Archive for June, 2009
New Fantasy Books for June 2009
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s a great new fantasy book for June 2009:
While the sounds of battle echo through the sky, a lady doctor has more than enough trouble to keep her busy even in a sleepy hamlet outside London. But the threat is nearer home than Alice knows. German agents have infiltrated her beloved countryside – Nazis who can fly, read minds, and live forever. They’re not just fascists. They’re vampires. Alice has no time for fantasy, but when the corpses start appearing sucked dry, she’ll have to accept help where she can get it. If that includes a lowly Conscientious Objector who says he’s no coward though he refuses to fight, and her very own grandmother, a sane, sensible woman who insists that she’s a Devonshire Pixie, so be it. Indeed, whatever it takes to defend home and country from an evil both ancient and terrifyingly modern. FantasyGirl: I have to tell you, this one looks VERY interesting to me. I just read through the first 20 or so pages and it looks very promising. Shopping cart, meet book.
Additionally:
Urban Shaman (The Walker Papers) by C.E. Murphy
Pereat Mundus: A Novel by Leena Krohn
Cry Mercy (Mercy Hollings) by Toni Andrews
Bloody Good by Georgia Evans
Street Magic (Black London Novels) by Caitlin Kittredge
The Spy Who Haunted Me (Secret Histories, Book 3) by Simon R. Green
Skin Trade (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 17) by Laurell K. Hamilton
The Shadows: A Vampire Huntress Legend (Vampire Huntress Legends) by L. A. Banks
Phantasm (Zoe Martinique, Book 3) by Phaedra Weldon
Greywalker (Greywalker, Book 1) by Kat Richardson
Eve of Destruction (Marked, Book 2) by S.J. Day
Demons Not Included: A Night Tracker Novel by Cheyenne McCray
Demon Academy by Melanie Penzien
Blood Tear Trilogy – Book 1: Burning Rose by Corrine Shroud
Soulbreaker by Ciaran Corby
A Whole New Trend by Samantha C. Thomas
The Year of Disappearances: An Ethical Vampire Novel (Ethical Vampire Novels) by Susan Hubbard
Mischief by V. J. Chambers
Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland
Crimson Nights by Britt Summerlin
Vicious Circle by Linda Robertson
Staked by J. F. Lewis
Midnight Reign: Vampire Babylon, Book Two by Chris Marie Green
Eve of Chaos (Marked, Book 3) by S.J. Day
Dying Bites: The Bloodhound Files by D. D. Barant
Darkness Calls by Marjorie M. Liu
True Blood Season 2 Episode 1 – Nothing But The Blood
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Here are the Top 10 Highlights from Episode 1, Nothing But The Blood:
#10 Sookie’s abusive great uncle dies and leaves everything to her. Guess who killed him?
#9 Maryann Forrester shows Tara a famous statue in her backyard called “Pan and Maenad”. See True Blood Maryann Forrester Mystery – What The Heck Is A Maenad? for more information.
#8 Sam remembers a weird sexual encounter he had with Maryann when he was young. He’s having a hard time getting past what he knows about her. He’s become withdrawn from Sookie and those around him.
#7 Jason sees the error of his ways and is now a new follower of the ultra-radical group, The Fellowship of the Sun. He’s even sworn off loose women.
#6 Sookie is pissed off at Bill for creating baby vamp Jessica.
#5 Speaking of which, Bill has his hands full with Jessica. Her thirst for human blood continues. She’s not really a fan of TruBeverage, the synthetic blood beverage.
#4 A new waitress shows up at Merlotte’s. She looks a lot like that chick from The Fellowship of The Sun . . . .
#3 Tara and Eggs get closer. I think Tara should be careful around him.
#2 Sam attempts to pay tribute to Maryann Forrester by giving her money but that’s NOT what she wants . . . .
#1 LAFAYETTE IS ALIVE! He’s a prisoner of ERIC’s, stuck in a dark dungeon. There appears to be something wrong with Eric though.
And here’s the Episode 1 Question of the Week:
“What the hell was wrapped around Eric’s head – aluminum foil?” Tell me what you think in the Comments section.
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Get the True Blood Books! Get the low-down on Sookie, Bill, Eric and Sam. Start with the first 2 books. |
True Blood Fans – Layette Is Alive!
Posted by: | Comments9:06PM EST – Late Breaking News:
The dead body in the back of Andy Bellefleur’s car IS NOT Lafayette. It’s Miss Jeanette (the phony witch doctor).
Hurrah!
Now, where the HELL is Lafayette?
More to come. Got to get back to the show!
True Blood Maryann Forrester Mystery – What The Heck is a Maenad?
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Pan and Maenad
If you’ve read the Sookie Stackhouse books you know that the creature chasing her is a maenad.
So What Is A Maenad?
If True Blood follows the book a maenad is a creature that requires offerings (or tributes) from other supernatural creatures who serve alcohol. If they’re not properly honored they tend to get angry and cause madness in people (supernatural and human) or even kill them. In the book the maenad attacks Sookie as a way of sending a message to Eric, the owner of Fangtasia (a bar that serves alcohol). This is the maenad’s way of telling Eric that he has to pay her a tribute. Eric knows all too well how vicious a maenad can be – several years earlier he’d experienced a maenad who caused madness in a vampire. The vampire went on a crazed rampage and eventually had to be staked.
Here’s how the maenad is described to Sookie in the book Living Dead in Dallas:
| Bacchus was the god of the grape, of course, so bars are very interesting to maenads. In fact, so interesting that they don’t like other creatures of darkness becoming involved. Maenads believe that the violence sparked by the consumption of alcohol belongs to them; that’s what they feed off, now that no one formally worships their god. And they are attracted to pride.” |
Here’s more:
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“What’s she gonna do if you don’t pay her tribute?” Sookie asked. “Send her madness.” Bill sounded worried. “Into the bar? Merlotte’s?” The vampires eyed one another. “Or into one of us. It has happened. The Halloween massacre of 1876, in St. Petersburg.” They all nodded solemnly. “I was there,” Eric said. “It took twenty of us to clean up. And we had to stake Gregory, it took all of us to do that. The maenad, Phryne, received tribute after that, you can be sure.” |
In the books, the maenad travels with a large hog. Sound familiar? Yes, we’ve seen Maryann Forrester with a hog more than once in True Blood Season 1.
That’s why Sam (a bar owner) is so spooked when he sees Maryann Forrester. Remember the scene where he takes money from his safe, as if he’s planning to leave? In all likelihood, he’s planning to give the money to Maryann (the maenad) as a tribute.
And that’s your Maenad 101 lesson for the day!
See also: Do You Kill a Maenad?
Is Lafayette Dead? Identify That Foot!
Posted by: | CommentsIn the last episode of True Blood Sookie, Andy Bellefleur, and Tara discover a dead body in the back seat of Andy’s car, parked outside Merlotte’s. We, the audience, only see one dead foot. An African-American foot. With red nail polish. There are only 3 possible candidates: Lafayette, Tara’s mother, and Miss Jeanette (the phony witch doctor). Let’s look at the evidence:
Exhibit A:
Can You Identify This Foot?
Let’s look at Exhibit B:
Remember when Lafayette was painting his toenails while off duty at Merlotte’s? There’s clearly a reason why this scene is important. I believe Alan Ball, the director and creator of such hits like Six Feet Under, deliberately showed this scene to throw us off. My proof? Read the following excerpt from recent article in TV Guide:
“Since the season premiere picks up right where we left off, the victim’s identity is revealed in short order. As you might have already guessed, Season 2’s first casualty is related to Tara, but not in a way that you will guess. At first blush, the significance of said death will not be apparent, but just wait! Also, a minor character’s drinking problem will resurface — hilariously.”
Does that sound like Lafayette? I think NOT!
If I put on my CSI hat and examine the two feet side-by-side I believe Lafayette’s toes (Exhibit B) are shaped differently from those of the dead person’s.
My conclusion: LAFAYETTE IS NOT DEAD! THE FOOT BELONGS TO TARA’S MOTHER. OR MISS JEANETTE.
Reason for killing Tara’s mother: it allows Maryanne Forrester to remove all of Tara’s family ties.
Reason for killing Miss Jeanette: it may serve to knock Tara’s mother off the wagon since she believed that the witch doctor cured her alcoholism. If Miss Jeanette dies and Tara’s mother starts drinking again Tara will probably distance herself from her – remember she’s still mad that her mother didn’t bail her out of jail.
Bottom line: the dead person in the car is somehow tied to Maryanne Forrester, who has a dark hidden agenda.
But that’s just my opinion. Tell me what you think.
