The Discriminating Fangirl

Review: Shadow Fall by Erin Kellison

TDF Pamela — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:48:59 +0000

Shadow Fall by Erin Kellison

Description:
Sacrifice

Custo Santovari accepted pain, blood, even death, to save his best friend. But a man with all his sins just isn’t cut out to be an angel.

Mystery

One moment he’s fleeing Heaven; the next, he’s waking up stark naked in Manhattan. In the middle of a war. Called there by a woman who’s desperately afraid of the dark.

Shadow

It gathers around Annabella as she performs, filled with fantastic images of another world, bringing both a golden hero and a nightmare lover.

Wolf

He pursues her relentlessly, twisting her desires even as she gives herself to the man she loves. Because each of us has a wild side, and Annabella is about to unleash the beast.

This review is based on a review copy received from the publisher.

TDF Pamela’s Review:

Warning! This review contains spoilers for Shadow Bound, the first book in Kellison’s series. It’s kind of unavoidable. :( If there was a way for me to talk about the events in book 2 without referencing the end of book 1, I’d do it, but alas! I kind of have to. So, if you haven’t read Shadow Bound, beware spoilers here!

I have to admit, I was a bit surprised when I cracked open Shadow Fall and discovered that it’s not about Adam and Talia, the couple at the center of Kellison’s first novel, Shadow Bound (read my review here). After that initial bit of disappointment, I found myself quickly sucked into the new couple’s storyline.

Custo Santovari, Adam Thorne’s right hand man, died at the end of Shadow Bound, and much to his surprise, he finds himself ferried through the Shadowlands to the gates of Heaven. Custo had always tried to do his best, but he knew he wasn’t a good person. When he discovers that he’s been promoted to angel, he’s sure someone screwed up. Instead of getting used to life in Heaven, he spends his time prowling the walls, and when Shadowman, still mourning his lost love, appears at the gate, Custo makes a shady deal. He’ll swap places with Shadowman, letting the Fae into Heaven while he escapes into the Shadowlands. While looking desperately for a way back to Earth, he sees a beautiful dancer being stalked by a wolf, and he can’t help but intervene.

Annabella is a ballet dancer, just promoted to the starring role, and she has an unusual talent. When she concentrates on her dance, she can breach the boundary between the mortal world and the Shadowlands, and unfortunately her talent has captured the attention of the wolf, a shadowy hunter who is bent on making Annabella his. When Custo bursts back into the mortal world, accidentally dragging the wolf with him, he finds himself attracted to Anna; he not only wants to protect her, but he wants her. Together, the pair must evade the wolf and find a way to send it back to the Shadowlands.

I found myself really drawn in by the characters in Shadow Fall. Custo is a complicated, conflicted sort of guy; as the reader, you know he’s a good guy, but he just can’t believe that. From his illegitimate beginnings to his rough-and-tumble upbringing to his job doing Adam’s dirty work, Custo isn’t easy to pin down, but you just know that he’s good inside. All of the bad things he does, he’s doing for the right reasons.

Annabella is likewise an interesting character, even if she’s not as complex as Custo. She’s finally realized her dream of being a star ballerina, only to have her sudden (and unfortunately unexplained) ability to tap into the Shadowlands surface and threaten to ruin everything. She’s smart and confident, and while she occasionally loses her cool–and with good reason–she always pulls herself together and holds her own. This is the kind of heroine I want to see more often in paranormal romances. The progression of her relationship with Custo felt completely natural, as something that starts as pure physical attraction and turns into something more as they go through harrowing experiences together.

The wolf is intensely creepy, particularly in his ability to change shape and possess others. I won’t go into detail, but I’ll just say that his snake-like attack on Anna left me shuddering. His motivations aren’t exactly clear, though, other than that he is a hunter and therefore he hunts Anna. I would have liked a bit more out of him, but he is an effective villain.

Shadow Fall fits into the world-on-the-edge established in Kellison’s first novel, where the supernatural is beginning to filter into the mortal world, and people are beginning to become aware of the wraith threat. I was very pleased to see the mythology expanded in this book. It’s a fascinating blend of different cultural mythologies, and I’m very hopeful that we’ll get to see more of this world very soon.

This is a very solid sequel that only falters in its lack of explanation of some key points, such as Annabella’s magical ability. However, the strong characters; believable, sexy romance; and strong worldbuilding overshadow that flaw by far. I enjoyed Shadow Fall very much, and I’m hoping I’ll hear about a sequel soon.

TDF Pamela

The Discriminating Fangirl, who is more likely to answer to Pamela if you shout it at her, is the proud owner of an MA in English, focusing on children's/young adult literature and popular culture. Because of her ample free time thanks to being gainfully unemployed, she reads voraciously. She also loves geeky movies and tv shows, reads comic books as often as she can buy them, and when she's procrastinating, she enjoys playing video games. She can be contacted at t.d.fangirl @ gmail.com and followed on Twitter at the link below.

profile | twitter Share TDF:

Ryan Reynolds is awesome, video at 11.

TDF Pamela — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:38:59 +0000

At the Green Lantern panel at San Diego Comic Con, Ryan Reynolds recited the Green Lantern’s oath for a very excited little fanboy.

If I didn’t already have a crush on the guy, this would’ve created one. :D

Kitty Hugs

TDF Pamela — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:25:27 +0000

I should be working on a review and transcribing an interview, but I have a cold. [sadface]

So I’m posting a vid of a kitty hug. Better than cold medicine, I’ve heard.

SDCC Recap!

TDF Pamela — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:16:41 +0000

This year the Fanfiancé and I decided that we’d rather hang out in the exhibit hall instead of waiting forever in lines. We only had passes for Thursday and Friday, so it made more sense to try to see more stuff, and there weren’t too many panels we wanted to see anyway.

I caught the Comic Con Crud again this year (I’m afraid my body is going to make this a tradition), so I’m going to make this recap short and sweet. And in list format!

Celeb Encounters:
We saw at a distance:
1. Brent Spiner
2. LeVar Burton (we actually walked behind these two for a little while, hehe)
3. Seth Green
4. the cast of True Blood
5. the cast of Big Bang Theory
6. Virginia Hey (Zhaan from Farscape)
7. Gigi Edgely (Chiana from Farscape)
8. Val Kilmer (it makes me sad in my heart that he’s so pudgy now)
9. Kari Byron
10. Grant Imahara

We went to the Geek Girl Tweetup party Friday night, and I was sooooo close to Grant and Kari there. Unfortunately I clammed up and got so nervous. The closest I got? Grant was leaving, he looked at me, I smiled, he smiled, I couldn’t get up the nerve to say, “Hi, I’m Pamela! I love Mythbusters!” D’oh!

Met:
1. Mike Choi
2. Jason Palmer

Panel Attended:
1. Geek Girls Exist! (Yep, just the one. But it was GREAT!)

Party Attended:
1. Geek Girl Tweetup!

We had an awesome time, and I really loved getting to meet all of the fantastic geek girls at the party! I will end this post (and go hunt down some cold medicine) with some photographic highlights. If you’d like to see all of my SDCC 2010 photos, head over to my Flickr page!

HALP IT’S A FACEHUGGER!!

Phoenixes!

I love love love this guy’s sign for the Westboro Baptist counterprotest. Note he is in a Starfleet uniform. ;)

I saw this guy at last year’s SDCC, and I stand by my statement that he is the best Wolverine cosplayer EVER. He’s the perfect height, build, and is grumpy as hell. ;)

These guys were in line with us to get Alien t-shirts. :D

My precious, precious custom sketch by Mike Choi. This guy needs to be able to draw Phoenix in the comics, stat. And I fangirl his Wolverine so hard. :D

I couldn’t help myself. I had to get this Farscape print by Jason Palmer.

I feel like such a jerk, because I can’t for the life of me remember this artist’s name! I love the piece, though, it’s so adorable.

Realms of Fantasy by Mychael Black & Shayne Carmichael

Tarte Amandine — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 04:06:47 +0000

Realms of Fantasy by Mychael Black & Shayne Carmichael

Buy It Now: on Amazon

Description: Angels and demons. Two races of beings, alike and yet not the same. The battles between them have raged for time untold. Realms of Fantasy is the tale of ten such creatures. At the heart of their eternal struggle lies the blinding pain of the greatest Fallen One of all, Lucifer, and Michael, the missing half of his soul. As passions run high and balances of power shift, love is the only power that can save them all.

This review is based on a copy I bought myself.

Tarte Amandine’s Review:

I’ll admit that I went into this book with somewhat lowered expectations and was drawn in by the idea of angels and demons getting it on. Sadly, even those expectations weren’t met by the series of five stories inside these pages. The authors took what could have been made into a very interesting universe based on thousands of years worth of mythology and skipped over it in lieu of hot gay sex. It read more as one long Porn Without Plot cleverly disguised as a set of short stories.

Considering one of the draws to the book was the promise of some angel/demon action, the sex wasn’t all that sexy or exciting because it lacks the chemistry that I like to see between the characters before they get to the good stuff. At most, the authors describe the characters in each story as being inexplicably drawn to each other shortly before they do dirty, dirty things to each other. The descriptions are just this side of purple and contain more than their fair share of ridiculously sappy dialogue (“Yes!” Michael’s eyes flew open and he looked down. “Please. My love, my soul.” Groaning, he spread his legs farther wanting everything, wanting Lucifer everywhere). Their actions are also based on said attractions which aren’t properly explained until the very last story, “The True Fall of Lucifer” (this is probably the best of the five and should have been the first story in the book). Due to the lack of any interesting and substantial mythos for the characters, it feels more like Black and Carmichael just slapped some wings, forked tongues and talons on some fairly uninteresting, overly sappy guys and called them angels and demons. When I first read the description of this book, I had expected some serious angst and maybe even a few scenes of hate!sex because we are dealing with beings that have hated each other since the beginning of time. Instead, they come off as oddly possessive and needy.

The set up that is there made me feel like something was missing or that I was reading something that is a sequel to another, more in depth story. It was disorenting to be thrown into this universe without any sort of explanation as to what’s going on or who these characters are. There were times when I didn’t know if I was reading about an angel or demon until later in the paragraph. Likewise, the confusing settings took away from the stories. “Hunter and the Prey” and “Unholy Need” come off as having more of an urban, contemporary setting whereas “Angels of Blood” and “Order of the Highest” feel more like they are set in a fantasy world of marbeled halls and characters wearing tunics. Dialogue inconsistencies are another problem I had with the book. Sometimes you have an angel or demon speaking like characters from the Middle Ages and within a few more lines, they’re back to talking like someone you’d meet in a bar (or see in a porn movie once they got past those pesky plot points). Black and Carmichael mention the “Orders” of demons and angels which again, aren’t really explained until the final part of the book.

While the writing itself isn’t bad (no misspellings or grammatical errors that I could spot), the plot, settings and characters left a bad taste in my mouth. The authors should have taken “The True Fall of Lucifer” and turned it into a full length story with a little more research into angelic and demonic mythology instead of burying the lead like they did. It’s really unfortunate that my first review had to be so negative, but that’s just the way things go sometimes. Here’s hoping my next read is better!

Tarte Amandine

Tarte Amandine, or Amanda, has loved to read since she was 3 and was a fangirl from the start. She has a B.A. in French and studied in France. This fall she will start her MLIS program at Kent State. She hopes to work as an academic or reference librarian. She can be contacted at tarteamandine @ gmail.com and followed on Twitter at the link below.

profile | twitter Share TDF:

Review: Middleworld by J & P Voelkel

WereGeek — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:00:01 +0000

Middleworld – Book 1 in the Jaguar Stones series – by J & P Voelkel

Description: Max Murphy was a typical 14-year-old growing up in Boston. He liked video games and hated the way his parents spent so much time away. They’re famous archaeologists who were always taking off to explore Mayan ruins in the jungles of San Xavier. On their latest trip, Max’s parents disappeared while searching for the Jaguar Stones, mystic carvings sacred to the ancient Maya. Max is sent to San Xavier to remain in the care of his estranged uncle and takes it upon himself to search for his parents while becoming entangled in an adventure that includes a Mayan king inhabiting the body of a howler monkey and a trip to Xibalba, the Mayan underworld.

This review is based on a preview copy provided by the authors’ public relations firm.

WereGeek’s Review: (for the target audience of 8-12-year-olds) | (for anyone above age 12)

I wanted to like this book. I really did. And I think the plot shows a lot of promise, I just don’t think the execution matched the concept. The main character, Max, annoyed me with his materialism, whining and sniveling, right up to the point of his sudden, inevitable conversion into a decent person. I know he’s a teenager and teenagers are generally moody and materialistic, but it was like the Voelkels used every possible teenage stereotype to accentuate his transformation later on. I really couldn’t get into the rest of the characters either as they mostly seemed like stock characters inserted to fulfill a plot function, like the foreign maid who speaks little English, the estranged uncle who may or may not be one of the good guys and the spunky native girl guide who teases Max mercilessly.

It’s clear that the authors did a lot of research on the ancient Maya because they put a lot of detail into the story. Really, an overwhelming amount of detail. I liked the dramatis personae at the beginning of the book and the glossary at the end, which help you remember the characters and absorb some of the denser information dumps in the text but with those included a lot of those info dumps aren’t really needed, unless the authors are trying to impress upon the reader just how much research they’ve done. It’s really great that they have researched the ancient Maya to such an extent, but not all of it needs to be in the book.

I know Middleworld is intended for kids between 8 and 12, not for adults. I do think kids of that age will enjoy this book, but I think even they will see it’s not as good a book as it could be. It’s easy to say “it’s just a kids’ book,” but I think that’s a cop out. There are lots of very well written books for this age group that don’t resort to storytelling shorthand and an overuse of similes.

I thought about the review I would write on Middleworld as I was reading it, trying to keep in mind the audience the book is aimed at, thinking I might be too harsh since it is “just” a children’s book, so I compared it to one of my perennial favorites (that I reread on occasion, even as an adult) Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, which is also an 8-12 book and a Newberry Medal winner. It may sound like I’m comparing apples to oranges here, but they’re both adventure stories with lots of dialog and exposition, so I don’t really think they’re worlds apart. To say nothing of the talking animals! Mrs. Frisby explains concepts with enough detail for children to get the gist of them in the context of the story without being overbearing. Any ideas I didn’t fully understand and needed to know more about, I either asked my parents or looked them up in the library. I think the wealth of information in Middleworld‘s glossary would be better utilized if it were a supplemental source for the main text rather than restating what’s already in the book. Middleworld could also have benefited from tighter writing and editing. Children’s books don’t have to be sloppily constructed just because they’re for kids.

As I said in the beginning, I really wanted to like Middleworld. And I very nearly did. The basic plot shows real promise at being a spellbinding adventure story that would grip all ages. Sadly, the execution could have had a lot more trimming and polishing and the overall effect is a book with great potential that fell far short.

WereGeek

WereGeek is reading 5-7 books at any given time, not including comics. These can range from alternative universe fiction to historical fact and from theoretical physics to Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader. You can argue with her all you want, but Dirk Benedict will always be her Starbuck. Her ringtone is the theme from Airwolf and she believes that there's nothing that can't be improved by the judicious application of werewolves. Or bacon. Or werewolves with bacon. She can be contacted at werewolf17 @ gmail.com and followed on Twitter at the link below.

profile | twitter Share TDF:

Link Roundup: July 19, 2010

TDF Pamela — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:50:49 +0000

Yay, I’m back at my own computer! I can use tabbed browsing and upload images and everything! I love my iPad, don’t get me wrong, but writing blog posts on it was a bit of a pain in the ass.

I’ve also got an obscene number of items in my Google Reader, so I figured I’d start a new regular feature here: the Link Roundup! In which I post all kinds of random things that are cool. Rock on.

Books/Writing

Why editors are important when you write. –Amen!
A Paranormal Editorial Roundtable at Tor.com –A great discussion of the ubiquitous kick-ass heroine in urban fantasy.
Suvudu’s Free Library –Check out this month’s free ebooks before they’re gone!

TV/Movies

I’m way late on this one, but io9 created a hilariously awesome 80s Firefly opening credits vid:
And in case you were wondering, here’s why Simon Tam wasn’t in the Firefly intro:
Blastr (formerly SciFi Wire) tells you what you shouldn’t miss at San Diego Comic Com
New pics from the upcoming Thor and Green Lantern movies. –Oh, Ryan Reynolds. [happy sigh]
And another new pic from Thor. –is it just me, or is Thor looking worryingly cheesy?
Two pics from the upcoming Conan The Barbarian remake. –Why hello there, Jason Momoa’s muscular chest.

Science/History

What cool stuff have you stumbled across today? Let me know in the comments. :D

Join TDF Elsewhere on the Web!

TDF Pamela — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 18:21:12 +0000

If you’re like me, you flit from social network to social network. Lucky you, now you can hang out with The Discriminating Fangirl all over the place!

Follow us on Twitter: @tdfangirlblog

Like us on Facebook: TDF on FB!

Hang out with us on Goodreads: TDF on GR!

xkcd: Online Communities

Ten Things to Bring to San Diego Comic Con!

TDF Pamela — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 21:30:29 +0000

San Diego Comic Con is literally just around the corner! I’ll be there on Thursday and Friday, and I’m getting super excited.

Last year was my first time at SDCC, and so I thought I’d share some tips, particularly about things to bring, with those of you who are going for the first time this year or who just want to plan ahead for future geekery. ;)

1. Food & Drinks
This would seem like the most obvious thing, but Thursday of last year, we didn’t think to pack a lunch and ended up having to shell out way too much money for a crappy slice of pizza. Pack sandwiches for lunch, snacks for whenever you’re taking a break, and drinks so you don’t have to pay $3 for a damn bottle of water.

2. A Backpack
This probably seems like another Duh entry, because you’re probably going to end up with fifteen enormous promo bags throughout the day. Well, if you’re like me (i.e. short), those bags literally hit the ground when they’re slung over your shoulder. I ended up folding them up and stuffing them, along with all of my other swag, into a handy dandy backpack. It’s also good for toting around the aforementioned food, heh.

3. Your Camera
Okay, the last Duh entry on this list is your camera. I mainly include this because I am absentminded and would probably forget mine if I didn’t put it on my own list o’ crap to pack. You will run into fifty kajillion awesome things at SDCC, and you will want to be able to prove to your friends that you saw Mark Hamill coming out of the men’s room. Oh, and keep your camera out at all times, because mine was in my bag and I didn’t get a damn picture of Mark Hamill coming out of the men’s room (well, that and it felt kind of rude to ambush the dude after he just took a pee).

4. Sunscreen & Seating
Most of the con is indoors, yes, but if you don’t pick up your pass Wednesday night, you might end up standing in the mile-long line outdoors. If you’re a pasty geek like me, you’re gonna need the sunscreen. Trust me.

I’m probably going to bring along my floppy hat, too, because I got enough sun for the year while I was in Hawaii. And even if it looks cloudy/foggy, you can still get a sunburn, so slather on the SFP 50, fellow geeks. That line is long! We were in it for about two and a half hours last year. Lucky for me, the Fanfiancé’s parents (who helpfully live in North County) have little portable Ikea stools. They fit right into the backpack, and it’s nice to not have to park your butt on the pavement or the floor inside the convention center.

5. Art Carrying Case
If you’re planning on buying stuff like this from the fantastic people in Artist’s Alley:

you’re going to need one of these:

It’s kind of awkward to carry around, but trust me, a little awkwardness is better than bending your precious purchases. Amazon’s got a decent price for one, but if you’re in a hurry, check your local hobby or art supply store. You can also get cardboard poster tubes if you aren’t planning on buying anything that’s already matted.

6. Your Smartphone
If you don’t have an iPhone, feel free to ignore this entry. SDCC has an iPhone app available; at the moment it’s kind of sucky, but it will theoretically have the schedule of panels so you can use to map out your plan of attack. Your phone can also be your go-to device for tweeting or facebooking every nerdy squee of joy you experience during the day. Remember your charging cable, though!

7. Entertainment
There’s a lot of stuff to see at SDCC, but if you want to get into the more popular panels, be prepared to wait in line. If you’re like me and have the attention span of a gnat, you’re going to need something to entertain yourself with whilst sitting in those lines. I’m planning on lugging my iPad along, as there should be free wifi at the convention center, but I’m also bringing a book (like I said, attention span of a gnat). Be sure to bring power cables and chargers for whatever devices you bring.

8. Your Geekiest Duds
Whether you’re cosplaying or going in your civvies, SDCC is a great place to people watch. Do your part and add to the geek ambience. Pick our your most awesome nerdy shirt and wear it with pride. An added bonus is that you look even more awesome in pictures like this:

Yours truly with Mark Sheppard

;)

9. Business Cards
You’re likely to meet a lot of awesome people at Comic Con. You can always exchange info on napkins, but it’s kinda nifty to be able to hand them a card with your pertinent info. If the gods of printing smile upon me, I’ll have some spiffy The Discriminating Fangirl cards in my pocket.

10. Mascots
Last year, I brought Lil’ Wolvie & Phoenix. This year… I’m going to have to go buy something, because all of my toys are packed up in Texas. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I suppose I had a brain fart while packing for my summer nomadic trek. But yeah, I need to find a new toy to take along, because it makes for some really fun photos:

Hope this was a helpful list! If you’re going to SDCC or the Geek Girls Tweetup, keep an eye out for me!

Review: Spin by Robert Charles Wilson

TDF Pamela — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 19:30:59 +0000

Spin by Robert Charles Wilson

Buy It Now: on Amazon

Description: When Tyler Dupree was twelve years old, the stars went out. He and his friends, twins Jason and Diane, grow up in the Spin, a strange cloak around the Earth that has slowed down time, so that every second that passes for them means three years have passed outside of the Spin. Tyler, Jason, and Diane’s paths diverge and cross repeatedly as the world tries to understand what the Spin is and, more importantly, who put it there. (Summary written by me; the publisher’s summary not only sucked, it was also inaccurate.)

This review is based on a copy of the book purchased by the reviewer.

TDF Pamela’s Review:

While the SF aspects of Spin were pretty fascinating (the ongoing mystery of the Hypotheticals and why the Earth was shrouded in a time-bending cloak–the Spin–more than held my interest; it made me read the book all in one sitting), what impressed me the most was Wilson’s masterful blend of hard and “soft” SF elements. The science is equally important as the human relationships that make up the backbone of this excellent novel.

Tyler Dupree, the narrator, is very believable and human in his reactions to the world and the people around him, and even Diane, the character we don’t see much but who always occupies a place in Tyler’s mind and heart, is fleshed out and intriguingly complex. The characters are always at the heart of the story, and Wilson communicates most of the science through Jason, Tyler’s genius friend, another strong character who is willing to accept the role for which his father has molded him but who desires more; he wants to know, and doesn’t want to die ignorant of the reason behind the Spin. Even the minor characters, from Jason and Diane’s parents to Tyler’s mother and even Tyler’s brief love interests over the years, are much more than simply flat side characters. They all have complicated motivations and reactions.

Spin was a treat to read. I love SF that masterfully combines speculative science with the human element that sometimes goes missing in hard SF.