Insatiable by Meg Cabot

I’m not sure what I expected when I started reading Insatiable by Meg Cabot. Maybe I felt something along the lines of ‘No! Not another vampire novel!’ But perhaps Cabot feels the same way. Meena, the protagonist, is tired of hearing/writing/talking about vampires. Imagine her disbelief when she discovers they are not only real, but her new boyfriend is the prince of darkness himself. Not that Meena is normal herself…

Meena is able to predict the way every person she meets will die. Relieved that this isn’t the case when she meets Lucien, she doesn’t realize this very fact will embroil her in the middle of a load of vampire trouble. Lucien is in town from Romania, visiting his cousin, to solve the mystery of who is draining girls and leaving their bodies all over New York City.  Meena stumbles into a power struggle between Lucien and his brother, Dimitri, and unknowingly gets herself placed in the middle of their battle.

There is something for vampire lovers and haters alike in this novel. Meena spends a great deal of time abusing ‘monster misogyny’ of vampire culture. She even finds the concept of vampires laughable. Add in a fanatical, sword-wielding, vampire hunter named Alaric Wulf, a yappy Pomeranian mix named Jack Bauer who doubles as a vampire dog, Meena’s nosy neighbor Mary Lou (also a vampire), and Meena’s unemployed brother Jon, and amusement abounds.

The humor and major cheese factor kept me laughing the whole time! What a great approach to mix up the normal, overly dramatic, vampire novel!

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The Greyfriar by Clay and Susan Griffith

Meet the author! As part of our Haunted Happenings series of ghostly events for adults, Clay Griffith will be at Cameron Village Regional Library on Thursday, October 18 at 7 p.m. Please call 919-856-6710 to RSVP or for more information.

Ever since Bram Stoker popularized the vampire novel with Dracula, other authors have added to the myths & lore of the nosferatu. The husband and wife writing team of Clay & Susan Griffith have continued this tradition with the vampires in their novels. These vampires prefer cold, or at least cool, climates, they have clans with “noble” rulers, they do cast a reflection in a mirror, and while they don’t turn into bats, they can fly. They are also not undead humans nor do they turn humans into vampires by biting them, although they do feed on them.

The Greyfriar is also much more than just a vampire novel. As of the year 2020, the war between vampires and humans has been going on for 150 years, since 1870 when the bloodthirsty monsters rose up against mankind and laid waste to the great civilizations of the Northern hemisphere. Descendants of Britain’s leaders have relocated to Alexandria, Egypt, and The United State’s power is now consolidated in Central America. So, because history has taken quite a different path since just after the Civil War, this is also a novel of alternate history. And, because humanity had to spend time re-organizing and relocating the former powers of the north in the equatorial regions, technology has not yet surpassed that of the steam age. The great powers of Equatoria and America both possess flying airships and for weapons cannons, Gatling guns, pistols and swords are all used. Thus, this novel is also in the Steampunk genre.

In the story Princess Adele travels under royal guard (by airship, of course) to the borderlands of the north. The trip is one of goodwill with the borderlands, as it has been arranged that Adele will marry (pompous) war hero Senator Clark of America, a marriage that will tie the two great powers together and make them both stronger than they could ever be alone. This is the first time Adele has been this far north and her airship is attacked by a great number of vampires. Most of the guards and crew are killed as the ship is grounded and Adele is saved by the swashbuckling hero of legend: the Greyfriar. She is now stuck behind enemy lines and only the Greyfriar’s great skill at fighting and his knowledge of the countryside allow them to escape.

Soon, Adele is captured by Cesare, younger son of the vampire king Dmitri. His older brother Gareth – an unusually intelligent, refined and curious vampire – lays claim to the prisoner and treats Adele with a kindness that she initially distrusts. When the clans start clamoring for renewed war, Adele is taken into Scotland, where the benevolent Gareth’s castle lies. Gareth and Adele gradually get to know each other and she reluctantly comes to think of him as more than a monster. In fact, much of the later part of the novel is reminiscent of the story of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. So, in addition to being a steampunk, alternate history, vampire tale, there’s a bit of romance thrown in too. I certainly enjoyed this first book in the Vampire Empire series, and hope you will too.

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Best ‘New to Us’ Books in 2011: Mary P.’s Picks

Hi again from Mary P.  Last week you may have read  about the best books I’ve read published in 2011, take a look at some books published previously that I discovered this year and loved.  I’ve especially enjoyed discovering some authors that have been around a while and read both their old and new material.

At Home: A Short History of a Private Life by Bill Bryson
This is the year I discovered Bill Bryson.  For many of you, this may be old news, but Bill Bryson is great.  I read four of his books this year, and some, like At Home, are quite thick.  Bryson writes nonfiction with a humorous slant that usually involves some aspect of his life.  In At Home, Bryson covers the vast history of human homes and houses based around the history of his own home in rural England.  This book is packed full of unusual stories and fascinating tidbits on human history ranging from the evolution of the meaning “room and board” to why we have salt and pepper on our kitchen tables.  All the while, Bryson packs in this information with his trademark style that will leave you laughing and amazed.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Killer by Seth Grahame-Smith
Abraham Lincoln has be the subject of many books.  This is the first that images the Civil War as a bigger battle and Lincoln as a key factor in the defeat of the vampire scourge in America.  Seth Grahame-Smith is no stranger to the reworking of a famous idea into something novel (pun intended) and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Killer does not fail to satisfy.  In Grahame-Smith’s world, young Abe loses his mother to the Vampiric plague and vows to fight back by killing every vampire he can find.  This decision takes Abraham forward towards presidency in a world where the history mirrors the one we know, but also shows a hidden world that we never knew could exist.

Unbroken: A World War II story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption  by Laura Hillenbrand
Unbroken has been on the New York Times best sellers list for 51 weeks. One more and it’ll be a year.  Can it really be that good?  My answer is unequivocally yes.  Hillenbrand tells the amazing story of Louis Zamperini, the Olympic runner turned World War II airman.  His story is itself almost beyond belief; it alters the idea of the limits of human survival and strength.  However, the power of the story is complemented by Hillenbrand’s excellent storytelling.  The book at time literally took my breath away and deserves the praises it has received.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is being made into a movie.  I am super excited about this as it is one of my favorite books.  However, I am a little tense, because the movie comes out in January and I want everyone to read the book before they see the movie.  This book is so heartening, so poignant, so beautiful that I want everyone to experience it as it is before seeing the movie changes how it is read.  The book centers around Oskar Schell, a nine year old pacifist and physicist who excels at tambourine.  After losing his father in the attacks on September 11, 2001, Oskar finds a single key among his father’s things. With only the clue of “Black” written on the key, Oskar sets off on a mission to find the keys home and discover more about his father.

Black out and All Clear by Connie Willis
I also discovered Connie Willis this past year.  She has been an award winning Science Fiction writer for years.  Her two newest books, Black Out and All Clear, are just as celebrating; she won both of Science Fiction’s highest honors, the Nebula and Hugo Awards for best novel (it’s really one story split over two books).  Set in Oxford in 2060, three historian are traveling back in time to London during the Blitz of World War II.  Sent back in time to study the past directly, their presence is not suppose to change history.  Yet when their portals back to the future are not working, all three must find each other and find how to get back in time before they cause something disastrous like the outcome of the war.

If any of these titles interesting you, they are linked to the Wake County Public Libraries catalog so you can find them at the libraries.  And if you have read any, please feel free to add your opinion in the comments (but only if you agree with me…Just kidding).

Soulless by Gail Carriger

Alexia Tarabotti is the soul of formality and fits with the most proper set in Victorian London.  Well, as well as any soulless spinster with much too much Italian blood and much too great of an appetite possibly can. In a Victorian London where vampires set the social standings and werewolves run her majesty’s empire, being a supernatural is not that extraordinary.  Yet, being soulless is something of an oddity.  And when vampires and werewolves around London start disappearing, Alexia starts to garner some interest.  Lord Maccon, a loud, messy, gorgeous, improper werewolf, is sent to investigate at the queen’s request.  Fur flies (sometimes literally) when Alexia and Lord Maccon come together to solve this supernatural mystery.

I have to admit when describing this book to friends, I am the tiniest bit embarrassed at first.  People start to get the look, “You’re an adult reading a vampire-werewolf-romance-fantasy.”  But, as I insist to my judgemental friends, this book is different.  This book is good.  So good I succumbed and have read the entire series.  And the rest of the books are just as delightful, funny, and charming as the first in the series. Gail Carriger has create as supernatural romance series that even I, an avowed supernatural cynic, enjoy.   Now I must wait for the newest book to be published.   So I encourage you, dear readers, do not be frighten or ashamed of reading and enjoying Soulless.  It has a librarian’s approval.

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A Discovery of Witches by Deborah E. Harkness

In the dark reaches of the Oxford’s Bodleian library is the mysterious alchemical manuscript named Ashmole 782.  It has been missing for 100 years, unreachable by the strongest witches, vampires, and daemons.  The day scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly requests Ashmole 782 is the day her life changes.  Not only does the manuscript answer her call, but it reveals its secrets to her.  When she has finished her study of it, she sends it back and the magical community goes berserk.   Each faction wants it for themselves and will “recruit” Diana to their individual causes to get it.  Witches think they have the upper hand because Diana is the last in the line of a powerful witch bloodline, but she rejected her heritage long ago.  Diana is reluctantly drawn into a war that has been raging for centuries.  Will she be able to continue living her “normal” life, or will she need to reconnect with her heritage in order to survive?  And who is this Matthew Clairmont and why has he volunteered to be her body guard?

In an age when witch/vampire books are a dime a dozen, this book stands out because it is clever.  The plot is intricate and intriguing, the characters are fascinating and multi-faceted, and the writing is full of atmosphere and detailed imagery.   Just as Ashmole 782 revealed its secrets to its reader, Deborah Harkness‘ A Discovery of Witches will for you.

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The Long Way Home by Joss Whedon

Reading this aptly-titled graphic novel is a lot like coming back home and reconnecting with an old friend. I’m not sure how someone who is not already a fan of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series would approach this novel: I’m too immersed in the history of Joss Whedon’s universe to truly be able to view it from the outside. It does jump right into the storyline without much explanation of the dense Buffy cosmology, so if you are unfamiliar with the show, you would be missing a lot of back-story. With that said, I’m of the opinion that anything Whedon has even sneezed at is worth giving a chance at least once.

The Long Way Home truly is the start of the eighth season of the television show. If you watched the show years ago, I strongly recommend taking a look– even if graphic novels are not your cup of tea. I usually don’t read graphic novels: something about the way the story moves through the panels seems to disagree with my delicate sensibilities. This novel is different. I simply couldn’t put it down. In some ways, I even prefer this format to the TV show, in that Joss Whedon is no longer hampered by budgetary constraints. Scary monsters actually look scary, unlike the TV show with its occasionally silly monster makeup and costuming. The art is fantastic and the characters are drawn older but true to the original actors.

In a way, I feel like this installment reintroduced me to characters I’d come to love. Maybe most importantly, it retains Whedon’s signature wit and snappy dialogue. Highly recommended for fans and anyone who wants to see what all the hullaballoo is about.

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The Passage by Justin Cronin

I just finished Justin Cronin’s The Passage and was blown away by the experience. Quite simply, this is one of the best books I’ve ever read – an amazing, compelling story; vividly developed characters; unforeseen plot twists and excellent prose to boot. I First learned about this book from Stephen King’s recommendation in Entertainment Weekly and it far surpassed my already high expectations.  I started reading this 700 plus page epic  while on a recent vacation with my family and immediately was sucked  in and could not stop reading until I was finished. Of course I was emotionally and physically exhausted and a little bleary eyed, but the ride was well worth it.

Acclaimed Author Don Chaon had this to say about The Passage:

“There is a particular kind of reading experience–the feeling you get when you can’t wait to find out what happens next, you can’t turn the pages fast enough, and yet at the same time you are so engaged in the world of the story and the characters, you don’t want it to end. It’s a rare and complex feeling–that plot urgency pulling you forward, that yearning for more holding you back. We say that we are swept up, that we are taken away. Perhaps this effect is one of the true magic tricks that literature can offer to us, and yet it doesn’t happen very often. Mostly, I think, we remember this experience from a few of the beloved books of our childhood.

About three-quarters of the way through The Passage, I found myself in the grip of that peculiar and intense readerly emotion. One part of my brain couldn’t wait to get to the next big revelation, and I found myself wanting to leapfrog from paragraph to paragraph, hurtling toward each looming climax. Meanwhile, another part of my brain was watching the dwindling final pages with dread, knowing that things would be over soon, and wishing to linger with each sentence and character a little while longer.”

Set in the very near future, The Passage is dystopian novel, a paranoid thriller, and a story of the triumph of human spirit and ingenuity. When government officials discover a virus that may lead to immortality (or the craving to kill all other humans), they do what any good government would do- test the virus on violent death row inmates. Red flags abound, and eventually, the test subjects become scariest blood suckers since Nosferatu. The only test subject who seems not be affected is Amy, a six year old girl, who may be humanity’s only hope.

The vamps (or smokes, dracs, or any other number of names) eventually overtake the majority of the United States, killing wantonly and converting the dead into their undead minions. A few pockets of humanity survive, scattered far and wide and with no connection to the outside world. In these communities, laws are draconian and life is hard, but its better than being one of the legion of undead. They live the best (and only) way they know how, until Amy, a little older and a little immortal, walks into their compound and leads some of the villagers on a quest to save humanity.

You do NOT have to be a fan of vampire books at all to enjoy this book. In fact, it’s really not about vampires. It’s about the characters in the story. Cronin has crafted such an intricately woven storyline, and placed in it characters that you literally feel like you know. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment in what is being promoted as a trilogy. Please write fast Mr. Cronin!

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Dracula by Bram Stoker

I just finished re-reading Dracula for my Classics Book Club, and was once again confirmed in my opinion that it’s actually a pretty poorly written book in a lot of ways. The people we’re supposed to like are insufferable prudes, and every other thought they utter is some sort of homage to manliness. There are gaping plot holes such as Renfield’s multiple escapes out of his (sometimes) barred window, and there are moments of imbecility as when Quincy Morris quietly leaves a conference to shoot a large bat he spies by going outside and firing, without warning, through the window into the room in which everyone is sitting. Everyone knows that sexy, undead Lucy is much cooler than virtuous, living Lucy and, likewise, everyone wants Mina to die. True, Van Helsing, despite his patriarchal condescension, is pretty cool, but Dracula outclasses the good guys in almost every way. Plus he has a harem of seductresses that only a relative of Jonathan Harker would resist.

But it’s a great book nonetheless. Dracula is a great character, and now a classic monster. He may not be the first vampire, but he was the first that was any good. Stoker somehow made him alluring and disgusting. There is nothing in the Anne Rice mode of the beautiful and effete killer, and Count Dracula does not sparkle. In fact, he stinks. Where he goes, his revolting stench follows and when he is caught napping, he is bloated with so much blood that it overflows from his gaping mouth. However, he is still an erotic creature. His victims are women, engaged or married, and once he has them, they’re his. His attacks are described in overtly erotic terms, and are obviously disguised sex acts. Afterwards, they are his slaves forever, and this is what makes him so terrifying to men. Dracula is the guy every man fears. We know we can’t compete, and now he’s coming after our girls!

Dracula isn’t about virtue overcoming evil. I was about to say it’s about male wish-fulfillment since the prudish men of sexual orthodoxy overcome the object of their fears, but that’s not really it. It would be male wish fulfillment if Dracula were the protagonist because, really, that’s who we wish we were. But we know we can’t be him. We are mortal, even though we’re not sure if all the other men are mortal. We have this fear along with Jonathan Harker that there is some Count Dracula moving in on our woman, or at least who could. (Somewhere in this argument is the reason why vampires have lost so much of their horror in the hands of female writers, but we can talk about that later if you want.) Dracula has become the enduring type of horror stemming from male sexual insecurity. Rather than suffer our women to be lost to our sexual adversary, we will destroy the object of our fear. Even worse, we will destroy our women. Even if we wouldn’t resort to murder in reality we can still relate to Arthur who brutally beheads his wife once Dracula turns her. Such things happen. Weren’t African-American men once the bugbears of irrational white sexual insecurity? Aren’t women still subject to violence at the hands of jealous men? There is a lot going on beneath the outward plot of this novel, and it’s why Bram Stoker’s work is a masterpiece. I’m not saying that’s good. It’s a horror novel, and we should be disturbed.

Am I overreaching? Discuss.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Bite Me: A Love Story by Christopher Moore

Did you know that April is National Humor Month?  I’ve always loved to laugh (hey, who doesn’t?) and grew up on the classics like Abbot & Costello, the Three Stooges, Laugh In, Bill Cosby’s comedy albums (yes, on vinyl), Saturday Night Live, and of course, tons of Saturday morning cartoons from the 60′s, 70′s & 80′s.  So, in honor of humor month, I thought I’d feature some of my favorite funny books this week.  First up is an author I’ve mentioned before, Christopher Moore, author of A Dirty Job.

If the title alone isn’t enough to appeal to you and make you want to pick up this very funny love story about newbie nosferatu Jody & Tommy, here’s what else it has: the Emperor of San Francisco (a delusional homeless man with two faithful canine companions), a horde of vampyre cats – led by the huge, sweater-wearing cat named Chet – who are devouring the city’s homeless and hookers, an elderly and lonely Japanese print-maker who wields a mean sword, teenage goth-girl Abby Normal who brings her rat loving friend, Jared, and her brainy boyfriend/love monkey, “Foo Dog,” into the adventure, “the Animals” – the night stock crew at the local Safeway who hunt the undead in their spare time, three ancient vampires who arrive in San Francisco in a jet black state of the art killing machine of a yacht (captained by spliff-puffing white-boy Rastaman Kona), and two frustrated but still dedicated detectives who have to somehow make sense out of all of these impossible goings on.

This new novel is actually the third in a “sort of series” (the first two are Bloodsucking Fiends and You Suck), but trust me, these books do not need to be read in order and each can stand on its own and you won’t feel like you’re missing anything.  In fact, the first chapter of this book actually does an excellent job of summarizing the plot of the previous one.  This vampire love story is no “Twilight,” and certainly not like any other book I’ve ever read about vampires, and that’s part of why I enjoyed it so much.

Best selling author Carl Hiaasen has said of Moore, “Christopher Moore is a very sick man, in the very best sense of that word.”   His humor is certainly not that of P.G. Wodehouse, or even Christopher Buckley, (two authors whom I also enjoy) and for almost two decades Christopher Moore has written some of the zaniest, wackiest, most laugh-out-loud stuff I’ve had the pleasure to read.  Be warned though, gentle reader (if you are, indeed, a “gentle” reader), that Moore has plenty of mature and sexual situations and the language includes F-bombs and other curse words in some of his novels, especially this one, so if that is something you don’t care for, this may not be the book for you.  If, however, you don’t mind these things when used for humorous effect, then you’ll certainly want to check out some of Mr. Moore’s work, which includes:
- Christ’s wisecracking childhood pal, Biff, is brought back from the dead to chronicle the Messiah’s “missing years”…
- King Lear’s fool, Pocket, sets out to clean up the mess Lear has made of his kingdom, his family and his fortune in a “Shakespeare meets Monthy Python” story full of ribald jests …
- Mild-mannered thrift shop owner and brand new father and widower, Charlie Asher, takes a job harvesting souls for the Grim Reaper…
- Marine biologist, Nate Quinn, makes the find of a lifetime, a whale whose tail markings read “Bite Me,” but then Nate’s office is trashed and he discovers a giant conspiracy at the bottom of the ocean …

Let the laughter commence!  Find Bite Me: A Love Story in our catalog.

The Strain By Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan

Pick, Pick, Pick…

A Boeing 777 arrives at JFK when it suddenly stops dead. All the window shades are pulled down, all lights are out, and there is no response from the cockpit. Crews on the ground are lost for answers; Homeland Security puts in a call to the CDC. Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, head of their Canary project, a rapid-response team that investigates biological threats, gets the call and boards the plane. What he finds makes his blood run cold.

Co-authored by Guillermo Del Toro (Oscar winning Pan’s Labyrinth) and Chuck Hogan (Prince of Thieves, The Killing Moon) The Strain, the first of a planned trilogy is everything you want from a horror novel–dark, bloody, and packed full of mayhem and mythology. But, be forewarned, these are not like any vampires you’ve met before–they’re not sexy or star-crossed or “vegetarians”–they are hungry, they are connected, and they are multiplying.

Joining Eph in the hunt to track down the vampires is Abraham Setrakian, a seemingly mild mannered pawn shop owner in Spanish Harlem, but in actuality is a Nazi concentration camp survivor who has been hunting the Vampires, since first encountering them feasting on the near dead in the concentration camps. Abraham’s grandmothers stories begin the book and provide a good background without all the dreaded exposition found in most speculative fiction.

I listened to the audio edition of this on the way to the beach and was immediately drawn in by the “hook” beginning, deep suspense and overall creepiness. I often felt like I was listening to a theatrical movie or old time radio broadcast. The superb voice talent of Ron Perlman (Beauty and the Beast) brings the story to life and gives each individual character a distinct voice and personality. Mr. Perlman must be Del Toro’s lucky charm; he has appeared in most of his films and is slated to read the next two books in this trilogy. The overall gore level is moderate and is a more adult approach to the supernatural then the Twilight series.

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