"The Gathering" By Kelly Armstrong

Kelly is best known by her "Women of the Other World" series.
All though, she has three different series, they are all based in the same reality, and are more or less parallel to each other. (So far as a am aware, non of the characters in each series have met each other yet.)
"The Gathering" is the first book in Kelly's most resent series, "The Darkness Rising Trilogy". I am unsure of exactly where "The Gathering" is in the timeline Kelly has for all three books, because I haven't yet read the other two books and the characters start off very isolated from knowledge of whats actually happening around them.
In fact, the only reason that I know for sure that they are actually in the same reality as the other two series, is that two of the characters happened upon the word cabal. And because it's been a while since I've managed to get my hands on any of Kelly's books, I actually carried on reading one or two paragraphs before my eyes snapped back up to the word and I realised I'd seen something very significant.

If this book wasn't a part of a series, I think I would be very annoyed with it's end. I'd be going 'Nothing's really happened yet! The climax is only beginning.'
It's very much a book that is a first book. Like a really big introduction to the characters and whats going on in there lives. Giving you just enough to know that there HAS to be more. But not so little that you want to ask what the point of the book was.
Definitely engrossing, I enjoyed every minute of it. But if Kelly hadn't already had the next to books up in book stores, I currently be muttering about how there better be a sequel.

That said, it's not one of my favorite books of hers, mainly because I don't feel like I've finished it yet, so maybe after I've gone through the whole series I'll give you an overview of all three of them. See what I think then.

"Wings" By Aprilynne Pike

"Wings" is a good read.
It walks the thin line between traditional folklore belief's and the Authors own imagination, balancing perfectly.
I liked the story line. It's one of the few ones that I can honestly say hasn't been done before, and that's saying something.
The only problem I have for it would be the triangle going on between Lauren, David and Tamani. That definitely has been done before. I swear, the second I realised there was a second guy I felt like banging my head up against the wall and groaning. Why? Why is there always more then one. Maybe this is just me but I intend to make sure that the next book I read involves monogamy or no such relationships at all. I've had enough. For now anyway.

And that is all I'll say for this morning. I'm a bit tired as I couldn't sleep last night. (I ended up picking up "Wings" and reading through the night just to stave of boredom. I can however tell you that this book took me 5 - 6 unbroken hours to read.)
It is now 7:37am and sleep has decided to come calling at last. .... I am so lucky I don't have work today.

"Deadlocked" By Charlaine Harris SPOILER

SPOILER FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT READ THE EARLIER BOOKS!

Deadlocked is the latest book in the TRUE BLOOD series.
Another series where I wish the main character wasn't so miserable all the time.
I do like Sookie. Part of me wishes she'd get together with Sam already. He's great for her. And she could be good for him if she'd just see whats in front of her. They'd be great together.
The other half of me knows that if they did that then something bad would undoubtedly happen to either force them apart or make them unhappy with each other.
What happened to happily ever after? There are so many interesting things that people can get up to without being miserable.
That's the problem with so many modern writers these days. I think anyway.
People need to realise that there is no lore against happiness.

But sadness aside. I did enjoy "Deadlocked".
Charlaine's book's are always a pleasure to read. She has such a ready imagination, and it's never hard to picture the story as she tells it.
I liked what happened on the forth to last page. And I want to knock Alcide and Eric's heads together. They're both ridiculous. And not in a good funny ha ha way.
Felipe too. I'm quite disappointed in him actually. I expected more of him. Something that didn't include him acting like a spoiled toddler with super powers. I mean really. Oh well.
I know that at minimum he's going to try and get Sookie to work for him again. I hope she looks him in the eyes and tell's asks him what he he has to offer.
Protection? So that she can make a target of herself for his rivals? People who might try to torture her again?
Money? For what? Sookie is happy with her house. She doesn't want a fancy car as far as I can tell, and she has a good income. Enough to live happily off.
Fame? ... Oh, you mean the thing that makes people never want to leave you alone and insist on knowing all your darkest secrets? Talk about nightmare for someone with Sookies abilities.
And if she doesn't do his bidding. He'd hurt her and the ones she loved? Ahh. I see. When he said protection, he meant "Not let them get to you so that I'd have the pleasure of hurting you myself." Of course. That is just the thing to make someone want to agree to work for anyone else. A guarantee that if she wasn't perfect she'd get hurt. And if she IS perfect she'd almost definitely get hurt.
Oh Wait! I apologise. There is a third option. She could give up her freedom entirely and go to live in a strange city with Felipe, then stay in a locked and windowless room under heavy guard without ever coming out except when Felipe wanted her. BRILLIANT!

I guess you can tell I think highly of the vampire King huh...

"Wee Free Men" By Terry Pratchett

I first read this book (Or rather, my mum read it to me then) when I was 8 years old, and I still love it as much today as I did then.
My favorite in the series is actually the forth and last one "I Shall wear Midnight"

Tiffany Aching is a great character. I love the matter of fact way she approaches life and the world in general.
She has such a clever yet somehow innocent mind. Especially in the first book.

My favorite line of hers will always be when she gets made Kelda of the Feagles, and she has to answer something before it can be official. With the wee birdy and the granite mountain. (In mind of not turning this into a spoiler version I wont say more then that.) I love it.

And the Wee Free Men (aka Nack Mac Feagles) are always a pleasure to read about. I like all there lines. Especially Daft Wallies, and Not-So-Big-as Medium-Size-Jock-But-Bigger-Then-Wee-Jock-Jock. (I'm surprised I remembered all that.)

I'd recommend this book to anyone.

"Kiss the Dead" by Laurell K. Hamilton

 I would not recommend Laurell's books to anyone under 15. Just for the record.

I'm really happy that I got this book. I had my doubts a bit. The last two books in the series haven't been up to standards. Not to mention even before then I'd felt like the series was going on a downward spiral.
Anita was having the same issues over and over again. She'd get freaked out, sort of figure out a solution by the end of the book, then in the next one it'd been like nothing had happened. We'd be taken through it all again.
After reading "Bullet" -which is a book with at least 350 pages- I felt like I'd read 50, 100 pages at most for the amount of stuff that was actually in it.
The only reason I'd continued to pick up the next book was because for all that Laurell can get fixated on one particular problem and gnaw on it, she does create the most amazing worlds. And her story lines are great, I wanted to know what happened next.

"Kiss the Dead" was like a breath of fresh air.  We're actually going somewhere. Stuff happened. I didn't feel like I was reading porn with a story line. And I know that sounds a little mean. But it's the truth. The last few books were like that. But this one was actually focused the world outside the bedrooms and Anita's torment.
People are actually happy. Which is something that I don't think has happened since "Skin Trade" or maybe even "Blood Noir" 5 books ago.

So for those of you thinking of giving up on Anita's life, I say "There is light at the end of the tunnel folks!"

We also get to see what Nathaniel's spine looks like! I mean, we've known he has one for quite some time, but normally he chooses not to use it. That is my favorite moment in the whole book, I swear. It's one sweet moment.
we get to see some old time character's come back in, and a new one.

I've been rereading all my favorite bit's again and again over the past few days. Just that in itself speaks for how much I've been enjoying this one.
So yeah. I'm happy, and I think I'll end it on that note.

"Angel's Flight" By Nalini Singh

Angel's Flight is a collection of 4 short stories that fit into the world of Nalini's second series. We do not see, in any of them, much of either of the main characters Elena and Raphael, as the stories are ones based around things that are "back ground" stories in the main books. Thing's that we may hear hint's of but not get the actual details.
The first one, "Angel's Pawn" is about Ashwini, and her her irritating Cajun vamp as they visit the territory of Nazarach. An Angel who to a woman with the sixth sense like Ash, feel's like death and pain.
It's great because you never get to actually meet Janvier in the books. Only hear about him. So it's nice getting to see what he's like. It's a bit hard to place the timing of when the story happens, but I think it's just before the first book, "Angel's Blood".

Second story, "Angel's Judgement" is of Sarah, Ellie's best friend and Guild Director, and Deacon when they first meet. If that's not enough to entice you, I say 'You'll never guess what his job was before they got together.' Something about Slaying......!?

Third, "Angel's Wolf" is about Noel. A vampire that we meet in the second book who was found brutalised by the evil person. It's a miracle that he survived, and last we hear of him is I think in the beginning of the third book when Raphael tell's Elena that he's sent him to work for the Master Angel of Louisiana for a while, as it was a good place for him to heal. "Angel's Wolf" tell us what happens to Noel once he get's there. Something which I have been quite curious about for a while, and which made buying the book worth it almost all on it's own.

Last but not least is "Angel's Dance. This one is more a short Novel then a short story really, and takes up just over a third of the book. Not that I'm complaining. It is about how Galen first came to be one of Raphael's people, and how he and Jessamy -the Angel's Keeper of History- came to be together. A fact that is even less mentioned then anything about Noel. The only hint of it is when Elena see's him going in to visit her and draws the conclusion that they must be a couple. You also get to see what Raphael's Archangel Tower and the territory around it looked like four hundred years ago. Not to mention a glimpse of what it was like to be in his court only a century after he'd come into his power. We see Aodhan before whatever happened happened. It's nice to know he was once an innocent youth.
And if anyone was interested in finding out how Michaela rose to power, or who the Archangel who came before her was, then that's in there.

All around, good stuff.

NightSeer by L. K. Hamilton

This book is the Debut Novel by one of my favorite author's.
I've been curious for some time about it, and so when I saw it at the book store I couldn't resist.

I am Happy to say that I liked it very much. The only problem I had with it was that it didn't really feel finished to me, and I know it doesn't have a sequel.
I would like to see a bit more of the relationship between Keleios and Lothor. Also, I would like to see him defend his actions in the beginning of the book a bit. Because under all that devil-may-care attitude, I think he does have his reasons, (what is happening back home for example) and I think he actually does care for her very much.
Otherwise yeah, I loved it.

"The Da Vinci Code" By Dan Brown

This book has the potential to deeply offend some, highly intrigue others, and simply not interest most of the rest.

Which opinion you'll have is based, I think, very much on your belief in religion(or lack of it). But either way, I can promise you that it is not a book to take lightly. And if you are of the religious kind, I would strongly suggest reading it with and open mind, and the knowledge that when push comes to shove this is a FICTION book, and that Brown never claimed that it was fact. Or you simply won't enjoy it.

The plot itself isn't hard to follow, but it can get a little heavy, for lack of better words. Because of some of the things it deals with. -love, religion- And the fact that it is based around what is to many of us, our own beliefs. Or at least something that we grew up hearing about, and were taught to take for granted.
I will not get into my own beliefs in religion, but I will say that I had to put this book down and walk away for a while half way through, and that I am not one to put books down lightly. - So that's saying something.
It is like the difference between eating a fudge cake, and eating a sponge cake I guess. Both are delicious, but one you have to eat slowly, and the other you can take it in at what ever pace you like.

On a purely technical note however, the story is written well, and I believe is well worth reading.
Brown did tend to drag on a bit with his descriptions, but then may a great authors do.

So, yeah.

I enjoyed it, and so did my acupuncturist.

Saaski.

"The Song of the Lioness" Quartet, by Tamora Pierce

For those of you who don't already know of her, and because this is the first time I'm posting about any of her books, I think I should tell you a bit about how this author writes first.
The first thing I'll say, is that Tamora writes series among series. Now, what I mean by that is that her series are connected. (Another person who does this is Terry Pratchett.) For example, her main character in this series, -Alanna- is the mother of the main character in her forth series, -Alianne- which is based almost 20 years after Alanna's series. Alanna is in her mid-to-late 30's, and it is Alys' turn to find her place in the world.
And so on and so forth...

As far as I can find, Tamora Pierce has created 2 main worlds in which her story's grow.
I will also note that unlike Pratchett's "Disc worlds", and the alternate worlds that the manga authors of CLAMP creates, Pierce's two worlds are not connected and have nothing to do with each other. They are entirely separate.

The best way I can describe Tamora's writing, I think, lies in telling you how I myself was first introduced to the books.
I had just finished reading half of "the Wheel of Time" series by Robert Jordan, and anyone who has read them can tell you just how mind numbing that series can be, even if taken in s slowly. Let alone at the almost inhaling pace I'd been going. So, needing a break but still wanting to read something, I asked my friend if she knew of a series or book that didn't force you to think too much, but at the same time wasn't boring or predictable. She showed me Tamora Pierce, and I fell in love. (Cheesy line yes, but none less true.)
I would not hesitate recommend her books to anyone who doesn't hate Fiction. It is good for all ages. And by that I don't mean that parents won't get bored reading it to their kids. (Though they won't. My mum and I are reading them to my little sister now and are having a great time.) I truly mean it's good for all ages. My mum is 41 and she loves them as much as I do. My sister is 11. My friend, that I mentioned earlier, read them when she was even younger.

And now, I shall talk about what the title of this post says I am talking about.

As far as I can find, this series is the first of all the books that Tamora Pierce has ever sold. It started out as one book, titled The song of the Lioness, and was later split into 4 separate books at the recommendation of her agent. Now, I can't tell you if it is better as 4 different books, because I never read it as 1 book. But I can tell you that I was caught immediately by Alanna and her struggles, as she strives to become a knight while unable to tell anyone that their little guy friend or student Alan is actually Alanna, and not a guy at all.
And I know now, you're probably staring at your screen wanting to yell at me, "Hey! Did you just give the plot away!?"
I promise you no, I didn't. Everything I've said, you find out in the first chapter, and isn't even the beginning of what makes it such a good series.
Hmm.. now I come to the difficult part. How do I tell you what does make it a good series Without doing what just I promised you I wasn't doing. Which is tell you the whole story.
I guess I go back to saying what I did before, in explaining the whole of Tamora's writing. "The Song of the Lioness" Quartet is very good in that it doesn't twist your brain around with convoluted plots, and/or have you wanting to scream at the characters and call them every name under the sky for not seeing what's right. Under. Their noses. But at the same time it is interesting. It can have you chuckling and wanting to cry, or even rolling your eyes at times. Tamora paints her worlds clearly. But she doesn't go on about them either. You can see everything she wants you to see clearly in your minds eye, including which way North, South, East and West are. But you'll never find yourself skipping paragraphs to get to the juicy bits.

It's based in a world that's not our own. Some can use magic, and the Gods speak to their people. Legends happen, and immortals are real. No such thing as electronics. That kind of thing.

Alanna is as stubborn as they come.

No, it's not all innocents and fairy tales.

And that's it I think - all I can tell you of what I thought without giving anything away. I'll do a Spoiler version some other time.

Sincerely, Saaski.