The Radleys
07 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
I’ve read some good reviews of this, and had some personal recommendations, but this is a little too “I was a teenage vampire” mixed with a dose of “Home and Away” (not a compliment) for me.
The Radleys are a family of vampires who are abstainers – vampires who have chosen to give up the consumption of blood. There are two problems with this – firstly, it makes life so dull it is barely worth living. Secondly – the teenage children have no idea. So when it all goes astray and their daughter Clara gives in to bloodlust during a particularly traumatic teenage experience the weakened Radley parents call in Uncle Will – a bad boy of long standing who cannot conceive of the choices they have made. He also harbours a secret love for the wife Helen, based upon an affair they had many years ago.
All that saves this novel is the fact that it argues that a life spent in complete denial is not worth living. The Radleys eventually find a way to be vampires – thus solving a lot of teenage angst in the meantime – and also keep from becoming murderers. One for vamp fans only – not a huge amount of new material.
Let The Right One In
14 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment
in Books into Film, Vamp Stuff
I can’t believe how long it has been since I have written! My reading is pretty slow going these days. But I did finish this rather interesting novel a little while ago and just have not posted my thoughts.
Let The Right One In – another Swedish novel being taken up around the world – charts the friendship between Oscar, a bullied schoolboy with few likeable qualities and Eli, a vampire. Each lives as an outsider in a world beyond their control: Eli, a vampire who must kill to live and needs an older companion to move through life and Oscar who cannot build and maintain friendships with those around him.
Oscar is fascinated by Eli, who in turn becomes protective of Oscar. And even when Eli is revealed to be the murderer who has been terrorising Oscar’s town, Oscar cannot bring himself to leave her. Nor can Eli leave Oscar to the fate he has ahead of him.
Lindqvist has brilliantly depicted the relationship between the two characters, who can neither entirely be together nor totally be apart. Theirs is a love you will not soon forget. Nor will you forget the powerful images presented through the narrative.
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
24 Jul 2010 Leave a Comment
in Vamp Stuff, Young Adult Fiction
This is one for Twilight fans only.
For anyone hiding under a rock who doesn’t know what this is, this novella retells a portion of the plot of Eclipse from another perspective.
There is a poignant moment at the end of Eclipse whereby a young newborn vampire attempts to join the Cullen clan and live their way of life. She is destroyed by the Volturi. This novella gives her a voice, and shows us why she made the choices she did.
Bree is a part of an ignorant army of vampires being made and trained to attack the Cullen family. Victoria is pulling the strings, but keeping the vampires ignorant of aspects of their nature, such as the ability to go out in sunlight. When Bree unexpectedly makes a friend among the vicious newborn vamps, she discovers that there is muh more to her second life than she ever thought. She hides in the background and tries to keep out of the bloodshed, but her very existence is her undoing.
As usual, Meyer creates an easy read – and as I said, intriguing for fans. But the lack of chapters does make it hard to find a natural break. But the characters are likeable, and there is some new info in their for the die-hards. Many will find something to like.
All Together Dead
18 Apr 2010 Leave a Comment
in Vamp Stuff
Yet another episode from the Southern Vampire Mysteries. This one is set after Hurricane Katrina, and follows the deaths that ended the last novel. Sophie-Anne Leclerq, vampire queen of Louisiana, is charged with the murder of her husband. Sookie must come to the trial not only as witness, but also to protect Sophie from human plots.
Sookie is still with weretiger Quinn in this novel, although circumstances allow for a strengthening of her bond with Eric – whose blood she must once again consume to prove her loyalty.
Not much seems to happen in these novels, although there is enough underlying sub-plot to keep me reading every now and then.
Definitely Dead
20 Nov 2009 Leave a Comment
in Vamp Stuff
Another chapter in the Sookie Stackhouse saga… and yet another supe love interest. Its starting to bore me a little. To mean, the pleasure is in the long drawn-out drama, right? Replacing man after man is getting a little old. But still, something calls me back to the series every now and then to see what is going on.
Incidentally, I saw an episode of True Blood Season Two the other day, and it was utterly ridiculous. Perhaps we should all be reading the books instead.
Dead as a Doornail
24 Oct 2009 Leave a Comment
in Vamp Stuff
Another Charlaine Harris Southern Vampire Book – one I have been remiss not to blog about earlier.
The entire premise of this book is to give readers an insight into were society. We witness the race to be Chief of the Shreveport werewolves and also follow Jason Stackhouse’s initiation into the Were panther community of HotShot – the result of a bite or two in the last novel.
Not much in the romance department. Eric finds out all the details of the last novel, but seems too stunned to reply much. Bill is not central to the action and although Alcide the werewolf is, the obstacles between the promise of romance between Sookie and him grow greater. Sam gets the best shot in this book of the series – and the biggest part Bill plays is in putting a stop to that! Still have to follow what happens – have the next on order at the library while I take a break from fluff and attack something meatier.
Dead to the World
14 Oct 2009 Leave a Comment
in Vamp Stuff
I just can’t get enough of the trashy vamp stuff, can I?
Another installment in this Charlaine Harris series, notable mostly because it surrounds the budding romance between Sookie and the hot vampire Eric, made possible because Eric forgets who he is under a witch’s spell. But then he remembers… and Sookie decides not to tell him how close they were… which of course drives him nuts in the next book – he just knows something happened between them! Gotta see how it pans out, so I will keep reading.
The Host
25 Sep 2009 Leave a Comment
in Vamp Stuff
After the phenomenon that is the Twilight series, I thought I had better read The Host to see what else Stephenie Meyer had to offer. I had to skim through many sections fo the novel and had to check the net for spoilers to see whether or nto it was worth persevering until the end. I chose to, and am not disappointed that I did, although I will never be singing this book’s praises.
In total departure from her vampire novels, The Host is definitely the beginning of a vampire series. The main character is a member of a parasitic alien species who colonate and bring order to planets by slowing taking over their species. Wanderer, who inhabits Melanie Stryder is a gentle soul. When Melanie fights tooth and nail and refuses to leave after Wanderer is inserted, Wanderer is left battling Melanie’s memories, specifically her passion for a man named Jared.
Unsure what to do about the uncontrollable voice in her head, but attached 
enough to Melanie to wish her no harm, Wanderer goes in search of Jared and finds him – and a whole cache of hidden human resistance. Wanderer presents somewhat of a problem to them – some are willing to trust her as she left her entire species behind for them, whilst others assume it is all a part of some alien grand plan, and fight to have her destroyed immediately. Unfortunately, Jared is one of the latter.
Various problems spring up the extremely and unneccesarily lengthy plot until Wanderer (dubbed Wanda by her human cohorts) is accepted at large and begins to work for the resistance. But I wont give away too much here. The Host is less trite than the Twilight Series (come on, who didn’t know how that was going to end?), but it lacks the intensity and romance that has made many a girl’s heart flutter at the mention of Edward. I have heard whispers of a movie which would certainly be interesting (and perhaps even better as they will cut a lot of it out), but this series will never reach the peaks of Twilight.
Club Dead
22 Sep 2009 Leave a Comment
in Vamp Stuff
Charlaine Harris sure loves a pun.
My brain is in holiday mode, so another one of this trashy series if vamp fiction was on the cards. It is a little refreshing to see a vampire lover not all romanticised like Edward from Twilight, but a real man with some bloody big flaws. I am becoming a much bigger fan of the stand in men, ready to scoop Sookie up the minute she is free. At least they are far more exciting. In this novel, we are introduced to Alcide the werewolf (who apparently will get his chance with Sookie at some point in the series), and the heat between Sookie and Eric (who is way hotter than Bill – worst name for a vampire ever – in the TV series True Blood) goes up a few degrees.
Living Dead in Dallas
23 Jul 2009 Leave a Comment
in Vamp Stuff
Ok – I know this is trashy. But I just had to!
I have been watching the HBO series True Blood, which was aptly descibed by the girl in the video store as “everything they could not show you in Buffy and Twilight”. It’s raunchy and violent in the extreme. But a reasonably well-crafted mystery at the same time. Well, good enough for me to pursue a library copy of the second book (which appears to be the basis for series two, now in production) to puruse.
Living Dead in Dallas follows Sookie Stackhouse as she is sent to Dallas to investigate the mystery of a missing vampire with her special gifts. It trundles along easily enough, making for a quick, easy and midly entertaining read. It is what I might call a good Sunday-afternoon-book – one that demands little from you, and that you can enjoy as a bit of mindless fun.
The books are somewhat less graphic than the series was, so a better option for younger interested parties. Some interesting future directions for the series indicated here though, as I know ****SPOILER ALERT**** she wont stay with Bill for long. Bring on Eric I reckon! he sounds more interesting…
