Humans, the divine comedy they represent, with all their delusions, with all their fictions, with all their religious beliefs, with all their sex, drugs an...moreHumans, the divine comedy they represent, with all their delusions, with all their fictions, with all their religious beliefs, with all their sex, drugs and rock and roll, with all their technological advancement, with all their moral decline, with all their race and class differences, with all their love for money and fame, with all their lies and truths, with all their war and peace, with all their sense and sensibility, with all their sound and fury, with all their to have and have not, with all their disease and death, And so they continue on beating against the cycle of time, knowing all this, against their allotted time of sparse existence, they are a strange species, they still carry on and keep calm despite this, who in their right mind would want to be human?
I read the Humans by author Matt Haig and his telling of one non-human beating against the tide of humanity in all its pot holes and weakness, I must warn fellow Vonnadorians who are reading this that this book is very dangerous and polluting to our species, the poetry recommended by the character in this story likewise, it may be infectious on the mind and the intellect of our species. I was quite magically taken under the writers wing and seeing this human world experience in first person and it all read to be quite credible. I must admit he fooled me with his narrative, he captivated me i was very keen on this humanity, taken in by this unique character of whom he has you have an empathic feeling for, but believe you me this is a farce. Indeed even with all the weirdness and beauty of humanity portrayed in this story, we do not need anything from humans, we have much more, we have immortality, what you have before you is a lasting and very brave accounting of the ins and outs, warnings of what it is like to be human, so that we may never want or try to be a human.
My warning to Vonnadorians is..... (Excerpt from The Humans by Matt Haig) "Remember, during your mission, never to become influenced or corrupted. The humans are an arrogant species, defined by violence and greed. They have taken their home planet, the only one they currently have access to, and placed it on the road to destruction. They have created a world of divisions and categories and have continually failed to see the similarities between themselves. They have developed technology at a rate too fast for human psychology to keep up with, and yet they still pursue advancement for advancement's sake, and for the pursuit of the money and fame they all crave so much. You must never fall into the humans trap. You must never look at an individual and fail to see their relation to the crimes of the whole, livery smiling human face hides the terrors they are all capable of and are all responsible for, however indirectly. You must never soften, or shrink from your task. Stay pure. Retain your logic. Do not let anyone interfere with the mathematical certainty of what needs to be done."
May this book remain in our libraries as a stark warning on the frailty and art of being human.
Excerpt "I was to be a married man. I was forty-three years old, the exact mid-point in a human life. I had a son. I was the professor who had just solved the most significant mathematic puzzle the humans had ever faced. I had, only three short hours ago, advanced the human race beyond anyone's imagining."
Let a talented storyteller take you by the hand into the darkness, into the world of the Dark Society, A world where a man travels by the night, he bec...more Let a talented storyteller take you by the hand into the darkness, into the world of the Dark Society, A world where a man travels by the night, he become one not that of humanity amongst the plains of the confederate battlefields at the age of 27, Wounded on the battlefield at Shiloh on the sixth of April 1862 this marked his journey into becoming something else. His battle is aided by one friend a priest, he helps quench his thirst via the consumption of cattle blood. In the present he is A gunslinger. A man caught between two worlds with fangs but a very human pulsating heart dying to overthrow the presence of the inhuman. He is a hired gunslinger and his new job undertakes handing 666 dollars in ransom for the safe return of a woman, he soon discovers that more than a woman's safe return is in the balance. He battles with one in the world who he has not yet set his eyes on before, a shape-shifter of a different kind. Equipped with two guns a Colt and a Derringer loaded with 2 different bullets for 2 different species and wearing a Stetson he goes in search for la Nocturne city.
This story, is another example of the great storytelling capabilities of the author and his successful contribution to the writing world dealing with supernatural, he is a great writing force that i hope to remain for many a day to come.
The author has crafted a memorable character in the form of this vampire gunslinger who is with fangs but with a very human Heart battling and beating away against time. An awesome tale from a writer who knows how to weave a horror with a very human character at his core, with a twist the supernatural, Gothic and mysterious. Perfection.
"But he traveled by night. It said so on his business card, along with All Matters Handled. He had been a lawyer, a husband and father, a soldier, and now...a vampire fighting to hold onto what remained of his humanity, and by doing so putting himself in harm's way for many humans who needed his help, for he was truly an 'adventurer' now, to keep his wits and his mind sharp and what remained of his human heart beating."
"He slept in the way of vampires, one part deeply tranced and gathering strength for the night, another part on edge, senses questing, fearful of the pain of sunlight like a darktime insect. He'd had much time to think, and considered that this pain was as much mental as it was physical; it was the pain of a body losing its fluids and withering up toward the death in life, yes, but it was also the pain of separation from light and life, and the more religious the person had been the more the shame and agony of what he or she had become."
If you happen to notice anyone become suddenly very active a fast runner and have a large appetite and delicacy for meat not well done you would not t...moreIf you happen to notice anyone become suddenly very active a fast runner and have a large appetite and delicacy for meat not well done you would not think twice about it. If his meat is served on a plate with nothing else, no vegetables, just one grand slab of bloody steak sitting on plate you should have some concern and then there is a noticeable hair growth and the lack of need of Viagra all hours going ons you better really be concerned. The persons hearing will greatly be increased, something you say in another room in a low voice would be known by the recently gifted one.
The main protagonist in this story a father of one boy and wife to a business woman is about to feel the pinch and be in a situation where he loses his job. He becomes a home alone dad for his kid while his wife earns the money. There are many fathers who would love to be in his shoes. He finds it hard and a chore at first but one stroll to a park he discovers other men babysitting also. Now group of guys relating to each others situation is all fine and dandy but when you get invited back for a guys evening meal with only steaks on a plate take it as a warning you about to be part of a pack. In history people have found the need to part of something a group a gang a tribe or clan. There are always leaders of these groups chieftains, captains of football teams and armies. There is one leader of the pack who bent on recruiting new blood an this group you are about to learn of may well be thee most powerful and high libido orientated pack you are about to partake in by way of this story that Jason Starr has created.
The main protagonist Simon is about to feel and enjoy things in ways he has never thought possible with deadly and bloody consequences. Jason Starr has penned mysteries and thrillers previously and has done well here with something different. His own angle on the urban fantasy story of other becomings and beings with writing that really hooks you in and thoroughly entertaining and hypnotic. In the meantime I am watching out for any extra hair growth, until the next time Jason Starr takes me eagerly back again to The Pack in his sequel.
This was a really good collection of stories. You will find in these pages crimes, terrors, horrors and the bizarre. He has covered many types of stor...moreThis was a really good collection of stories. You will find in these pages crimes, terrors, horrors and the bizarre. He has covered many types of stories from zombies to the haunted. Jason has mixed them up well and not bored you with the same old style and theme in this collection. I like his style of writing its tense and engrossing he really makes makes you feel part of the thrill and terror. A writer to watch out for with a promising future that has got to be heard more of. Mostly all the stories here i was hooked and enjoyed them. He has potential messed up my thoughts for a couple of days. Jason's writing has all the hallmarks of a well schooled writer and reader of the dark tale. I believe in this writer really doing well a fresh new talent.
Isolation Haunting and an atmospheric story you will be hanging on every words meaningful mark and melancholic expression. Haunting story of loss and eerie homes.
Chemical burn A thrilling story of a home brewed liquid that you could experience highs from but the creator sees the dangers and needs another road in life. Written well again hooks you and engrossing.
Room 118 A story of terror and horror. One mans obsession with what lies behind room 118. Will there be any horrors behind those closed doors? Well done story.
Survival the fittest Is exactly as named suggests, the survival of the fittest in a world of the undead. A good little zombie tale i liked his descriptive writing he places you in the thick of it and the terror.
Serpent's Son A story of a serpent and a new birth. The news of missing girls and a rapist. Chilling and bizarre.
The Seminary If they are performing near you, the Seminary, stay well away. If you don't you best make sure you have faith.
Divorce and the Black Cat Alcohol and divorce destroyers of the soul. But hey leave the lovely cat alone.
House of Coal A mysterious fire in a home and an equally mysterious protagonist.
In the authors first werewolf novel 'The Last Werewolf' I liked the way he put you in P.O.V mode of the character and the memoir way we learned of the...moreIn the authors first werewolf novel 'The Last Werewolf' I liked the way he put you in P.O.V mode of the character and the memoir way we learned of the werewolf. I liked The whole interview with a vampire styled way it read like. There was more a faster pace change and was written differently with a stronger male character. Here in this novel, which can be read without reading the first, the werewolf is a female protagonist Talulla who's expectant. Most of the story captures your interest in the ensuing search and possible rescue of her son and the fate of her twins in general from the clutches of vampires and other dangers. These old Vampires who go by the name of 'The Disciples of Remshi' they require her child werewolf for a ritual of very high significance to their leader in order to achieve full power. The story is written well and has his usual humour and deep self reflection on being a werewolf. The story starts of with a slower approach in the first half and the last half picks up momentum as she find herself captive and having to endure very brutal circumstances. She, alongside others, faces tests, rape and torture. The first novel, I mentioned in my review, features high libido activity, this one by far less due to the main character being preoccupied mostly in care of her baby daughter and keeping them in safety from the danger of those that want blood. The time is limited she only has time to the next full moon-eclipse to find and save her son from ruin. The libido activity only comes while stuck in certain situations with others where she finds time to endure her carnal requirements. All around the story was good but felt slightly short in satisfying my expectations left from finishing the first book in expecting more horror and thrill to come. My review also @ http://more2read.com/review/talulla-rising-by-glen-duncan/ The Guardian Newspaper features a good review on this novel: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/apr/05/talulla-rising-glen-duncan-review?newsfeed=true (less)
This was a pleasant surprise of a story. The Bone Tree is a insidious presence in a cemetery, which is not the only horrors in this story. What made i...moreThis was a pleasant surprise of a story. The Bone Tree is a insidious presence in a cemetery, which is not the only horrors in this story. What made it that much better than just a horror story, was the growing up problems the buddies in this story faced. The main protagonist a white kid tells of his youth and his best pal Bobby a black kid and their discovery of the bone tree. He takes us through his horrors of bullying and racism, due to them being best buddies which others don't approve of. He tells us of his worries of death and the fear of what evil lurks in the shadows and the mysterious bone tree. This story is written so well and does not let up at all. It hooks you in with really good storytelling.
"The trunk of the tree was thick; it's roots were bunched and gnarled rising from the earth in every direction fom it like the knobby knuckles of broken hands. It split out from its trunk in many directions, looking very much like graphing claws; branches twisted like the pain- wracked frame of a fleshless corpse. At each bend there was a knotty snarl of twisted wood, like diseased elderly joints. It had been struck by lightening; it was split and shocked. Still it grew. Somehow though, there was not a shred of greenery or life upon it. It was backless and stark white. The living bones of death."
Malfi immerses you in a cold surroundings, with a person with strange abilities. A group of men on a fishing boat at sea spot a young stranded naked g...moreMalfi immerses you in a cold surroundings, with a person with strange abilities. A group of men on a fishing boat at sea spot a young stranded naked girl in artic conditions stranded on ice. What is she doing in the middle of nowhere? Where is she from? Most people when they see a stranded person and naked would not turn their cheek and not help them to safety, they had really had no reason to not help. When see is rescued and onboard the vessel all things seem to deteriorate and go wrong starting with the gps system and on-board computers not working. The most important tools at sea are navigation systems and communications. Stranded now with a girl with no name help is needed and speedily. The story was engrossing and interesting he achieves in making you feel the fear, isolation and cold weather. Malfi seems to be turning out many good reads lately with some creative settings and characters.(less)
A man in a dilemma of sorts divorced and missing his wife. His only real companion at present is a man best friend a puppy. It's fine company animals...moreA man in a dilemma of sorts divorced and missing his wife. His only real companion at present is a man best friend a puppy. It's fine company animals but way out in a middle of no where is not the best place to live especially if you have unwelcome visitors that wish destruction and manipulation. Just don't hurt my fury friends. The main protagonist lost two of the most important things before he moved to this desolate place. Two things that most defined him were being a husband and his career as a teacher, so if any trouble comes knocking at his door he has nothing to loose or does he? He might have yet to experienced the worst of times, as his worst nightmares may soon occur before him. The author absorbs you in the moment and constructs a dark dreary cold atmosphere. He is succeeding continually in writing creative stories, definitely one writer to watch out for. There maybe salvation, damnation, transcendence or perhaps all three.
"From the very corner of his eye he saw them standing there, little hideous silhouettes in the night, silently watching with their horrible eyes."(less)
George our main protagonist, is a despised man a Scrooge of the Commodities business. He is to learn some real lessons in life, he will encounter a jou...moreGeorge our main protagonist, is a despised man a Scrooge of the Commodities business. He is to learn some real lessons in life, he will encounter a journey that will shake his soul . One of the characters that would visit George have frog like faces dominated by a huge mouth and great fly-like eyes. This is not a scare you stiff horror but a heart warming story of what kindness can do and a stark warning of what the darkness of the heart can lead to. George will have no choice but to learn one lesson and that is the greatest joy, far greater than the power of riches, is the power to give to others in need. This story would touch you’re heart in humanness and give you time to contemplate on the more worse off than you. A story that could bring you to tears of sadness and joy, one that flows well and really hooks you in, can be read in two to three hours max.
This is a story of the scrooges of the world, that has been told many times before but never overdone and presented here with a new style and characters and with it’s own magic. Book trailer and review also here(less)
The Ubervampyr want world domination and no peace pact with humans. They are creating a new breed of monster. The Vampire federation have a set of rul...moreThe Ubervampyr want world domination and no peace pact with humans. They are creating a new breed of monster. The Vampire federation have a set of rules and one of them is a peace with humans and they wish to live amongst them. The battle of power once again takes foot and the federation need to take out the bad guys. An old weapon against the vampires has been unearthed, a cross. With this in the wrong hands the outcome can only turn out to be fatal. The author bases most of the story in England which adds a fresh angle to the usual settings used. You will find your usual Human wannabe vampire hunters, a crazed murderer wannabe vampire and the newly turned vampires. He dishes out a dose of traditional battle sequences with swords, reminiscent of the movie Blade and no steamy boy/girl romance scenes. The chapters of the story are set in different locations between England and eastern Europe, This is a solid addition to the genre that keeps the pace up right through to the end. http://more2read.com/?review=the-cross-vampire-federation-2-by-scott-g-mariani(less)
There is a music that once heard has an effect upon the listener and also there are books out there filled with pages that once glanced at have an eff...moreThere is a music that once heard has an effect upon the listener and also there are books out there filled with pages that once glanced at have an effect upon the reader. Occult books that document other gods, worlds, and evil forces some may see them as Humbug and false but other know too well of their power over the reader and the deadly consequences of its recitation. Evil calls to itself and many characters in this story are to be caught in its path, an evil plan, a plan that only certain powers could destine for its subjects. One man Ingram, the main protagonist, an ex-marine nicknamed Bull due to his largeness, has been hired to track down some missing people. He finds himself in search of a mysterious musician and a music that stirs very obscure and Ill feelings within, destruction seems to be left in the path of the music. He is by trade a man for hire and has killed many, he will not hesitate to kill his enemy and deliver a blow with a sharp delivery of efficiency. Ingram finds himself caught in a web of a secret world filled with murder and vile acts perpetrated by the most darkest forces possible. This story brings me back to darkness present in stories written by H.P Lovecraft (by way of Robert Chambers) and Hjortsberg's Falling Angel. Fate delivers him to the doorstep of a woman and her children, they will discover that they need him more than ever as they too find themselves part of a bloody ill fate to come.
The author has successfully written a dark arcane story of blues and murder, he lays out the story well and really immerses you in an original story that deals with secret powers and books, all things dark and evil. He has conjured up characters that you will remember and keeps you wanting more to come in the story. A southern story with all things southern the landscape and the people but with a Lovecraftian twist of gothic horror. I am really looking forward to his next noir story of the arcane. He is a writer to watch out for and has already for his first novel be nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for superior achievement in a a first novel. A winner of the Darrell Award for best novel.
"Ingram heard this new dark music and felt moved and upset and aroused all at once. The deep beats and rhythms, the mournful wails from Negro mouths singing such plain rhymes so heartfelt, so stark and true, they struck him powerfully. For a moment he felt like he had never really heard music before, like he had been missing some component of his soul that had not come shipped in the original package."
"The strange, high-pitched sound ripped at his mind again, and his sanity skittered away like butter on a hot pan. He keeled over into the grass and ripped at his eyes, his ears; anything to stop the sound, stop the darkness. Blackness pushed in form all sides, invading his body, and he knew no more."
Imagine yourself a pilot of a passenger aircraft, a trip you have made hundreds of times something that you become so used to doing. On one occasion...more Imagine yourself a pilot of a passenger aircraft, a trip you have made hundreds of times something that you become so used to doing. On one occasion you are the captain of a particular plane and not far from landing to your destination, mid-air suddenly a flock of Geese hit your turbines and all driving power is lost of the aircraft. It nose dives and time is everything with no possibility of landing the plane safely on solid ground the only place to land is the stretch of sea beneath you. What can you do? Your best chance is to try to land safely on the sea, which is not something you have been trained for due to being a procedure of a rare occurrence. It all ends devastatingly bad and the plane hits the water with deadly speed and impact, all is lost 39 people die and you survive. It great to survive but with the guilt of the dead on your shoulders you wish you were the 40th. The aftermath of this disaster comes with many sleepless nights and nightmares; you are bombarded with images in your mind and the press and newsreels showing the incident. The families only have you to blame as the pilot. This all becomes too much for you and you decide to uproot your wife and twins from the city to a village in New Hampshire and escape to a old home near the woods. This village was to be your escape from the city but proves to become an even more greater challenge and struggle to what you just tried to leave behind. With a close knit community where everyone knows your business and there are no secrets, you wish that you never stepped foot on its soil. The new home the place that was to be your solace, turns out to have a strange hatch door in the basement with 39 bolts sealing the door closed, yes that is 39 bolts as in 39 dead in the airplane incident and if that is not freaking you out enough your twins love the greenhouse which you discover has had a shady past of being used to grow some strange herbs that a group of Shamans have been growing and using and seem to be still living in the village. The nightmares you tried to leave behind becomes ever so worse with noises that go bump in the night.
The author puts you in a really tense atmosphere of fear in this story that flows so well, you will be hooked and read through the pages in no time at all. This is a page turning psychological tale of the highest caliber as the author takes you into the minds of the pilot, his wife, twins and the shamans. A harrowing story that has the makings of a classic horror story just right for October! Video interview with author in this link http://more2read.com/?review=the-night-strangers-by-chris-bohjalian"(less)
He killed his first victim on 14th August, 1842. He was thirty-four years old. He will be two hundred and one in March. A word of warning you are about...moreHe killed his first victim on 14th August, 1842. He was thirty-four years old. He will be two hundred and one in March. A word of warning you are about to read a sort of kind of memoir of a werewolf in London, he's more animal not human and has a high libido so many of his adventures endure high libido activity. Oh yes also if your Red Riding Hood don't bother why would you want to learn about the life of possibly the last werewolf in the world. Being an only werewolf can be a lonely business, he talks of all the women he spends hours of flesh with leaving him with an empty heart. What he needs is a female counterpart a she-wolf one he could spend his long lifespan with.
This story reads at a times similar to an interview with a vampire by Anne rice, he takes you back to his first feeds and his feelings behind his first transformations and into his world view and philosophy on life and creation. Some high libido scenes do come with some vulgarity but you must remember due to him being a werewolf you have to understand the author trying to make it realistic as possible in an animal sense. It was a interesting read and being set in London gave it a more gothic feel. This is a werewolf story written in an way that puts you in the werewolves mind you feel more in p.o.v mode with his instincts and this all takes you back to the core feelings of being a werewolf without any fluffy romance urban twist. A werewolf story traditional sense as that of Bram Stokers Dracula but with an adrenaline boost update of the modern kind. The story was written in a style that made the pages flyby in no time at all. There are thrilling and humorous moments in the story and it does set you up for probably an even more entertaining story in the next instalment Talulla rising out April 4th.
"All wolf and no gang. Humour darkens. I looked out of the window. The snow was coming down with the implacability of an old testament plague. In earls court road pedestrians tottered and slid and in the cold swirling angelic freshness felt their childhoods still there and the shock like a snapped stem of not being children anymore. Two nights ago I'd eaten a 43 year old hedge fund specialist. I've been in a phase of taking the ones no one wants. My last phase, apparently." (the reviewers thinking, considering the financial climate at present we need him to eat more guilty parties to the financial decline)
"The bigger problem, of being, just keeps getting bigger. One by one I've exhausted the modes: Hedonism, asceticism, spontaneity, reflection, everything from miserable Socrates to the happy pig. My mechanisms worn out. I don't have what it takes. I still have feeling but I am sick of having them. Which is anther feeling I am sick of having. I just... I just don't want any more life."
"The vampire gets immortality, immense physical strength, hypnotic ability, the power of flight, psychic grandeur and emotional depth. The werewolf gets dyslexia and a permanent ere...on. It's hardly worth making the comparison....' For all of you which you can read: Werewolves get to have sex and we don't."
"Dog family. Any canine succumbs. There are beautiful women in Manhattan who would have married me on the spot for the charm I had over their mutts. Wow, he normally hates guys. I've never seen him like this. Do you live around here?"
A great cataclysmic finale to a story of biblical proportions, a story thats unearths a history as old as mankind. A father and a son separated across...moreA great cataclysmic finale to a story of biblical proportions, a story thats unearths a history as old as mankind. A father and a son separated across the Atlantic, are two important characters in this third and grand finale of a book. The father Dr Ephraim Goodweather, once a prominent epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has a very important role, for the end of times is near either for the humans or the vampire race. For some reason, which will be unveiled in the book, Ephraim is drawn to the deciphering of the 'Lumen.' The Occido Lumen is an important book, a wanted book by 'The Master'(the evil leader of the vampires), it is a book of revelations to the vampires, just like the holy books of the humans. It contains the creation and history of the worlds vampire race. The son, Zack has also a vital role in the darkness ensuing, he is being controlled in the old art of the vampires of telepathic mind control, groomed into a vessel that the Master the one vampire who wishes to soon inhabit his body. The boy Zack lived like a prince under the watchful eye of the evil Master, In a real castle in the center of a giant city. He was given anything he wanted and was handed a zoo to own. But, here is the big but! It all came at a price, a price Zack was not aware of due to the mind control. The price was he is to be the next body host for the master who at present is in possession of a rock stars body. Zack has been lied to his father he was told was dead and his mother a turned vampire in service of the master. The master was controlling his actions and thoughts and emulating the darkness of his heart, to make him more evil. The master gets kicks out acts of decadence and brutality. The boys young mind was an agreeable lump of dough, one the Master continued to knead. There is one scene that stays with you where the boy is placed in a position where he has to kill one animal, on orders from the master, to save the other animals and to keep and own the zoo.
The father races against time in saving the planet and his son from complete human extinction. The others on his side is 'the born' Mr Quinlan another ancient vampire who's against the master, and a band of people courageous souls who mostly have lost loved ones to the vampires. They are against the master and his band of vampires (strigoi), feelers(four legged blood suckers), and humans that work in his service.
This proved, where many have failed! that a trilogy can really work and the third book can be one of the strongest stories. I don't really have nightmares after reading books but this gave me one hell of a nightmare last night. The two authors really take you back to the beginning with this book and answer all the questions you were left in doubt about in the first and second book, it tells the story of the genesis of the vampires, the ancients, the first few. Their are powers more greater than you can fathom at play in the order of the things that will or will not save humanity, time will tell. Let me say that this, that the tale of Sodom and Gomorrah play and important role to the vampires history. I don't want to spoil the story but he has really plotted deep and added some real darkness to this story and genre on a whole, he has rewritten the script on vampires. Forget romance and the now vampire fluffiness ever present in novels, this is darkness true and true a real engrossing tale of humanities perilous battle for survival from the first novel to the third and grand finale. I am in awe of the kind of movie Del Toro could make from these epic stories!
"Eph wondered what time it was. Sometime o'clock in the morning, he figured, judging by his own failing circadian rhythm. It was summer-at least according to the old calendar-and so the sun should have been high and hot in the sky. Instead, darkness prevailed. The natural order of the night and day had been shattered, presumably forever. The sun was obliterated by a murky veil of ash floating in the sky. The new atmosphere was comprised of the detritus of nuclear explosions and volcanic eruptions distributed around the globe, a ball of blue-green candy wrapped inside a crust of poisonous chocolate. It had cured into a thick, insulating cowl, sealing in darkness and cold and sealing out the sun. Perennial nightfall. The planet turned into a pale, rotting netherworld of rime and torment The perfect ecology for vampires."
"For the Master, it is best to consider the whole of recorded human history as a series of test runs. A set of experiments carried out over time, in preparation for the final master stroke. The Master was there during the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. He learned from the French Revolution, the Napoleonic wars. He nested in the concentration camps. He lived among you like a deviant sociologist, learning everything he could from and about you, in order to engineer your collapse. Patterns over time. The Master learned to align himself with influential power brokers, such as Eldritch Palmer, and corrupt them. He devised a formula for the mathematics of power. The perfect balance of vampires, cattle, and wardens."
Good stuff a short sharp and deadly story. Hunter and hunted, hunter is the tracker and hunted is the wolfman. Written in flowing visceral pace a joy...moreGood stuff a short sharp and deadly story. Hunter and hunted, hunter is the tracker and hunted is the wolfman. Written in flowing visceral pace a joy to read. We heard these stories before but the way Steve wrote this was good and engrossing. I would have not read this If it wasn't for cheapness and easiness of ebooks and plus a Goodread friend's review.
Excerpt from Tracker's voice "The mid-morning bustle ebbed and flowed in waves of ill repute along the sidewalk - the wretched homeless, the addicted, the pushers and the pimps. He loathed this city and its inhabitants. The vain, the Godless, the packs of politicians and greed-blinded business- men who preyed on the sloth of the poor and the weak-minded, they were no different than his quarry. The World was infected." (less)
City of Bones has a lot going on inside the story. The cover for a start is bit over the top makes out to be more romantic than it is. I might be one...moreCity of Bones has a lot going on inside the story. The cover for a start is bit over the top makes out to be more romantic than it is. I might be one of the last bunch out of goodreads who only just read this. So many readers have this as read and voted for it as good story, I can see why in some ways but I felt it was too over crammed with things going on. Information overload and tried a bit too hard into making it a good story with a dialogue that just lost me being really engrossed into the story. The story has Shadow Hunters and Half Demons, vampires, werewolves, warlocks and few other beings. Clary discovers and is in search of truth in how these worlds and beings have a place in her life. There is The Mortal Instruments, that include an important Mortal Cup that can create Shadow Hunters, fighters destroyers of demons of evil. I have just read The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong which is also an urban fantasy and the first in a series voted highly by readers. I found The Summoning and Chloe really worked for me, the story really got me so much more engrossed, maybe the less elements of supernatural characters or shall we say healthy dosses of it and of dialogue in a story the better and the return to grass routes story telling through the eyes of these young female protagonists the better also. I will be looking forward to following Kelley Armstrong's Chloe in unchartered territory in book 2 The Awakening Of The Darkest Powers series. When it comes to vampires I still prefer Anne rice Interview With a Vampire so far. Oh yeah Who's you're Daddy! Lol if you've read the book you will know what I mean. I must be A Falcon tonight Shadow Hunter of the skies.(less)
http://more2read.com/?review=rot-ruin-benny-imura-1-by-jonathan-maberry This story is about two brothers, The Imura brothers, Tom the bounty hunter and...morehttp://more2read.com/?review=rot-ruin-benny-imura-1-by-jonathan-maberry This story is about two brothers, The Imura brothers, Tom the bounty hunter and Benny the not so yet bounty hunter. Benny since First Night, the time when the Zombie outbreak began has not yet killed, has now come to the stage in his life where he's going to have to make some big decisions. Will he embrace the path of a bounty hunter like his brother or not? What sets Benny on a stepping-stone to his chosen destiny is the search for one girl, that he becomes besotted with.
Forget the tag of 'Young Adults fiction' as the only thing you are going to miss is unwanted foul language and sex scenes. This story gets to the meat and bone of what is a really good thriller about zombie hunters, many of today's fiction that i have read for the Young Adult genre have cheesy one liners and cliché scenes, in this one gem you would not find this. Maberry takes you straight to the heart of the story and the action of the moment in this flowing and page-turning story. This has the makings of a TV series, similar to ‘Supernatural' where you also have two brothers who hunt out demons and ghosts instead. There is something more worse out there than zombies, more of an enemy for the Imura brothers, this enemy is killing off family members. A few of these bounty hunters, evil individuals have started something called the Gameland and are taking everyone down without rules.
With really good locations like 'The Hungry Forest' the author has created an interesting and engaging story. All I need now is to buy myself one of those Zombie cards from the story, they are like picture cards on the front of each was a portrait of a famous bounty hunter. On the back was a sort bio and the name of the artist. The next book in the series has all the makings of something even better!.
"It's not safe anywhere Benny. Not unless you're generation makes it safe. My generation gave up trying."
"Out here-I kill. Walkers, bad men. I kill and I live. I'm safe here"
"Cadaverine was a nasty-smelling molecule produced by protein hydrolysis during putrefaction of animal tissue. Benny remembered that from science class, but he didn't know that it was made from actual rotting flesh. Hunters and trackers dabbed it on their clothes to keep the zoms from coming after them, because the dead were not attracted to rotting flesh."
"The pair of them-Charlie and the Hammer-were the toughest bounty hunters in the entire Rot and Ruin. Everyone said so. Except for a few weirdoes, like Mayr Kirsch, who said that Tom Imura was tougher."
"Most of the hunters were paid by the town to clear zoms out of the areas around the trade route that linked Mountainside o the handful of other towns strung out along the mountain range. Others worked in packs as mercenary armies to clear out towns, old shopping malls, warehouses, and even a few small cities, so that the traders could raid them for supplies. According to Charlie the life expectancy of a typical bounty hunter was six months."
" 'Quieted' was the acceptable term for the necessary act of inserting a metal spike, called a 'silver', into the base of the skull to sever the brain stem. Since First Night, anyone who died would reanimate as a zombie. Bites made it happen too, but really any recently deceased person would come back. Every adult in town carried at least one silver, though Benny had never seen one used."
"Every dead person out there deserves respect. Even in death. Even when we fear them. Even when we have to kill them. They aren't 'just zoms,' Benny. That's a side effect of a disease or from some kind of radiation or something else that we don't understand. I'm no scientist, Benny. I'm a simple man doing a job." "Yeah? You're trying to sound all noble, but you kill them." Benny had tears in his eyes.
" The world is bigger and harder to understand than you think, Benny. It was before First Nigh and it still is now. You have to keep your mind as wide-open as your eyes, because almost nothing is what it seems."
"She may answer to the name Lilah or Annie. Approach with caution, she is considered dangerous and may suffer from post traumatic stress disorder."
On writing ROT and RUIN By Jonathan Maberry - September 27, 2010 I started laying the groundwork for ROT & RUIN when I was ten years old.
That’s when Night of the Living Dead opened in Philadelphia. October 1968. I snuck into the deserted balcony of the old Midway Theater, one of those vast old Art Deco theaters. No one was supposed to be up there, and no one my age was supposed to be in the theater.
By age ten I’d seen just about every monster movie there was. Vampires, werewolves, giant bugs –the works. I was kind of jaded. I thought I had a good working plan for how to deal with monsters. Crosses, silver bullets, that sort of thing. Then George A. Romero made all of the dead rise to attack the living. Not one, not a pack…all of them.
Talk about game changers. Sure, I could figure out how to deal with one or two. But legions of flesh-eating monsters?
That movie scared me more than anything I’d ever seen, read or imagined. Scared me almost sick. So….I stayed to watch it again.
Since then, I’ve seen every zombie flick, read all of the books and movies, and I’ve spent an absurd amount of my time thinking about how I would survive a zombie apocalypse. That ten year old kid in me was still trying to out-think Romero.
As I grew older and (I hope) wiser, I applied what I knew of forensic science, martial arts, basic survival, and common sense to the problem. I thought of what to do during the crisis and what could be done after –especially if zombies completely overwhelmed civilization as we know it. I’ve discussed this as a guest on scores of zombie panels. I wrote about it in books like ZOMBIE CSU: The Forensics of the Living Dead and PATIENT ZERO.
But all of that was really tackling it from the point of view of an adult. I’m a very big guy, I’m an 8th degree black belt jujutsu master and former bodyguard, and I have over fifty years of life experience to draw on.
It still left me with the question of what would I have done if this happened when I was a kid? Or, what if it had happened when I was a baby and my whole life had been lived after the fall of mankind. Tough questions.
I’m a writer, and when I have something tough to figure out, I tend to write about it. Which is how ROT & RUIN got started. To explore it, I wrote it.
I started with a kid –Benny Imura-- who was a toddler when the dead rose and is now fifteen. Everything in his world has been changed because of that. Benny doesn’t truly know what life was before the terrible events of ‘First Night’. Almost all of the adults he knows have lost all faith in everything that had been part of their world: society, politics, religion, technology, the military. They are all suffering from a kind of post-traumatic stress disorder. But Benny is fifteen. He expects to have a life and a future. He and his friends may have been handed a broken world, but it’s the world they’re going to have to live in. They don’t accept the idea that there is no future.
At the same time, everything in Benny’s world is defined by death. Everyone has lost someone (and even Benny has vague memories of his parents from First Night). The specter of death looms over everything and pollutes Benny’s world. This is where we meet him, and ass Benny explores this world –dealing with the constant threat of zombies, entrenched fears, violence, and the enduring corruption of evil men…he learns what it means to be alive. And to be human.
Benny Imura is an ordinary teenager, but ‘ordinary’ is a funny word, because when you scratch the surface of every single ordinary person you find an extraordinary uniqueness. Benny discovers his own weaknesses and learns the value of courage, trust, love, optimism and honor as he struggles to survive in world where zombies are really the least of his problems. http://authors.simonandschuster.biz/Jonathan-Maberry/67600213/voice
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