Vampire Plagues: London, 1850 by Sebastian Rook

When a ship comes in to port it is an opportunity for the local street urchins to steal something from the ship or its disoriented passengers. But the ship that sails into London is different than any that young Jack has seen. No crew disembarks; only one man and a lot of bats. Jack creeps on and finds a starved stowaway who tells him of a trip to the Americas that found something horrible, and now this evil has come to England. The two boys will have to find a way to stop it on their own, because no-one would believe their tale that vampires have come to London.

I bought this for a few cents expecting it to be truly horrible. It actually wasn't. It was thoroughly mediocre and the writing is childishly simplistic and dull, but the plot was actually somewhat interesting. There was a lot of vampiric lore involved and many traditional vampiric weaknesses and strengths. It was a mildly interesting way to spend a bit of time.

2 Stars

Emme

Star Trek: Voyager: Violations by Susan Wright

In a classic Star Trek scenario, a group of alien pirates (although they are more like Privateers, as they have a governmental OK to do so) disable Voyager and steal the main processor. The crew of Voyager must creatively and carefully use the back up systems to navigate their way to an alien station. Then they must attempt to keep the ship running while starting to hunt down the location of their processor through both legal and non-legal channels.

If this sounds completely familiar, you are right! "Concerning Flight" a season 4 episode, was almost the exact same plot, however that episode was done two years after this book was published.

This book is packed with technobabble (and biobabble ;-) ), which I know some people can't stand. However, if you can't keep your ODN (Optical Data Network) conduits and EPSs (Electro-Plasma Systems) straight you will not comprehend a good bit of this book. This narrows it's audience down to a small, and quite OCD, portion of Trekdom. I personally loved it! I liked that the book didn't gloss over (as the episode did) the fact that it was the heart of the ship that was removed, and that the crew was struggling to keep everything from failing. I liked the fact that the ship's bio-neural circuitry was not ignored or treated as it was merely the same as pure tech.

The characterizations were very well done, although both Kim and Paris were spotty at the start. One thing that quite confused me was that the Doctor was always referred to as Zimmerman. Pre-production and in a few scripts, that was the name was planned for the character, and for one episode of the show he considers, but rejects, giving himself that name. As this was one of the very first Voyager novels, I assume it was written when that was the planned name, and the change somehow slipped through Pocket Book's quality control.

The writing was very good, and I highly enjoyed reading this. I highly recommend it to die-hard Trekkies, but would warn those who have only casually watched that this may not be the best place to start.

5 Stars

Emme

Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock

Elric is emperor of the Melnibone, a race of people who have lived in violent decadence for so long they can't imagine anything else. Elric, sickly since his birth and only alive because of medicines and magic, is different. He has studied the other cultures and peoples of his world, and doesn't feel that following tradition is always the best option. This has made him unpopular among the more conservative people of his kingdom. When his cousin attempts to depose him and the women he loves is put at risk, he must decide whether he is going to stand for his "strange" beliefs or become like rulers before him, and conform with tradition.

I really enjoyed this book, and plan to get the rest of the series from the library. I liked how introspective and cultural it was, a lot of high fantasy tends to ignore that in favor of epic battles. The author does tend towards purple prose at times, but as it is an epic fantasy, that is not uncommon and after a chapter or two doesn't distract you anymore. The characters felt very realistic and deep, even the supporting characters didn't feel like they were just invented for the sake of conveying some piece of information.

4 Stars
 
Emme

Letting Go of Lisa by Lurlene McDaniel

Nathan has been homeschooled for all his life, but now his is going to high school. Right on his first day he sees a girl who catches his attention. Lisa rides a motorcycle, ignores school politics and does whatever she likes. He is determined to get to know her, and eventually convinces her to stop ignoring him and they become friends. But can Lisa trust anyone enough to tell them her secret?

This book is rather cliche and simplistic, but otherwise quite good. Both the main and supporting characters are very real feeling. The writing is solid, if rather uninspired at times. An entertaining and thought-provoking read for teens of both genders.

4 Stars

Emme

Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber

Every since she was little Raven has loved the supernatural, in particular vampires! This (plus her gothic dressing habits) has made her an outsider in her town and even her family. But when a family finally moves into an old mansion nearby she is delighted by the new and eccentric household, she is charmed by exactly what horrifies the rest of town. In fact she thinks it might be possible that they are real-life vampires.

I picked this up in great shape for $0.20 at the Salvation Army, thinking that although it looked extremely stupid it might be good for a laugh. It's a good thing that was all I was expecting, because that is exactly what I got. Mary-Sues and cliches run rampant, in fact that is pretty much all there is! I alternately rolled my eyes, sneered and laughed at how ridiculous the whole book was. If you have some time to kill and need something mindless this is good.

1 Star

Emme

Define "Normal" by Julie Anne Peters

Antonia is a straight A student, wears knee length skirts and keeps her hair neatly cut. She is also practically raising her little brothers, because her mother is too depressed to even get out of bed.

Jazz has purple hair she keeps as wild as possible, plenty of tattoos, doesn't care if the teachers hate her, and hangs out with a gang of other punks. Her family has a huge estate, with maids and servants to take care of their every need.

Is either girl "normal"? That is the question readers must examine as they read this book. The characters are realistic and witty. The writing is simple enough for middle school students, but interesting enough for even an older teen to keep enjoying.

The dialogue is very snappy and will make you grin.

5 Stars

Emme

Vicious Circle by Linda Robertson

Persephone is taking care of her grandmother and, despite the fact that werewolves and witches aren't suppose to get along, letting weres stay with her in confinement during the full moon to pay her bills. But when her friend is murdered and another witch offers her a lot of money to do in her killer, Seph takes the dangerous job. She ends up way over her head when the mark finds out and goes after her other friends. She has to overcome her grandmother's prejudices and bring in a group of weres to help her, including Johnny, the rather frightening tattoo-and piercing-covered singer of a Were band.

Pretty uninteresting. The plot is cliche and the characters flat.

The writing isn't too bad, and is at times witty, but this is a forgettable novel. There were two things I liked though. The way magic worked in a very natural and traditional way and that the romance part of this paranormal romance wasn't about sex! I have read way too many paranormal romances where there is little to no actual love or feelings, just lots of sex. That's not romance in my book. This romance was well set up, and there was attraction between the characters.

3 Stars

Emme

The Copper Crown by Patricia Kennealy

Long ago the Kelts left Earth, using technology left behind by the people of Atlantis, and headed into space. When the rest of the planet discovers interstellar travel, they encounter the Kelts.

The Kelts mix magic and tech, making them a powerful force in their corner of the 'verse. But when the also powerful Earth and Keltia decide to form an alliance it triggers war, as two other races have been looking for an excuse to destroy the Kelts for a long time.

The universe created in this book is wonderful. I loved the mix of traditional sci-fi (spaceships, hovercraft, energy-charged weapons) and historical (chariots, horses, heirloom objects, storytelling.) It created a unique place for the interesting and well-constructed characters to be. My only real quibble with this book is the writing. The sentence structure was frequently confusing, requiring at least one re-read in order to understand.

The author sometimes used double negatives and too many adjectives. The dialogue was at times a bit stilted. A good read, but not a fast one. It takes a good bit of brain power to understand.

4 Stars

Emme

Star Trek: Mind Meld by John Vornholt

Spock's niece, Teska, is to be married to a Romulan boy whose family believes in Reunification. To keep her travel secret she and Spock travel in the midst of a group of Rigelians. Things go well until they stop on Rigel V, where while several members of the crew stop for a drink Teska wanders off. She discovers a dying man who has been stabbed through the throat; she mind-melds with him in order to discover his killer and quickly she and Spock are involved in a murder case. However someone

doesn't want Teska to prove who it was, and she and Spock are at risk.

This was quite interesting. I found the discussions of possible genetic links between Rigelians, Vulcans and Romulans interesting, and have always thought the concept of Reunification fascinating. In the show we only really see Vulcans interested in it, so I liked seeing some Romulans taking active roles. Teska was very well-written, and a good combination of childlike behavior and careful Vulcan training. I felt the author made a bit too much of a big deal about Spock's mixed heritage and had him struggling with his control too much. He is shown as having the same level of control as a pure-blooded Vulcan most of the time, and I doubt one child to whom he has little attachment, would alter it drastically. I also felt that the author was really stretching to try and make Spock relate to Teska. They simply didn't have that much in common. The writing was otherwise solid, although a bit melodramatic at times.

4 Stars

Emme

Star Trek: Shell Game by Melissa Crandall

While collecting space junk, the Enterprise comes across a Romulan space station, drifting in Federation space. When they go aboard in hopes of getting information they find that the crew died of hypothermia in temperatures that should have been perfectly safe. Several away team members start to feel cold, and see something out of the corners of their eyes. As the away team gets more and more jumpy, the Enterprise develops strange malfunctions and power deficits. The crew must figure out what is happening, before their ship also ends up floating and dead.

Mediocre novel. The plot has been done to death (particularly when you find out what is causing the problems) and the Romulans were TOS stereotypes. Every now and then we got a hint of them being actual beings, particularly in the opening, but for the most part I was stuck rolling my eyes. By the time this book was published it was a well known fact in the Star Trek 'Verse that Romulans were not the pure evil, sneaky thieves they were shown as at first in The Original Series. I suppose it is too much to ask for those writing novelizations to have an understanding of the universe they attempt to portray.

On the other hand, the characterizations of the crew were pretty good. Kirk was softened WAY too much in an attempt to make him more likable, but Bones and Spock's banter was great. The writing was pretty good, there were rough patches I thought an editor should have taken better care of, but all in all it was okay.

3 Stars
Emme

Daughter of Light: Kung Fu Princess #1, by Pamela Walker

On her 14th birthday Cassidy gets a box of 5 old, gold coins from a strange man. She starts to have strange dreams, ones with a pair of women who tell her that she has a destiny to fight 5 evil spirits. Shortly she starts to feel ill and concludes that something strange is happening. She discovers that she is going to have to fight the spirits, and the first one is weakening her with a curse before trying to take her out.

Pretty much as I remembered from years ago, a light teen fantasy. The author is an okay writer, not exceptional, but smooth and evenly paced. The plot is rather "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"-ish, and not particularly original, but fun. The characters are interesting, but not fully developed.

4 Stars
Emme

Dragon Heat by Allyson James

Lisa has had a dragon living in her spare room for a long time, that she can deal with. But when he turns in a (very good looking) human man and tells her that her life is in danger, things get weird. Turns out she has some kind of odd power that an evil black dragon trapped in the human world wants. She is going to have to take her eyes off the golden dragon's body and start paying attention to staying alive.

I think this author should try her hand at urban fantasy rather than romance. The plot was interesting and I loved many of the supporting characters, who I wish had been given a chance to really play a part. The author definitely has an ear for snappy, witty conversation. But the romance was heavy-handed, I frequently found myself rolling my eyes and skipping pages. In order to keep the book a reasonable length, but make it a typical romance, plot was sacrificed in favor of mostly, poorly written sex scenes.

3 Stars
Emme

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

A group of men summoning a dragon for nefarious purposes, a young hero, raised far away by dwarves, coming to his first city, a group of rather incompetent guards; these are common enough cliches in fantasy stories, but Pratchett turns them on their head and makes them hilarious. Fooling with cliches and assumptions, he keeps you on your toes by throwing you for a loop when things don't follow along a standard storyline.

This was the first of Prachett's books I had read, as I have always been daunted by the length of his Discworld series. I live in a rural area, and getting stuck in the middle of a series for an extended length of time because you can't get the rest of the books is not at all fun.

I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of this author's work though, as this was quite possibly the best comedic fantasy I have read. His writing is witty and sharp, with plenty of laugh out loud spots. (Per-maybe-haps best not read in public, as you get odd looks and people edge away when you sit there laughing and giggling over a book.)

5 Stars

Emme

The Dragon Queen, by Alice Borchardt

Born in a dangerous world of warfare fought by both magic and sword, young Guinevere may have the abilities needed to change that. This makes her a target of those who would keep themselves in power. Raised by a runaway druid, shapeshifter who can go from man to wolf, a woman rescued from pirates and a she-wolf, her talents are considerable. She learns magic, weaponry, and discovers her destiny.

This interesting take on the King Arthur stories is well-done.  The writing is smooth for the most part and the characters are fabulously detailed and interesting. It is written in a more "epic," highbrow, reserved style (think Tolkien) which I know some people find annoying when they are use to more "modern" writing with high, dramatic emotion and lots of fight and sex scenes. The plot is tight, with few troublesome, wandering digressions. I have placed an interlibrary loan to get the sequel.

Emme
5 Stars