Dallas Dunlap's Blog: Dallas's blog, page 3

Cruise du Kinque review

Originally, I thought that this series was just a way for the two writers to flog their earlier works: Lena White's "Slave of the New Confederacy," some of her "Cuckold" series, and several of Badger Therese's works. In part IV of the "Cruise du Kinque" series, though, the story starts pulling away on its own.
I have to say, I was surprised at what happened to Shawna. I didn't see that coming.
The AI that runs the virtual reality on the Medieval Deck is creating imaginary characters beyond the control of the IT folks who operate it.
Sandra/Athena turns out to be a little more troubled than we knew.
Amy/Hannah wins the support and approval of her mother.
So, what's going to happen to Zoe?
And, it looks like church lady Meghan, late of the Milking Deck, will be back for the next trip.
Lena White and Badger Therese are very skilled writers, and if they were working in other genre they would be constantly on the NYT bestseller lists. "Cirque du Kinque" is not their best work, but the series is fun, interesting, and imaginative. I've preordered Voyage Two, and looking forward to reading it.
You should, too.

A quote from "Blood Spirit" Book

She pulls her hand away and holds it up. “Look at my fingernails, Paul. Look how pink they are. Remember me on earth? My nails were black, and I had to wear gloves to hide them.” She flexes her fingers. “Pink nails,” she coos, “so human.”
“You have very nice hands,” he says. He clasps her hand again.
She gazes into his eyes. “I had a kitten once,” she says. “I found it in a rainstorm, soaking wet. I brought it into my house and fed it and took care of it, so that it grew from a tiny helpless kitten to a half grown cat. I loved it. I used to hold it close to me when I was in bed, and I would listen to it purr. I was a vampire, remember, a monster. But I had something to love and something that loved me.”
McCready says nothing.
“One day I was backing my car up to head out of the driveway. And when I had backed all the way up, I saw that I had run over my cat.”
McCready feels tears in his eyes.
“That’s earth. One pointless, stupid cruelty after another. On earth I was a monster that killed humans for their blood. But I had a soft core. I was kind. And I could love. But earth crushes love. Life on earth is love and loss, love and loss. Every person or thing I ever loved was taken from me just like that poor kitten. I held it close to me and cried until my face and my clothes were covered with bloody tears. I hated the earth and I hated the humans.”
“Why the humans?”
She laughs. “Paul, do you know any humans? They’re all sneaking, conniving villains. Have you ever seen a deer? Have you ever looked into those big brown eyes? I used to charm deer, just so I could walk up to one and rub my hand along its coat. They’re the most beautiful graceful animals. Have you ever seen what humans do to deer? Their stupid savage rituals? Ignorant pieces of trash whooping and jeering while they drink beer and mutilate the poor creature ! The most satisfying thing I ever did was hunt those hunters. I would run them down in the woods and rip their throats out!”
“They killed my dog,” McCready whispers.
Arianne looks up at him, sympathetic. “When?”
“When they shot me. Donna was walking the dog and they attacked. The dog fought them and they shot her. When I came out, they shot me.”
“Donna the policewoman? I think that she was in the raid that killed Michael and me.”
“She was,” McCready mutters.
“It wasn’t wise of Michael to torment her. He should have known how dangerous she was. But I saved her from him. She should have taken that into consideration.”
McCready leans back, wary.
“Oh, Paul, she was just a cop. She was a windup toy, a puppet. There’s no subtlety to their law. It’s an instrument for crushing people. Cops…her, you…are just hired killers. She works to earn her food, just like I did.”
McCready nods, somber.
She laughs. “Oh, Paul, come on. We’re ghosts. None of this matters. So what did you do when they shot you and killed your dog?”
“Fryda,” he says.
“Excuse me?”
“Fryda. Her name was Fryda. I killed them both. And if I get back to earth I’m going to hunt down who sent them and kill them, too.”

"Review by the Author

I have pasted reviews of a couple of my books from my Amazon page.
These reviews were written some time ago, and so I think that they might be informative to readers today.
It might not be "fair," but IMHO it helps people decide whether they want to read the books or not.
Personally, I don't see why reviews shouldn't be cross posted.