Archive for April, 2008

Apr
26

My Favorite Urban Fantasy Sites

Posted by: Fantasy Books | Comments (10)

Best Fantasy SitesSince you’re reading this article I assume you’re interested in urban fantasy. Me too. I read it every night before going to bed and try to sneak in a few pages before going to work each morning. If it’s a book written about vampires, witches, or werewolves in a modern day setting I’m all over it. I use this site to publish reviews of what I read.

However I’m not the only game in town – there are other folks out there who also like urban fantasy books who manage sites that I frequent on a regular basis. Their sites may focus on more than urban fantasy but there’s enough urban fantasy there to keep me coming back on a regular basis.

Here are the sites I visit the most:

Scooper Speaks. Stacy Cooper “Scooper” provides very well-written, balanced reviews of primarily fantasy romance books. Her site design is clean and easy to navigate. Here’s a big plus for Scooper: she responds to her commentors. That means a lot to me because it makes a site more interactive and helps readers learn more about the site owner.

League of Reluctant Adults. This site is managed by a group of 5 urban fantasy writers. I like visiting this site not just because they provide insider book information about their recent and upcoming writing projects but also because the articles are so darn funny. I imagine the writers getting together each week for drinks and dinner in a place reminiscent of the Algonquin Round Table. In my mind they’d talk really fast, laugh uproariously, and engage in lots of “witty repartee.”

Flames Rising. The Flames Rising site reviews different types of books, not just fantasy books: they cover horror, dark fantasy, non-fiction books, and fantasy video games. They also provide author interviews and write-ups on the latest in horror-related news. Matt, the site owner and editor, has enlisted the aid of 4 folks to help out with the book reviews. It’s here that I get my often-needed zombie fix.

SciFi Chick. SciFi Chick has a site that contains book reviews of science fiction books and movies (some of which fall into the urban fantasy genre), online contests, trailers to scifi movie and TV trailers, and interviews with scifi writers. Her site is chock-full of good content; you could easily spend hours looking through the material.

Urban Fantasy Reader. Urban Fantasy Reader is devoted to everything related to my favorite book genre. Yes the site contains book reviews but what’s really cool about this site are the photos of urban fantasy book covers and TV shows/movies. Check out the April 2nd post which shows some of the cast from the upcoming HBO series called “True Blood” which brings Charlaine Harris’ popular Sookie Stackhouse books to the screen. Yum. I could just gobble up the “vampire Bill” character sitting on the couch beside “Sookie.” In a totally non-cannibalistic sort of way that is. Also look at the April 6th post which shows the new cover for the next Patricia Briggs book titled “Bone Crossed.”

Which urban fantasy sites do you visit on a regular basis?

Categories : New Fantasy Books
Comments (10)

Given the track record of the authors below I forsee all of these books doing well in sales. If you pre-order any of the upcoming books by clicking on a Barnes and Noble link at this site you not only get a discount but I receive a small (very small) commission that helps me keep the site current and offer freebies (contests coming soon).

See also:

  • Hot New Releases – Best Urban Fantasy Books for June 2008
  • New Releases – Best Urban Fantasy Books for July 2008

  • May 1, 2008 Darkness Everlasting (Guardians of Eternity, Book 3)
    by Alexandra Ivy

    “Darcy Smith always sensed she was different from everyone else-if only she knew how different. Possessing a secret strong enough to end an entire race of demons, Darcy unwittingly becomes a pawn in an epic battle between the vampires and the weres as she discovers a new world filled with ecstasy-and dark passions.”


    May 6, 2008 The Host: A Novel
    by Stephanie Meyer

    The author of the best selling Twilight Series has written a book specifically for adults.

    “Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that takes over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.”


    May 6, 2008 From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, No. 8)
    by Charlaine Harris

    “After the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the manmade explosion at the vampire summit, everyone—human and otherwise—is stressed, including Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who is trying to cope with the fact that her boyfriend Quinn has gone missing. It’s clear that things are changing—whether the weres and vamps of her corner of Louisiana like it or not. And Sookie—Friend to the Pack and blood-bonded to Eric Northman, leader of the local vampire community—is caught up in the changes.”


    May 27, 2008 The Touch of Twilight (Sign of the Zodiac, Book 3)
    by Vicki Pettersson

    “On the surface she’s a sexy, sophisticated socialite, at home among the beautiful people of the Las Vegas upper crust. But Joanna Archer inhabits another world: a place ordinary humans can’t see and could never enter … a dangerous dimension where an eternal battle rages between the agents of Light and Shadow. And Joanna is both.”


    May 27, 2008 Blood Noir (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 16)
    by Laurell K. Hamilton

    “A favor for Jason, vampire hunter Anita Blake’s werewolf lover, puts her in the center of a fullblown scandal that threatens master-vampire Jean-Claude’s reign—and makes her a pawn in an ancient vampire queen’s new rise to power.”

    Categories : New Fantasy Books
    Comments (1)

    FANTASY LOVERS:

    The Fantasy Girl Store is now open for business! You can now browse for fantasy jewelry like bracelets, earrings, and necklaces. There’s even a section for fantasy-themed Men’s Jewelry. And you can look for fantasy books there too, of course!

    Fantasy jewelry is as low as $5.99. Most of the jewelry is sterling silver or pewter.

    The great thing about the Fantasy Girl Store is it’s ALWAYS OPEN. You can add and remove items from your shopping cart as you like. Orders are processed immediately and ship from Amazon.

    Enjoy!

    See also:

    Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon

    Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews

    Categories : New Fantasy Books
    Comments (0)
    Apr
    18

    Vampire Love Poems

    Posted by: Fantasy Books | Comments (9)

    Okay, time for a bit of light humor. I thought I’d write a couple of vampire love poems. They’re written in the style of limericks, remember them? If not, let me refresh your memory. Limericks always follow this pattern:

    a
    a
    b
    b
    a

    Let’s see if you can guess which urban fantasy book series I’m referring to:

    Vampire Love Poem #1

    Although raised as a child in the vampire court,
    I crave independence and shun your support.
    With my newfound power,
    I can “shift” to a new hour,
    It’s my very own public transport.

    Which female character from a popular urban fantasy series am I referring to? Which male vampire (in the series) would she be compelled to say this to?


    Vampire Love Poem #2

    I’m a vampire, yes dear I confess,
    I’m newly made and my life is a mess.
    I hope you can understand,
    You’re still my DEA man,
    But I don’t know if our relationship can progress.

    Which female vampire would probably say this to her boyfriend?

    Hope you like my vampire love poems! Post your answers in the comments.

    For more Vampire Love Poems see:

    Vampire Love Poems Part 3

    Vampire Love Poems Part 4

    Categories : Vampire Love Poems
    Comments (9)

    staked by jf lewis
    You had me atsomewhere.”

    That’s the first word in the 1st paragraph of J.F. Lewis’ new book, Staked. From the start I could tell this book would be something special. By page 8, I was proclaiming it a winner to my friends. I’m happy to report that I was correct.

    The first item that makes this book stand out is the vampire lore that Lewis develops. Yes, he covers the standard “blood sucking is required for sustenance” and “vampires avoid the sun, are powerful and never age” standards but that’s pretty much where the similarities between most urban vampire stories and his differ. He creates an entirely new mythology for his vampires that’s refreshing and unique.

    The Story:

    The main character in the book, Eric, is a wise-cracking, no nonsense strip club owner who’s also a Vlad-level vampire (that’s one step above Master for you vampire geeks). As such he’s one of the most powerful vampires in existence. But he’s got one odd quirk: he suffers from memory loss and has a hard time remembering what happens from one day to the next. As you can imagine this makes for some difficult moments for a vampire. Imagine not knowing if you’d killed someone the day before. As a matter of fact the story opens with Eric killing another vampire. Unfortunately he can’t initially remember who he’s killed or why he committed the murder.

    While pondering this dilemma he’s ambushed and attacked by a werewolf. Although he doesn’t want to kill the guy he ultimately has no choice but to defend himself. Eric is later told that the dead werewolf is the son of the local Alpha, who happens to be a powerful and fanatic religious leader who thinks vampires are an evil abomination. The death of the Alpha’s son is just enough to push him over the edge; he’s hell bent on seeing Eric dead.

    In addition to dealing with werewolf assassins Eric is having relationship problems. His girlfriend Tabitha has been nagging him to make her into a vampire for several years. Because Eric is distracted by the recent murders he committed (and not in the mood to listen to her broken record pleas to become immortal) he unwisely agrees to turn her. To say that I was fascinated by Lewis’ description of the turning process is an understatement. I’ve read lots of vampire books but have never seen the process described in quite this manner. If you like vampire lore (and I know you do) you’ll love reading about this procedure and the effect it has on the human body. Okay, there’s one aspect that’s a little gross but it fits perfectly in my opinion.

    After Eric turns his girlfriend he’s surprisingly not so interested in her anymore. There’s something about snuggling up to another cold body that’s a bit of a turn off for him. Call him hypocritical, but he likes the warmth of a human body. You can understand how this might piss off his girlfriend. Who’s now a vampire. With fangs.

    The primary plot threads in the book focus on Eric’s attempts to avoid extermination by the werewolves, his girlfriend’s introduction to what it means to be a vampire, and his relationship with his girlfriend’s sister. Additionally, it looks like he might be at the center of a setup – but he can’t figure out who’s calling the shots. There are several other peripheral story lines that are equally as interesting but Lewis makes sure they don’t overshadow the central themes.

    “Staked” contains a few well crafted violent scenes that demonstrate the ruthlessness of vampires. I love the way Lewis avoids glamorizing the violence that’s central to a vampire’s psyche. His vampires kill humans for any number of reasons, not just for food. As such, although Eric hasn’t entirely lost his ties to humanity he’s very honest with himself (and others) about his murderous side. I found that to be an endearing quality in Eric’s characterization: he’s true to what he is. Overall Lewis does an outstanding job developing Eric as a multi-dimensional character.

    I gotta tell you, this story has it all: lots of action, a little violence, a few mysteries, a betrayal, great worldbuilding, sex, and smatterings of humor here and there. There were times when I was totally engrossed in the book. I actually missed an appointment one day because I couldn’t put it down.

    The book ends with several unanswered questions which encourage us to imagine any number of possible conclusions to some of the mysteries. J.F. Lewis has NOT written a formulaic urban fantasy book (the crowd applauds) so there’s no telling what else is in store for Eric, his girlfriend, her sister, or the supporting characters. And here’s where the book really stands out: Lewis makes you care about the lives of his characters. I want to know how Eric plans to handle his relationship with his newly undead girlfriend and her mysterious sister. I want to know how Eric deals with the losses he suffers in the first book. In other words I can’t wait for the next installment in this urban fantasy series to come out.

    It’s rare that I’m such a cheerleader about a vampire book (or a book with a vampire as the central figure) but gosh-darn, this was one good read. It was also one of the hardest fantasy book reviews I’ve written because I’ve had to contain myself from raving so much about the book. You should have seen my first draft of this review – you’d have thought I had stock in Pocket Books (I don’t).

    I highly recommend this book. Urban fantasy readers will love it.

    Buy Now: Barnes & Noble | Amazon

    See also:

    JF Lewis Joins the League of Reluctant Adults

    Fantasy Book ReView of ReVamped by J.F. Lewis

    Comments (8)

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