A Brief Teaser

I'm writing a book of my own actually. A trilogy, with a little luck. Here's some background before I post the first chapter.

The world is much like our own, liberally altered. The laws of reality change over vast spans of time as starts align into intricate geometric patterns. The current reality in the year 2000 is much like our science and technology. Theirs is more 'primitive' however.

Their technology focuses on steam power and clockwork. It is quite advanced, but digital technology is non-existent as is the combustion engine. There do exist enormous analog computers. These are slow, but potent enough as to be almost sentient.

Magic also exists. It is extremely hard to master and dangerous as all hell. It is also a very well kept secret.
The story follows Eliza Fyrwen. She is a young woman, 22. She is a witch attending Harvard 'After Dark,' which Harvard become on certain nights. She will soon graduate with honors in witchcraft, majoring in Golemetry. She works for a strange un-aging man in a building no one else can see. Her 'guardian' and partner is a ghost.

The starts are aligning, and something is awakening...

Time travel, angst, and more.

Replay, by Ken Grimwood

By the time I was sixty pages into this book, the protaganist had died three time. I was hooked.

Jeff died of a heart-attack and woke in college 25 years earlier. He came to terms quickly, and gambled and invested his way to enourmous wealth.

He died again on the same day at the same time, although in this life he was perfectly healthy. He came back again, a few days after his first replay.

His second time around, he tried to achieve personal fulfillment. He was unable to win his wife over this time, and so settled for a society woman. He had a daughter, he'd never had children before.

When death-day came, he admitted himself to a hospital. He suffered a fatal, inexplicable heart attack anyway. He cam back, wounded to his soul that his daughter was simply erased.

I won't spoil anything else, as I recommend this read. The characters feel quite real. The author deals with them with a mix of compassion and cynisism that makes them all but breath.

The Last Watch by Sergei Lukyenko (spelling more or less optional)

A Russian author writes a four book series on super-natural hijinks in Moscow. It is, to my mind, an instant sucess.

The stories follow Anton. He is at first a low-ranking member of the super-natural poloce, on the side of Light.

All 'Others', as opposed to humans, fall into Light or Dark. The difference is deliberately ambiguous. Bad guys are honest, good guys tend to scheme.

The stories are mysteries, with genuine twists, some forseeable, most not.

I won't spoil this one, it is worth the read.

Werewolves With a Twist: Sharp Teeth

From the first sentence, Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow strikes a chord. Written in poetic form, it is a novel of action and brutality. I must confess, I was thoroughly impressed.

The pacing is perfect, each sibilant and exhalation fits into place. I found myself reading passages aloud, just to hear them spoken, and to savor their flavor.

After two days, the book took over my dreams. The images were strong enough to seed my subconscious. Most interesting, these dreams came with their own soundtrack. I've never composed music in my sleep before, or since.

Cast:

Lark: Leader of the pack, he uses their abilities for shady, but legal money-making schemes. He is a tactician and philosopher. His charisma is genuinely portrayed, and one cannot help but identify with him even in his darker moments.

Unnamed woman: Alpha female of Lark's pack. Her character is deliberately generic, though this only makes her easier to sympathize with somehow. She was beaten by her ex, and gladly accepted Lark's offer of power.

Anthony: A dog catcher in L.A., love interest of the unnamed woman. He has a good heart, but is a bit anti-social.

Baron, Zack, Cutter, Blue: Some more of Lark's pack.

And many more.

Plot:

Lark forms a pack of modern-day werewolves. Unlike their ancestors, these men and women can shift at will into the shape of dogs. Large, strong, intelligent dogs. The unnamed woman is second in command, the tension she creates (she is off-limits) forges a bond between the pack and instills a sense of discipline.

The pack carries out various deals and contracts for large amounts of money. Only Lark understands the full scope of the operation. When the unnamed woman falls in love with a dog catcher things start to crumble. That, however, is only the beginning.

I recommend this book to anyone, except children and puritans.

First time: 13 bullets

I am a book junkie. A book junkie with a brand new e-book reader and an Internet connection. My purpose in life is now clear to me: I must read everything!

I just finished 13 Bullets by David Wellington.

At first glance, this story seems to have everything; lesbians, vampires, and lesbian vampires. It also abounds with action, gore, and poorly researched police procedures. And yet, all these elements lack any unifying theme-thingies.


Characters:

Caxton: The protagonist. Lesbian, state-trooper, reluctant vampire-hunter. She is a bit of a sissy, who grows a pair every now and then, before reverting to sissy-dom.

Arkeley: A cop with a grudge. Wants to kill vampires, that's about as deep as he gets.

Two dimensional interchangeable cast of characters: Everyone else.


Plot:
Spoiler Alert!

There are no spoilers, because everything happens exactly the way you thought it would. Except the things that don't, which tend to be a trifle disappointing.

I wouldn't recommend this book. It is not good vampire fiction, and lacks the redeeming qualities of bad vampire fiction. I do intend to read the sequel, 99 Coffins, but only because I intend to read everything.

Now Reading:
Sharp Teeth
by Toby Barlow

I'm twelve pages in, and really liking it so far.

Cheers!