The Twilight Issue

There is absolutely no doubt that the The Twilight Saga Collectionby Stephanie Meyers are some of the most well known works of vampire fiction in the world today. As such their omission from this website might be considered conspicuous. All I can say about this is the following:

The books on this site are all reviewed by me, based on person interest. I don't happen to be interested in reading the Twilight books. But that is a totally persona and subjective failure to be intrigue, not any kind of judgement or antipathy. Vampire fiction is such a huge body of work that no one reader is going to cover it exhaustively.

There are plenty of other sites that give good coverage of Ms Meyer's books, including the Twilight series. there are some of the most reviewed and discussed books in recent history. I doubt I could add anything of substance to this discussion. I would prefer to spend my time seeking out the more obscure and under-appreciated books rather than added to the Twilight cacophony.

That said of anyone out there feels they have something to say about these books (movies and/or other derivative works) and would like to submit a guest review, I would be happy to post it.

MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH Wendy Pini

MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, Volume 1
Wendy Pini
Go! Cmi
graphic novel: $19.99
2/5

This graphic novel is the first in a series (very) loosely based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe. While not about vampires per se, it does concern a quest to achieve immortality--so I am going to consider it "close enough". The creator, Wendy Pini, is most famous for her work on Elfquest.

This graphic is a hybrid comic/manga with strong yaoi (gay erotic) themes. Some commenters have been a little shocked by that--unused to comics with adult material. However these kinds of themes are entirely welcome to me as a fan of similar work by the likes of Donna Barr and Coleen Doran.

The main characters are the reclusive Anton Prosper who embarks upon a secret scientific project, and the gorgeous Steffan Kabala, soon of a preeminent geneticist and a scientist in his own right. Both characters are rendered as a cross between an Olympic swimmer and an anorexic model. The general styling of the world and people seems exotic but haphazard.

However in this case I was disappointed. The plot is slow moving, the art work suffers from a lack of distinct line work and is weighed down by amateurish digital techniques like filters and gradients. While this is obviously a work of love Pini has spent a lot of time on it simultaneously seems thin and poorly worked out.

For example, Prosper effectively tortures himself in penance for using a single lab rat (at least I think it was a rat) yet provides his pet black panther with flocks of goats to recreationally hunt and kill. Ultimately, Masque of the Red Death had some charming moments and clever conceits, but equally deep flaws in rendering and general lack of engaging plot. I think this graphic novel may amuse Pini's more established fans but it is too self-indulgent to win her any new followers.

Masque of the Red death . com

Other Reviews:
Deb Aoki [About.com]: [3/5] "While there are a few missteps, such as the garish costumes, the long-winded dialogue, and a more 'grown-up' plot than most yaoi manga, it does accomplish something unexpected...."
ComicsBulletin: [5/5] "Taken all together, Masque of the Red Death is a superb opening volume."

See also:
GoodReads : Wikipedia

Currently reading...

The Vampire Family by Kristin Battestella

How annoying is that?

So, yesterday someone emailed me out of the blue because they had read one of the books I reviewed, but their copy was missing its last page. Bummer! I was more than happy to scan that page and email it to them.

I know this blog and website has been languishing a little. But if you are out there, say hi. If I can help, just ask. It might kick me into finally getting the site redesign and relaunch finished!

SLEEP Tula Neal

THE VAMPIRE ORACLE: SLEEP*
Tula Neal
Cobblestone Press
ebook: $3.99
3/5

Sleep is essentially the story of a man rescuing the woman he is destined to be with. In this case the man, Kai, works for a paranormal agency and the women, Gabrielle, is a vampire deranged by a century of captivity. The story is told from Kai's point of view. This was something I was pleased to learn as I happen to be a great fan of male POV romance fiction.

I found Sleep an effortless and entertaining read. However I felt that Kai was thinly characterised and exhibited rather little in the way of skill or intelligence. His research skills in finding Gabrielle (the main focus of the plot) seemed to be a combination of happenstance, rudimentary strategies like going to the public library, and relying on the vast resources of the paranormal society that employs him. It was difficult to find him a particularly admirable protagonist and he does not seem to develop as a character throughout the story.

His fascination with Gabrielle before they even meet is the most vivid and convincing element of the Sleep, but in terms of being a genre romance Kai first lays eyes on Gabrielle a full two thirds of the way through the book. In terms of being an erotic romance, the sex scenes would add up in total to about 1 and 1/2 pages out of 60. If you want a straightforward tale of boy wants girl, boy rescues girl, boys gets girl, Sleep may be for you. However I felt the romance and erotic elements were slight, meaning the novel rests largely on the appeal of Kai as a protagonist and a desire to see him win the woman (literally) of his dreams.

(On a minor note the italicising of zombies throughout struck me as unnecessary and distracting.)

*Ebook provided by the author. Disclaimer: I have fiction published by Cobblestone Press.

Currently reading....

The Vampire Oracle: Sleep by Tula Neal