Between the Covers - Book Review #13

This book review brought to you by the late wizard, Tatsu!

Still slogging through the backlogs of books I've read on bed rest while recovering at home and in the hospital ... Here's another installment from your friendly neighborhood demon writer.

1) Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith was waaaaay more entertaining for me than his Pride and Prejudice zombies novel. In fact, I confess on never finishing that one. This one I finished, though! I read it in two days. It was very amusing and well worth a read. A good blend of history and vamps, if ever the two should meet. Don't expect a really complicated plot, but expect to laugh.

2) From the Teeth of Angels by Jonathan Carroll. This is one of his earlier books and a lot of people reviewed it as
not "mature writing." I'm not sure what those reviewers meant. The subject matter discussed was death, a very mature topic, and having just had a brush with death myself, I found his insight poignant and downright hilarious in a rdeliciously dark way, which is just what I like. If you like reading magic realism or cross genre fantasy, then check out this interesting view on death for yourself. It's good, really good. I swear, you will find yourself wishing you'd written the darn thing yourself!

3) Black Swan, White Raven edited by Ellen Datlow. A great fairy tale collection. One of her earlier collections, but all the authors are stellar and the fairy tale twists are entertaining. If you like the other fairy tale collections she's edited, then read this one!

4) Wicca: the Complete Craft by D.J. Conway. This book covers the basics of Wicca for beginners. Like Ellen Dugan's books, it's written in a friendly tone. The material is helpful, but I didn't like think the order it was presented in was the most logical. I also thought some of the material needed to be discussed a little more in depth, though for beginners or for research material, this book is a good starting point.

As always, happy reading and happy writing to all!

Between the Covers - Book Review #9

It's time for another installment of Between the Covers! I've still been recovering from a foot injury, so my reading is off the charts. Here goes!

1) The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff is a devilishly delightful Young Adult urban fantasy suitable for adults. Daphne, the daughter of a demon and a fallen angel, is determined to find her missing brother Obie. She'll need the help of the only human who knew him, Truman, a suicide survivor with a severe drinking problem and a death wish. Daphne falls in love with Truman, though she is unfamiliar with human emotions and extremely worried about controlling her hellish desires. I loved this book.Yovanoff's version of Hell is wonderful and her characters are charming. Beelzebub is a favorite of mine in this one. I recommend this book to anyone who's burned out on hell stories or paranormal romance. This is a unique book.

2) The Everything Wicca & Witchcraft Book  by Marian Singer is a skip. The information included is useful, but the format is annoying. All the little green blurb boxes distract from the main dialogue. The facts don't add much to the book. And I found the order of the information presented to be a little backwards and the style of writing felt rushed. This book isn't very useful.

3) 7 Days of Magic by Ellen Dugan is a must-have for any witchy collection. This book explains in plain terms the correspondences between the days of the week, deities, herbs, colors, and other witchy knowledge to give your spells, charms, and rituals the most bang for your broom. I highly recommend it. It's a quick read and a reference keeper. Another plus, her spell supply lists are simple, affordable items. Whether you are a witch or just looking for some great writing research, this is the book for you.

4) The Ancient Art of Faery Magick by D.J. Conway discusses the different types of Fae, including guided meditations and rituals to bring more faery magick into your life. I tried a few of the meditations and rituals out myself. I found them inspiring. This book isn't a dry read and is quite interesting. It would be useful for writing research or for a witch who wants to get in touch with her/his inner Fae. And these rituals won't bust your wallet.

5) Medicine Road by Charles de Lint is another beautiful addition to the Newford series with a mystical look at the world of magick from a Native American perspective. Alice Corn Hair (a shifter jackalope) and Changing Dog (Jim, a shifter red dog) are given one hundred years by Coyote Woman to discover their true love. If after one hundred years the two haven't succeeded, they must return to their animal form forever and leave behind the world of the two-leggeds. Time is running out. Alice has found her true love in Thomas, but Jim is still single. Will he find true love and be able to stay in the human world or will Alice have to say goodbye to her one true love forever? Read and find out. You're guaranteed to fall in love with this cast of whimsical characters.

6) Yarrow by Charles de Lint introduces us to Cat Midhir, a writer with a horrible case of writer's block who soon discovers something or someone is stealing her dreams in dreamtime and cutting her off from her beloved cast of characters, who actually exist in their own world! Will she succeed in fighting the eater of dreams stalking her and her friends or will she lose her writing cast of characters forever? Read and find out. This book will not disappoint.