stephen’s journal we are taken back to the post WWII south. We are introduced to his spurned ex-fiancée and see the lengths she will go to have revenge on him. Dr. Stephen is a competent enough physician, but though he is not really a heroic man, he is turned into a vampire with a mission.

The horror is well balanced with humor. It is both graphic and violent, and is not a book for those who want their vampires sparkly and their entertainment sanitized. This a book for smart, thinking people who also like vampires.

I believe a second book is in the works and I hope it will focus more on Chris, as he is an awesome character, but wherever the author goes with this tale I will definitely buy it.

Happy Hour In Hell (Bobby Dollar 2), by Tad Williams

Okay, now we are talking deep. Happy Hour In Hell (Bobby Dollar 2), by Tad Williams takes us from the bowels of Heaven to the heart of Hell, and its a rough ride, and a heck of a good story.

But first, may I just say how refreshing it is to find a book by a big publisher (DAW) with such a great Blurb? This is a great innovation—they should keep up the good work!


The Blurb:

I’ve been told to go to Hell more times than I can count. But this time I’m actually going.

My name’s Bobby Dollar, sometimes known as Doloriel, and of course, Hell isn’t a great place for someone like me—I’m an angel. They don’t like my kind down there, not even the slightly fallen variety. But they have my girlfriend, who happens to be a beautiful demon named Casimira, Countess of Cold Hands. Why does an angel have a demon girlfriend? Well, certainly not because it helps my career.

She’s being held hostage by one of the nastiest, most powerful demons in all of the netherworld—Eligor, Grand Duke of Hell. He already hates me, and he’d like nothing better than to get his hands on me and rip my immortal soul right out of my borrowed but oh-so-mortal body.

But wait, it gets better! Not only do I have to sneak into Hell, make my way across thousands of miles of terror and suffering to reach Pan- demonium, capital of the fiery depths, but then I have to steal Caz right out from under Eligor’s burning eyes and smuggle her out again, past demon soldiers, hellhounds, and all the murderous creatures imprisoned there for eternity. And even if I somehow manage to escape Hell, I’m also being stalked by an undead psychopath named Smyler who’s been following me for weeks. Oh, and did I mention that he can’t be killed?

So if I somehow survive Hell, elude the Grand Duke and all his hideous minions and make it back to the real world, I’ll still be the most hunted soul in Creation. But at least I’ll have Caz. Gotta have something to look forward to, right?

So just pour me that damn drink, will you? I’ve got somewhere to go.


My Review:

First off, I'm not going to give you the play-by-play of the book. Instead, I am going to give you my impressions. 

If you like your angels as painted by Michelangelo, you are in the wrong place. Bobby isn't that sort of an angel. Bobby gets in and does Heaven’s dirty work with his bare hands. He’s a hard-boiled detective, a bad-boy, and he’s the sort of angel my mother warned me about. But he’s also just the sort of angel you want on your side when you suddenly find yourself dead, and your soul is being judged.

The action starts on page one and it just keep on going all the way through the book. Even the places where a less-skilled author would be giving you an info dump are well-plotted and the momentum of Bobby's adventures keeps you moving while you absorb the atmosphere.

And let’s talk atmosphere: if I die today, I don’t wanna go to this version of Hell. It is everything Hell should be—lurid, sadistic, brutal, horrifying, disgusting and evil. It’s no place for an angel, and the things that happen to Bobby are violent and beyond horrible. In every situation, and all the way through the never-ending string of torments Bobby is put through, he is still focused on his one obsession, that of getting Caz back.

It's hard to say which place is more malevolent, Heaven or Hell. Hell is more obviously evil, but Heaven is not a fun place either. Bobby's superiors are not a nice bunch. Of course, you have to realize that Demons are just Fallen Angels, so the capacity for cold, hard justice was always there. The Smyler is one of the creepiest villains I've ever seen. Not the sort of villain to read about before bed! And he’s just the tip of the iceberg.

But even in Hell there is the occasional flash of kindness, things that get Bobby asking questions. While in Hell, Bobby’s eyes are opened to the possibility that the gray area between good and evil may be wider than he thought, and he begins to wonder about his former partner, a renegade angel, and the mysterious third way. If that sub-plot will take Bobby anywhere, I don't know, but I am intrigued.

It is a stand-alone book, in that you don’t have to have read book 1 to understand exactly what is going on, and there is a satisfying conclusion, even if it’s not the one you expect. That makes it even better! I am now eagerly waiting for the next installment in this madcap mountain of mayhem! 

The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde

Over Thanksgiving, my son, Dan, pressured me to drop everything and read The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde.  Published in 2000, the Eyre Affair was Fforde's first novel. The book was generally acclaimed, with critics calling it "playfully irreverent," "delightfully daft," "whoppingly imaginative," and "a work of ... startling originality." My son adores this book and the entire series. I found it—interesting—and I heartily enjoyed this book despite the tortuous plot, the side trips that go nowhere, and the occasional moments of HUH?!? WTF….

The Blurb:

The first installment in Jasper Fforde’s New York Times bestselling series of Thursday Next novels introduces literary detective Thursday Next and her alternate reality of literature-obsessed England

Fans of Douglas Adams and P. G. Wodehouse will love visiting Jasper Fforde's Great Britain, circa 1985, when time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously: it’s a bibliophile’s dream. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection. But when someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature and plucks Jane Eyre from the pages of Brontë's novel, Thursday is faced with the challenge of her career. Fforde's ingenious fantasy—enhanced by a Web site that re-creates the world of the novel—unites intrigue with English literature in a delightfully witty mix. Thursday’s zany investigations continue with six more bestselling Thursday Next novels, including One of Our Thursdays is Missing and the upcoming The Woman Who Died A Lot. Visit jasperfforde.com.

My Review:

First off, let me say that I have read both Douglas Adams and P.G. Wodehouse. Either one is a lot easier to follow than Jasper Fforde. Heck, James Joyce is easier to follow and he’s darned near incomprehensible.

But Fforde’s writing has a real charm and despite the confusion, and with a certain amount of discipline I was able to get into the swing of things. It is a “fantasy, science fiction, mystery, satire, romance, thriller” of a book. There is a plot; it is most definitely unique and extremely convoluted. However, it is worth the effort.

In 1985, in a parallel universe, England and Imperial Russia have fought the Crimean War for more than a century. England is still a parliamentary government, pretty much owned by a powerful weapons manufacturing company with a questionable agenda, the Goliath Corporation. Wales is a separate, socialist nation, and for some reason that notion cracked me up.

Thursday Next is an awesome character, but following the plot takes work on the part of the reader. So I resorted to taking notes, which helped me keep things straight in my head. In the course of duty, Thursday gets shot and has to take a new job, where she is forced to team up with the awesomely named Jack Schitt, who really is a…. Never mind. 

So anyway.

I recommend this book for people who love a real challenge in their reading material. Enough of the plot holes finally get filled in that there is a resolution to the tale. You are probably wondering why I am saying I enjoyed the pain—and I will tell you:

It’s hilarious.

It is laugh-out-loud, freaking hysterical. The names of his characters and the situations he puts them in are genius. Acheron Hades is evil, Landon Parke-Laine is a jerk,  Rochester is awesome, Jack Schitt is a turd and Thursday's eccentric family is a riot. Oh, sure, it is uneven and incredibly random, the story travels all over the place and some things are like the Cheshire Cat’s smile in Alice in Wonderland, but stick with it and after a page or two you won't care because you'll be laughing again.

The whole concept of a world where a criminal master-mind can hold a world hostage through literature really rang my bells.  Time-travel, entering into a novel and befriending the characters and changing history by changing the classics of literature--it's a grand idea.

Someone else may not have as much difficulty keeping Thursday's adventures straight as I did. Many people, including my son Dan, love this book with a passion, so I recommend you give it a shot.  

I am not sure I will read the next book in the series too soon, however—I nearly quit reading this book several times out of frustration, so I won’t start the next installment until I feel up to putting a lot of effort into reading a book. I will read it--just not soon. I am giving The Eyre Affair four stars, because it did entertain me, and Fforde introduces some notions that had my mind working long after I put the book down. That, to me, is the mark of great book.

The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley

First published in 1983, Mists of Avalon by the late Marion Zimmer Bradley is a wonderful retelling of the Arthurian legend. I chose to reread The Mists of Avalon this week for two reason: first - as my reward because it is one of the greatest epic fantasies of all time, and second - it had been over a year since I last read it. This book was a watershed moment in fantasy literature for me, and for millions of readers over the years.

The Blurb:

In Marion Zimmer Bradley's masterpiece, we see the tumult and adventures of Camelot's court through the eyes of the women who bolstered the king's rise and schemed for his fall. From their childhoods through the ultimate fulfillment of their destinies, we follow these women and the diverse cast of characters that surrounds them as the great Arthurian epic unfolds stunningly before us. As Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar struggle for control over the fate of Arthur's kingdom, as the Knights of the Round Table take on their infamous quest, as Merlin and Viviane wield their magics for the future of Old Britain, the Isle of Avalon slips further into the impenetrable mists of memory, until the fissure between old and new worlds' and old and new religions' claims its most famous victim.

My Review:

The main protagonist is Morgaine, who watches the rise of Uther Pendragon to the throne of Camelot as high-king. When she was still a young child, she was taken to Avalon by High Priestess Viviane, her maternal aunt, to become a priestess of the Mother Goddess. While in training, she sees the rising tension between the old Pagan religion and the new Christian religion. At the age of fourteen, she is given in a fertility ritual to a young man whom she later discovers is Arthur, her half-brother. Morgaine conceives a child, Gwydion (who will later be called Mordred), as a result of the ritual. She conceals his existence from Arthur.

After Uther dies, his son Arthur proves himself in battle and ascends to the throne.  Morgaine and Viviane give him the magic sword Excalibur and a bespelled scabbard as gifts from the country of Avalon.  Using the sword, which is a pagan weapon, Arthur succeeds in driving the Saxons away. 

But when his wife Gwenhwyfar is unable to carry and deliver a living child, she is convinced that it is a punishment of God: firstly for the presence of pagan elements (a position which Morgaine deeply resents), and secondly, for her forbidden love for Arthur's finest knight Lancelot.  Hating herself for loving him, Gwenhwyfar becomes a religious fanatic, and the relationship between Avalon and Camelot becomes hostile.

The story is compelling at the outset, and it captivated me from page one.  Upon finishing this book I immediately re-read it!  Zimmer-Bradley immerses you in the culture and mores of the mythical Britain of the seventh and eighth centuries.  The thoughts and feelings of each character are clearly drawn, and so are the places and the societies in which they live.  The over-riding themes of love and treachery make for a tragedy with tremendous political ramifications.

There are good and wise men and women and there are greedy, shortsighted people, and all are depicted with an impartial eye in this tale. The flaws and the strengths of each character are drawn with compassion. The personal choices those in power make change their society for all time. The clear and visible change in the cultural values of pre-christian Britain is vividly portrayed, setting the place of women in the society of Britain for the next 1,200 years. 

Within the two generations that this book spans, we see women going from having a respected voice and power in their society, to being relegated to the position of chattel; property of their husband and having less of a voice than his cattle.  

This book crosses many genres, Fantasy, Romance, Historical Fiction--Marion Zimmer Bradley created a world that never existed before and breathed life into it, giving us real, solid people to envision when we think about the Arthurian Saga. It is masterfully woven to make a novel that sets the standard for Arthurian literature, and raises the bar for writers of fantasy in general. It is a book that I think of as a cornerstone-book, one of the real foundation books in the library of truly great, modern storytelling. 

The Flight of the Griffin, C. M. Gray

The Flight of the Griffin by author C. M. Gray is a wonderful adventure for young teens but I enjoyed it a great deal, and think it is a great tale for readers of all ages.


The Blurb:

The Kingdom is dying…

The Darkness is coming… the balance between Order and Chaos is rapidly shifting and the world is falling towards evil and horror, and all the misery that Chaos will bring.

But there is hope…

Pardigan’s had enough, he’s only 12, but he’s breaking into the home of one of Freya's richest merchants... and he’s doing it tonight…

A burglary that will change their lives forever sets four friends upon a quest, a race against time, to locate three magical objects and complete an ancient and desperate spell.

Sailing their boat The Griffin, the crew are quickly pursued by The Hawk, an evil bounty hunter and master of dark sorcery, and Belial, King of Demons and champion of Chaos who seeks to rule the world of man… yet first he must capture the crew of The Griffin and end their quest…

My Review:

It is the end times for the world, and the tale opens when Pardigan, the boy- thief, steals a knife and a book from a merchant’s locked cabinet and sets the events into motion. Quint, the leader of his group of friends is the strongest and is a fighter. Loras is the boy-magician whose master died before Loras could learn what he needed to know and who’s magic never works right. Tarent is a dreamer, a storyteller and he keeps the other boys’ spirits up when times are hard.  Orphans all, they live on the abandoned boat, The Griffin.

Along with the knife and other loot from the merchant’s house, Pardigan has also gained a strange, magical talking cat named Mahra.  This cat who changes back and forth from a girl, to an owl, to a cat, depending on her mood, knows how to unlock the secrets of the magical knife and book. They do as they are told to and become the Magician, Thief, Priest and Fighter, four heroes with a task to right the balance of the world which must have equal amounts of Order and Chaos.  They have been chosen to be the Soldiers for Order and to oppose Chaos in a quest that pits them against magic, demons and ‘The Hawk,’ an evil hunter of men.

The four boys are real – they are written as boys are, unfinished and not quite men yet, but the promise of their adulthood is there in each of them.  Mahra is an old soul (literally hundreds of years old) and is written as such, but she is also young in many ways.

The travels and adventures the boys and Mahra have are well written and completely engrossing.  The scenery and the backgrounds against which the tale takes place are rich and yet not overdone.  It is the first book of a fantasy series, but it is a stand-alone book, and I would recommend this book to anyone who simply loves a good adventure.

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Update Mar 17, 2017: Our friends at http://www.creativia.org/  tell us that Flight of the Griffin can now be found at

http://www.arcticwolffantasy.com/chaos-order-ancient-spells-flight-griffin.html. 

It has a new cover and we wish author C.M. Gray  and Flight of the Griffin well at their new home!

Elvis and Regrets, John A. Aragon

I made time in my NaNoWriMo madness to read a novella by indie author, John A. Aragon, and I was swept away. Elvis and Regrets, Adventures of a Hotshot Firefighter is a small book, but it is a timeless vision quest for the reader.

The Blurb:

A modern western and New Mexican Iliad in which a mystic firefighter plunges toward a dark showdown with God, the Devil, the potential of Rock 'n' Roll and the meaning of our lives.


My Review:

The beauty of some author’s prose is beguiling, like music for the eyes. It lures me, making me want to fall into writing in their style. Just to read their words is a treat for the eyes. One author whose work beguiles me is John A. Aragon.

Elvis and Regrets, Adventures of a Hotshot Firefighter. It is the tale of Jacobo, a young man who, in the 1970’s, is involved in fighting forest fires. What a beautiful, spiritual book! Opening with the day he first hears of the death of the king, Elvis Presley, this tale is an amazing journey into one man’s quest for spiritual knowledge and we are privileged to be along for the ride.

Jacobo and his companions are beautifully drawn with words, and rise clearly in my mind as I read his story. I can smell the scents of the fires, hear the sounds and feel the heat. There is an economy of words, each one important in its place, nothing to distract me from seeing the world Jacobo, Joe and Valkyrie are living in, see them on their vision-quest, seeking truth and God through fire and darkness.

It is a novella, only 63 pages, but it is a huge book, a fantasy and an epic quest for enlightenment. One cannot help but be changed by reading Jacobo's tale and that, to me, is the mark of a truly great book. Once again, quality trumps quantity.

A Memory of Light, Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

Yes, it is still November, and I am still busy with NaNoWriMo, so we are still revisiting the books I love the most this last year (or indeed ANY year).

A Memory of Light which was published by TOR Books on January 8, 2013, is the final installment in the epic fantasy saga, The Wheel of Time. Robert Jordan wrote the first eleven volumes in the series, nearly completing the final volume which was so huge it had to be divided into 3 books.  Unfortunately Robert Jordan passed away before the last book made it out of draft form, and after Jordan's death, Brandon Sanderson, who is famous in his own right for the epic Mistborn series, stepped in and finished the colossal undertaking, writing the final three volumes.

The Blurb:

Since 1990, when Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time® burst on the world with  its first book, The Eye of the World, readers have been anticipating the final scenes of this extraordinary saga, which has sold over forty million copies in over thirty languages.

When Robert Jordan died in 2007, all feared that these concluding scenes would never be written. But working from notes and partials left by Jordan, established fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson stepped in to complete the masterwork. With The Gathering Storm (Book 12) and Towers of Midnight (Book 13) behind him, both of which were # 1 New York Times hardcover bestsellers, Sanderson now re-creates the vision that Robert Jordan left behind.

Edited by Jordan’s widow, who edited all of Jordan’s books, A Memory of Light will delight, enthrall, and deeply satisfy all of Jordan’s legions of readers.

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass.

What was, what will be, and what is,

may yet fall under the Shadow.

Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.

My Review:

I confess, I had my copy on pre order for a l-o-o-ong time, just waiting and drooling for this final installment, so on January 8th I hit the ground running with this book.

First off, if you haven't read the first thirteen books in the series this book will make little sense to you as it is the culmination of many, many storylines. This book is no less complicated than the thirteen books that have preceded it, so I will not be giving you a plot summary.  Instead I am going to give you my impressions and say only that some of my dearly loved characters who should have lived, die, and some who should die, do not.

Each and every one of the main characters have matured and become the sort of leaders we knew they would have to be if they were to succeed at Tarmon Gai'don, the final battle with Shai'tan, who is the personification of evil. I liked that particular twist, and feel vindicated for having stayed with the series even when it went so far afield in The Path of Daggers. Most of the many threads are brought together in this volume although  some  threads are never resolved.

Rand, Mat, and Perrin each fight the battle from a different front, and their stories and unique skills are each central to the final resolution. Logain and Olver both play crucial parts in the last battle. Many minor characters have major parts to play in determining the outcome of Tarmon Gai'don.  The strong roles played by Elayne, Egwene, Nynaeve, Moraine and the other Aes Sedai in this final battle are clear and integral to the success of Rand's bid to win this battle.  Love, loss, sorrow and the immense will to survive are part and parcel of the tapestry Sanderson has woven from Jordan's notes in this very fitting end to a monumental series.

The final battle is nothing less than epic. This encounter between Rand and Shai'tan begins with a contest of morality tales, which in the end determines Rand's course of action.

I shed tears many times, but most especially at the deaths of two important characters in particular, believing they could have accomplished so much had they lived. Yet that is what makes this book and indeed this series so fantastic - the reader CARES about the characters, and this loss makes the outcome more poignant and meaningful.

I liked the way Demandred is finally exposed and introduced into Tarmon Gai'don, and I really enjoyed the plot twist in regard to Taim, now known as M'Hael, and the way he is ultimately dealt with. All of the Forsaken are dealt with in ways both creative and fitting.

In the end, the final resolution is satisfying, and was well worth the journey. There is a large contingent of people who are upset that the epub edition won't be released until April 9, 2013, but this was a choice made by Robert Jordan's widow. I don't buy too many hard copies of books, being a fan of the Kindle, but I did make an exception for this book.   For me, some books need to be in hard copy form and the Wheel of Time Series is one of them, as are the Harry Potter books.

Amazon's reviews are rife with trolls and nay-sayers who couldn't wait to emerge from the woodwork and have their say. Apparently very few of these people purchased the book, much less read it. That is the price of success and these days it's almost an honor to have so many haters just spoiling to knock you down. But their strident caws and self-important rants should have no effect on the true fans of this series. In my humble opinion this work is a masterpiece and is a triumphant finish to the series.

I love Brandon Sanderson's handling of this series finale, and feel I more than got my money's worth from this book, as I will definitely read it again and again; it's that good. If you love this series, you will love the way it ends!