While the holiday season represents the most magical time of year, ancient European folklore warns of Krampus, a horned beast who punishes naughty children at Christmastime.
Escape Krampus by completing at least two tasks below.
Nik thinks that he’s found the woman of his dreams, but will his vampire brethren stop him from being with his soul mate?
I both liked and got bored with this short story. It was kind of interesting and fun. And I really liked the idea of one of the soulless damned (a vampire) finding his soul mate. There was a great little twist of irony in this and it was kind of sweet that even a soulless blood sucker could have that whole perfect fit, love at first sight experience.
The execution on the other hand just didn’t quite draw me in as far as I had hoped. I don’t know if that was because I just wasn’t interested in reading a vampire romance short story at the time or the style of writing. But, regardless, I actually skim read most of this story which is always a sure indication that I’m interested enough to finish it, but not interested enough to actually read everything word for word and truly absorb it. A weird little paradox that one…
Incredibly busy this month. And exhausted. And freaking out because there are so many snakes. So I read lots and lots and lots of short stories late at night to try and help myself sleep… actually, I just read a lot in general to try and not think about the creepy damn snakes…
Title: Altered Carbon Author: Richard Morgan Series:Takeshi Kovacs #1 Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one) My Bookshelves:Crime, Cyberpunk, Science fiction Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Gollancz Year: 2002 5th sentence, 74th page: Yeah, and look where that stupid bitch ended up.
It’s the twenty-fifth century, and advances in technology have redefined life itself. A person’s consciousness can now be stored in the brain and downloaded into a new body (or ‘sleeve’), reducing death to a minor blip on a screen. Onetime U.N. Envoy Takeshi Kovacs has been killed before, but his last death was particularly painful. Resleeved into a body in Bay City (formerly San Francisco), Kovacs is thrown into the dark heart of a shady, far-reaching conspiracy that is vicious even by the standards of a society that treats existence as something that can be bought and sold. For Kovacs, the shell that blew a hole in his chest was only the beginning.
I really liked this. And I think that if I re-read it while I was more in the mood for this type of book, I would think that it was phenomenal. The premise is amazing, the message is intense and the action is continuous. But, after over a month of slowly reading through this, it’s just not quite intensely intrigued me. Again, just because I wasn’t in the mood for it.
This is an incredibly intense, fast-paced story that is a conspiracy wrapped in a conspiracy. Alongside trying to figure out who’s the “bad guy” whose behind everything, there’s also a lot of playing catch up in this world. The world building in this cyberpunk story is amazing, and the complexity of it means that half the time I was trying to follow the story, and the other half of the time I was trying to figure out more about the world that Morgan has built.
I could spend all day tweezing apart the themes and messages throughout Altered Carbon. But what I like most is that life is precious, and not to be wasted. It might not be exactly what the author was originally intended, but I found that the idea of shells and murder and mayhem simply highlighted the fact that life is something to be revered and treasured, not something that can be traded away lightly. Even if there is just another shell around the corner…
Title: An Evening with Al Gore Author: Charlaine Harris In: Blood Lite (Kevin J. Anderson) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Comedy, Vampires, Werewolves Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Pocket Books Year: 2008 5th sentence, 74th page: We want this to be a private affair.
Toddy just wants to make the world a better place. But the way she goes about it is a little… unorthodox.
I literally laughed out loud when I read the last line of this story. Which kind of scared my dog because I normally don’t make so much noise when I’m walking around the house reading. Or really, much noise at all when I’m home alone. I normally am very careful with the vampire and werewolf books that I read when home alone because I can get some whacked out nightmares. This is not the kind of story that makes me feel concerned about this. It’s the kind of light-hearted tale that makes me laugh. In a very weird, very loud spasm.
I love the idea that there is a couple who are passionate environmentalists. And they happen to be werewolves. And they want to change the way that those most heavily responsible for environmental degradation think. It all just works exceedingly beautifully in my brain. The fact that the “bad guys” don’t repent wasn’t in the slightest bit surprising, and I laughed to myself throughout the tale. Now I have to return to the world of reality and continue attempting to do my own part for the environment… lest a vampire or werewolf decide to take their revenge.
Title: The Armature of Flight Author: Sharon Mock In: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (Sean Wallace) Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one) My Bookshelves:LGBTQI, Steampunk Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 2010 5th sentence, 74th page: “If you like.”
Leo and William are in love, but Leo has obligations and William needs to find a way to stand on his own two feet. Will they find a way to make it work together? Or will life and all its pitfalls get in the way?
I really don’t know how I felt about this story. The idea of love and loss was a good theme. The use of two homosexual men and their roles in their societies was fun. But this just didn’t grab me and sweep me away like so many other stories in The Mammoth Book of Steampunk. And, since I liked all of the concepts in this, I was really disappointed in myself for not being swept away.
This is one of those weird stories that I can tell you all of the activities throughout. But I can’t really tell you what happened in it. The activities and the actions yes, but the actual emotional, social, psychological aspects of the story? I really don’t know. And these are the parts of the stories that I really love… which is why I gave this short story a lower rating. It was still really good, but nothing that really grabbed me in any way, shape or form…
Title: Death and Relaxation Author: Devon Monk Series: Ordinary Magic #1 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Magic, Mythology, Urban fantasy Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Odd House Press Year: 2016 5th sentence, 74th page: I checked my reflection in the rearview mirror.
Police Chief Delaney Reed can handle the valkyries, werewolves, gill-men and other paranormal creatures who call the small beach town of Ordinary, Oregon their home. It’s the vacationing gods who keep her up at night.
With the famous rhubarb festival right around the corner, small-town tensions, tempers, and godly tantrums are at an all-time high. The last thing Delaney needs is her ex-boyfriend reappearing just when she’s finally caught the attention of Ryderr Bailey, the one man she should never love.
No, scratch that. The actual last thing she needs is a dead body washing ashore, especially since the dead body is a god.
Catching a murderer, wrestling a god power, and re-scheduling the apocalypse? Just another day on the job in Ordinary. Falling in love with her childhood friend while trying to keep the secrets of her town secret? That’s gonna take some work.
I loved this book from the very beginning. Partially because one of the secondary character couples is a gay couple. And they’re a vampire and werewolf. Which makes me incredibly happy and delirious. I love gay couple. An inter-racial mythological creature relationship that is traditionally at odds with one another… well, that’s even better. It also gives a hint to the ways in which this story tends to push the boundaries a little more than most of the urban fantasy books on my shelves.
I’ve read a lot of stories that features the gods in one way, shape or form. I’ve never read a novel about what happens when the gods want a vacation. Or how they go about giving up their godly duties to actually take a break and relax. This concept in and of itself would have meant that I loved this story. But add to that a small town competition where jealousies run high, a rhubarb patch being blown sky-high and the murder of one said god… well, it’s definitely the kind of story that you shouldn’t pick up if you have boring, and responsible things to do…
Delaney is exactly what I want in a heroine. Just so completely human and flawed. The entire story she’s running around half-delirious with exhaustion and awkward and crabby at times to boot. Both of which I can completely relate to. Her relationships with her sisters is kind of like mine – lots of love, love of frustration, and an overwhelming sense of safety. It’s her relationship with men that kind of messes with my head. Mostly the guy that she is involved with throughout – there is a lot of mystery attached to him and I really want the next books to arrive so that I can find out what his deal is!
Tom is bored with his life in the Irish countryside. Until he runs into Doreen. Then everything changes in the blink of an eye and he dares to dream of a brighter future.
I love when you read a nice, simple, homely story. And just finish it… smiling. Nothing else, just quietly smiling to yourself. The fact that this was the final tale in The Mammoth of Irish Romance collection just made it all that much more sweet and endearing.
There are almost two storylines happening throughout this tale. That of Tom and Dorreen’s plight against the fae and that of their meeting in real life. The fact that they are both realities and crossover beautifully at the very end was something that I enjoyed monumentally. As I enjoyed the way in which you’re not truly certain if their visit to the fae is merely a dream or something more… until those very final moments.
An incredibly fitting end to a wonderful collection of romantic tales.
She’s a vampire with a little ennui and a ghoul for a best friend. But a car accident might leave her with the best hope of a future that she could ask for… and a star worth dancing the night away with.
This was a really cute little story. Sephora has a major case of ennui and is kind of bored with her life. And she has a best friend who is a ghoul. All of which in and of itself would make a great short story. After all, this is the kind of story that has a great outline of characters and creatures. But then it gets better with the dream sequence.
I haven’t read a story with a good dream sequence for quite a while. And this one ticked all of my boxes. It was slightly confusing and opaque, but also clear in other moments. Which, for me at least, is what a dream is really like. The fact that it leads Sephora to her own leading man and helps to rescue him just makes it all the better.
I was expecting an entirely different story from what the title suggested. I was kind of expecting some kind of dancing with the stars dance competition to be honest. But this was so much better and more interesting…
Title: Play Dead
Title: Altered Carbon
Title: An Evening with Al Gore
Title: The Armature of Flight
