Skinwalker by Faith Hunter Book Review

Skinwalker 

By: Faith Hunter






Skinwalker is a fast paced paranormal adventure novel.  The book takes place in a world that is a step away from our own.  The cities and settings are almost the same as our world, with the major distinction being that Vampires, Were-Creatures, and witches are not only real but publicly acknowledged.  Faith Hunter does an excellent job of creating this world that is at once so close and so different from our own.  In particular this book explores some of the societal changes from having vampires exist in the light as it were.  For example master vampires will pay for vampire hunters to take care of rogue vampires in their territories.  Jane Yellowrock, the main Character of the story, is one of these rouge vampire hunters, and you find yourself drawn in to her own unique heritage.  She is a Skinwalker ( a native american shapeshifter) and shares her body and soul with a mountain lion known as Beast.  This allows her to hunt down rouge vampires for the bounty on their heads and survive, but not everything in this world is out in the open and she would rather her powers remain in the shadows.

Hounded(The Iron Druid Chronicles Book1) by Kevin Hearne Book Review

Endless Blue 

By: Kevin Hearne






Hounded is a funny story about an immortal Irish druid, who goes by the name of Atticus O'Sullivan, in the American Southwest.  The story has gods, monsters, talking dogs, and special herbal elixirs.  I found this book hard to put down in part because of the wit of the main character.  The other part is that the story is awesome.  You are not only introduced to the immortal irishman but an entire community of supernatural beings that he exists within.  He may be the last of the old line of druids still alive, but he has plenty of company when it comes to magical power.  The best way to describe this book is funny, and exciting.

There were a few things that bothered me about the story at first but they ended up being plot points.  Basically it was a bit unnerving the casual way that he treated most of the Celtic gods in the story, and the way they treated him in return.  The book makes it clear however that the Iron Druid, as Atticus is known, has powers that they respect.  In the story the gods and Atticus see themselves as more equals than deity and worshiper though he does keep his original faith.  Overall this is one of the best modern fantasy books that I have read recently, and I think most people would enjoy it.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan Book Review

The Lightning Thief 

By: Rick Riordan






This book is a fun ride through a landscape of Greek myths and legends in the modern world.  The Greek gods are very much alive and well, and still up to their old tricks including having children with mortals.  Most  modern people never see this world, or rather they see it but they rationalize it away.  This is helped by the fact that most demigods and monsters use the aura of awe and confusion around them to keep hidden.  The book is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and does a good job of introducing the world.  The book is intended for young adults, but anyone who can get over the fact that many of the characters are very young has a good chance of enjoying this book.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

This comedic live action take on the old mickey short is very good.  It will make you laugh with and cheer for Dave the young Sorcerer's Apprentice.  The classic scene is there, but there is much more to the movie. The story is really about Dave finding his self confidence and the will to use his power to resolve a centuries old conflict.  Something I really like about the movie is that Dave grows up to be a scientist and that this plays an important role in the movie.

The only thing I didnt really like about the movie is that the villains are not complex characters.  They are bad guys who like being bad guys.  I would have liked to see more reason for them being the way they are.

The plot of this movie is that centuries ago Merlin and two of his three apprentices Balthazar and Veronica, attempted to defeat Morgana le Fey and Merlin's other apprentice Horvath.  In the fight Merlin dies and Veronica sacrifices herself by merging with Morgana so that she can be trapped in a nesting doll.  In the end Horvath is also trapped , and Balthazar is left to continue alone, searching for the heir Merlin spoke of that can defeat Morgana.  The movie then skips to the near present day where Dave as a child runs into Balthazar right as Horvath escapes.  Balthazar saves Dave, who he recognizes as the heir, by trapping himself and Horvath in a magic vase for a number of years.  Dave's confidence is shattered when no one will believe him about what happened, and he is deemed to have had a mental breakdown.  When Dave is older, and studying physics as a grad student, the two wizards finally escape and the story begins again.  Balthazar begins teaching Dave Magic, with a few comic mishaps including the classic cleaning scene, but it goes to his head and he quickly ends up in a bind.  His confidence is badly hurt by this latest failure on top of years of being thought crazy.  In the end he must overcome his inner demons and combine science and magic to defeat Morgana and finally set things right.

This movie should appeal to fantasy fans, and would be great for family movie night.  Its plot and side stories will keep the adults engaged and the kids will love the battles between wizards, and the good verses evil theme.

This movie can be bought on disk, or as a streaming rental or purchase on www.amazon.com.

WebMage by Kelly McCullough Book Review

This book is a very fun and fast paced read.  It has just the mix of fantasy/mythology and modern or futuristic setting that I really like.  This story navigates through a cyberpunked version of Greek mythology where the fates run giant magical computer networks to keep track of all the threads, and the fury's are Necessitiy's system admins for reality.

If there is anything that I don't like about this book it is the fact that you don't want to put it down to go to sleep at night.  There is always something going on in the book and it kept my interest the whole way through to the point that it was hard to find a good place to stop.  Be warned you may want to have the time to finish this book in one or two sittings if you are anything like me.  Thankfully the book is not too long.

The main character in this story is named Ravirn.  He is literalally a descendant of one of the fates, and he is a hacker of reality.  He has a webgoblin familiar that helps him with his magic or code named Melchior that can shape shift from goblin to laptop.  Ravirn's special bit of divinity is to find the loopholes, and cracks in any spell or code, which makes him a great hacker but his clan matriarchs(the fates) see him as the ultimate debugger.  When Atropos asks him for help he has no choice but to see what she wants.  It turns out she has a bug in her latest program to remove that pesky free will from the world which would make the fates jobs much easier.  Before he can say no and send out a warning she lays the Pandora curse on him as the ultimate non disclosure clause.  Sure he can tell people whats going on but nobody will believe him.  So he sets off to save free will with Melchior and the few friends who will help him no matter what.  In his quest to save free will Ravirn bounces all around the multiverse and makes a lot of enemies and a few friends along the way.  In the end its hard to catch or stop the demigod of loopholes, and with the help of Eris and a webgoblin underground he manages to save the day.

 In my opinion this book is appropriate for anyone who likes a great adventure story with a few exceptions that I can see.  First science fiction or fantasy fans who don't like to see the two genre's mix are not going to like this.  Second people who are fans of Greek mythology will either love it or hate it depending on their perception of who and what the Greek gods are.  Ravirn does not treat the gods with much reverence, but to him they are family so it makes sense to me.  Most of us don't revere our great uncles and aunts very much either.

This book can be bought in print or in e-book form at www.amazon.com or check your local bookstore and ask them to order it.

Hancock Movie Review

Hancock is not your average superhero movie.  Sure Hancock, played by Will Smith, is bullet proof, super strong, can fly, and has other power's. On the other hand he is also down on his luck, lives in a beat up travel trailer, and is constantly drunk.  Compounding these problems he has amnesia and does not seem age.

This movie explores what happens when a superhero loses everything and spirals into depression, and what it takes to pull them out.  Hancock still basically cares, but because of his depression and drinking his control of his power's is not what it should be.  In addition he has also largely lost his faith in humanity.  When he tries to help he ends up causing millions of dollars in damage, and people call him names.

When Hancock saves a man named Ray Embry, at the cost of a train derailment, Ray decides to help him by working on his public image.  It turns out that Hancock cleans up nicely, but his inner demons are harder to deal with.  When his past catches up to him, and puts his new friends in danger he is forced into examining what he is doing and the effect it has on the world around him.   He realizes that being a hero is built into him, cleans up his act, and becomes the hero of legend that he had forgotten he once was.

I like this movie because it shows superheros that are not necessarily loved and have major flaws.  It portrays a man searching for redemption  that just happens to have incredible gifts that magnify any self destructive urges he may have.  Superpowers have a lot of mental traps that are often overlooked.  A single superhero would have a lot of isolation issues, and an immortal one has all the issues old people have with changing attitudes and customs but on a larger scale.

In the end while Hancock may have superpowers, and immortality he still understands what it means to be human, and that makes it much easier to relate to him.  This movie can be found at www.amazon.com as a stream or on disk.

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs Book Review

This book is a a paranormal urban fantasy novel set in a world a step away from our own.  Not only are there werewolves, vampires, and other paranormal species, but the Fae have gone public with their existence.  The history of this world before that point is largely the same as our own, and so far the Fae are the only group to come out.

We are introduced to this world by Mercedes Thompson who is a VW mechanic trying to get by in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state.   Her former boss is a gremlin that moved to the fae reservation when the the fae came out.  Mercy also has some secrets.  She is a walker who can shift into a coyote, and she was raised by werewolves.  While she puts on a good front she is very well connected to the local supernatural community, and can call in some big guns when she finds herself in a fix.

When a stray (not attached to the local pack) werewolf approaches her shop looking for a job, she knows exactly what he is, and that something is very wrong.  The boy is terrified, and seems to have been abandoned by his makers, something that she knows is not accepted among the werewolves, and would not be tolerated by the local pack ( their alpha is her next door neighbor).  Having a soft spot for strays of any sort Mercy takes him in and gives him a job.  His past catches up to him quickly and Mercy has to call the local pack when he turns up dead. 

From her conversations with him she knows that there is more going on than it appears, and with someone under her care dead Mercy will not give up until she has uncovered all of the secrets.  With an angry coyote on their tail no secret is safe, and when the coyote is friends with werewolves the secret keepers will not be in good shape either.

This book is the first in the Mercedes Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs.  I will warn you that this series is addicting, and you may end up buying all the rest of the current series as well.  It can be found at www.amazon.com in print or e-book format.

Strike The Blood Anime Review

Strike the blood is a currently running anime that I picked up last night.  It is currently being simulcast from Japan.  There are only 4 episodes out yet but so far it is a very good series.  The male lead character, Akatsuki Kojo, appears to be a normal high school guy (as normal as they get in anime) but he has also become an incredibly powerful vampire.  The female lead, Yukina Himeragi, has been sent to observe him and told to kill him if he becomes dangerous.  This anime is set on an artificial island built by japan to be the home of the various supernatural creatures that are endangered in the world.

The show starts with whispered rumors of the "Fourth Primogenitor" being on the island.  Shortly you find out that this powerful being is just a high school boy, who doesn't even know how to control the power he has.  His observer, Yukina Himeragi, is very good at fighting, but not so good at anything else.  she has been training to fight vampires and monsters her whole life and is a curious mixture of naive and deadly.  In the episodes so far he struggles with just what he should do with his new-found power, and she struggles with her feelings for him, and becoming a more complete person.  So far they seem to be good for each other.  Oh yeah there are some awesome supernatural fight scenes as well.

The overarching plot seems to be the two main characters growing into their power while trying to save their home from supernatural threats.  This is definitely for a more mature audience and does not have kids in mind.  Minor characters die, and the main character is horribly injured at times.  The violence is extreme in some cases.  I would recommend this show for adults and teenagers, but not children.

 This Anime can be found at www.crunchyroll.com.