June 18, 2009
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged Mercy Thompson, Moon Called, paranormal fiction, Patricia Briggs
The “Time of Hiding” ended a few years ago for the lesser fae—you know, garden sprites, brownies, selkies, wood sprites and pixies. Werewolves, vampires and witches are still maintaining secrecy although there are rumors that the werewolves are planning to come out next—despite the fact that the lesser fae have found themselves confined to reservations now that their nature is known.
Mercy Thompson is a shapeshifter, although the vampires refer to her as a walker. There aren’t many walkers left in the world—she’s never met another. She’s okay with that though—she accepted her unique status long ago. Things have been going fairly well for Mercy—she runs her own business, a garage she bought from a kind old gremlin. She’s repairing a van for one of the local undead and in return, he protects her from his fellow vampires. Then Mac shows up. He looks like a runaway and he smells like a werewolf—a recently-made werewolf. Mercy offers him a job and considers how best to introduce him to Adam, the local werewolf leader. Before introductions can be made however, Mac is attacked and Mercy has to call Adam to inform him that she has killed a werewolf in his territory.
Loved this book! While similar to Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series, Mercy Thompson’s universe is quite clearly hers. *I love the fact that Stefan, a ‘decent guy for a vampire’, has painted his van to look like the Mystery Machine from the Scooby Doo cartoons.
Mercy Thompson Series
- Moon Called
- Blood Bound
- Iron Kissed
- Bone Crossed
- Silver Borne
Alpha and Omega Series (a spin-off series)
- Alpha and Omega
- Cry Wolf
- Hunting Ground
http://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/books.shtml
June 9, 2009
· Filed under Just Read · Tagged Corambis, Felix, Labyrinth quartet, Mildmay, sarah monette
Exiled from his beloved Melusine, wizard Felix Harrowgate journeys to the land of Corambis to present himself for judgment to the Circle. His half-brother, Mildmay the Fox, accompanies him. Corambis has more to fear than the arrival of a wayward wizard and an ex-criminal however. A revolutionary’s desperate attempt to win independence for Caloxa has awoken ancient machinery and these mysterious mechanisms are draining the life from animals and people alike. Felix is powerful—but is he powerful enough to stop the Engine of Summerdown without sacrificing himself?
While satisfying, the conclusion to the Labyrinth quartet pales in comparison to the first three books. Corambis simply lacked the urgency of Melusine, The Virtu and The Mirador. The angst between Felix and Mildmay, while believable, is the same angst that we witnessed in books 1, 2 & 3. There is danger but for whatever reason, it didn’t feel as threatening as the dangers faced previously. Mildmay, one of my all-time favorite characters, had less of an independent storyline in Corambis; he spent most of his time in Felix’s shadow. All that said, it was satisfying to see Felix finally come to terms with himself; it was also good to see Mildmay consider a new path for himself.
May 26, 2009
· Filed under Just Read · Tagged Charlaine Harris, Dead and Gone, paranormal fiction, Sookie Stackhouse, vampire fiction
Aside of the activities of drainers and Fellowship of the Sun devotees, the “coming out” of the vampires has been well-accepted so the Weres decide that it’s time for them to come out of the closet as well. Sookie’s worried about her Were friends—but she’s even more worried about the two FBI agents who have just shown up on her doorstep. She’s finally been identified as one of the two people who helped search for survivors after the Pyramids-bombing and the FBI is very interested in her “abilities”.
Sookie doesn’t have much time to worry about the government’s intentions for her—the Fairies are now in the midst of a war and her partial-fey heritage makes her a prime target. If she survives the Fairies, and she convinces the government that she has no special abilities, she may just have time to check into the complications of being married to a vampire . . .
May 26, 2009
· Filed under Just Read · Tagged Midnight Sun, Stephenie Meyer, Twilight series, vampire fiction
Loved Edward’s perspective! I do hope that Meyer decides to revisit this story soon and complete it . . .
May 19, 2009
· Filed under Dancing with the Stars · Tagged Dancing With the Stars Finals, Dancing With the Stars Music Dances Scores, Dancing With the Stars Season 8
Dances/Music/Scores:
- All 3 couples danced the Paso to So What? (Pink) S&M 28, M&T 29, G&C 30
- Shawn & Mark danced their Freestyle to Do Your Thing (Jaxx) 30
- Melissa & Tony danced their Freestyle to Gonna Make You Sweat (C&C Music Factory) 27
- Gilles & Cheryl danced their Freestyle to Flashdance (Cara) 28
Thoughts: I liked Gilles & Cheryl’s freestyle the best—I thought they used the right mix of lifts and dancing.
May 15, 2009
· Filed under Lost · Tagged Lost Season Five, Lost theories
Who is Jacob? Jacob seems like a good guy but is that only because we know he’s a target? Sure, he paid for Kate’s lunchbox but he also let Locke get tossed out a window and let Nadia get hit by a car. What connects Jacob to the Losties? What is his overall ‘role’?
Who is Jacob’s neighbor/nemesis? Why does he hate Jacob? Why can’t he kill him? What happens to him after that first scene? Maybe Jacob’s nemesis sees him as a bad guy because he apparently can see what’s going to happen—but he lets at least some bad things happen anyway—maybe he hates him because Jacob occasionally intervenes. Maybe other people don’t play into the equation at all—maybe it’s just a power-thing and Jacob has the upper-hand. The two have apparently been around for some time—are they representatives of good & evil—or possibly free will & control? If you are supernatural, what keeps you in check? Would the Island have rejected the nemesis if he had raised his hand against Jacob? Did he try to at some point and that’s why we don’t see him after the first scene? Is he the raging disembodied thing that spoke to John in the cabin? Is he Smokey?
Richard. I’m inclined to like Richard again—he sought to protect Ellie so he does appear to care for the welfare of the Island’s leaders—whatever his faults, being a puppet-master doesn’t appear to be one of them. If anything, Richard may be too inclined to follow orders—he accepts John as his leader because John told him he was. He let John push him into revealing Jacob’s home even though it didn’t feel right.
Who’s been using Jacob’s cabin? What’s the significance of the interruption in the ash? Okay, I’m getting tired of typing ‘Jacob’s nemesis’ so maybe I’ll just start referring to him as Esau—or maybe JN. My guess is that JN has been using the cabin. Previously I had thought that the ash circle somehow protected Jacob from Smokey—is the break in the circle the result of Jacob leaving and/or JN arriving? Smokey and JN seem to be in league together.
Ben. I felt sorry for Ben for the first time since the young Ben episodes. Really sorry.
Locke. Hated Locke/JN.
The bomb. Love Miles—think the others are morons.
Jack & Kate. Ugh. Okay, Jack you lost Kate—tell her you’ve changed your ways and mean it—everyone will be better off. Juliet’s ‘if I never know you, you’ll never break my heart’ approach doesn’t work for you. Ugh.
Sawyer & Juliet. Heart-breaking.
What happened? We still have a season to go, so my guess is that the Losties are still pretty much where they are . . . only now, pregnancies result in death and there’s an all-out war on the island.
May 12, 2009
· Filed under Dancing with the Stars · Tagged Dancing With the Stars Favorite Couples, Dancing With the Stars Music Dances Scores, Dancing With the Stars Season 8, Dancing With the Stars Who's Going Home
Dances/Music/Scores:
- Melissa & Tony did the Quickstep to I Got Rhythm (Garland) 28
- Gilles & Cheryl did the Waltz to Come Away With Me (Jones) 30
- Shawn & Mark did the Argentine Tango to Asi Se Baila El Tango (Bailongo) 30
- Ty & Chelsie did the Viennese Waltz to Tuesday’s Gone (Skynyrd) 25
- Melissa & Tony did the Cha Cha Cha to Save the Last Dance (Buble) 27
- Gilles & Cheryl did the Salsa to I Know You Want Me (Pitbull) 30
- Shawn & Mark did the Jive to Reet Petite (Wilson) 26
- Ty & Chelsie did the Samba to Concrete & Clay (Unit 4 + 1) 23
Favorite Couples: Love them all! Loved Shawn & Mark’s Argentine Tango and Gilles & Cheryl’s Salsa—and who wouldn’t love seeing Ty shake his bottom in the Samba?
Who’s Going Home: As much as I adore him, it’s time for Ty to go—I am glad that he’s stayed as long as he has. This week was a bonus but he really shouldn’t make the finals.
Other Thoughts: Gilles & Cheryl should take the trophy—and either Melissa or Shawn should take 2nd.
May 9, 2009
· Filed under Lost · Tagged Lost Season Five, Lost theories
John: Is this really John? Smokey appears to be on his side—but we don’t know much about Smokey other than it’s always seemed to like John. Will killing Jacob ‘free’ him as Locke may feel that he was freed—or is this the event that traps Jacob? OR is John just testing Ben . . .
Richard: I’ve always wondered why he has accepted advisory roles to the leaders instead of going for the leadership himself—is he really just a master manipulator who moves things along and lets others take the fall when the time comes?
Jack: Jack is so determined to save those who have been lost on the island that he’s a little too eager to implement Faraday’s plan—sure, Faraday was a smart guy but he was also devastated by losses—he may not have been at the top of his game when he came up with the plan. Even at the top of his game, he made mistakes—both he and Teresa (?) suffered from his earlier time travel experiments. I have a bad feeling about this . . .
Kate: I like Kate. Despite what Jack said, I think he’s the guy she’s always wanted (long-term)—he just keeps messing things up. I don’t think she’s wrong to a) question his decision to blow up a bomb OR b) question his desire to erase the crash and all that followed. Bad things happened but a lot of good things happened as well—Jin and Sun rediscovered their love for each other, Jin got in touch with his inner-good guy again, Sawyer learned to value friendship, Charlie quit drugs and fell in love . . .
Sawyer/Juliet: I love Sawyer—and I love Sawyer and Juliet together. I don’t want them to be Adam & Eve (the skeletons from Season 1). It would be ironic if Adam & Eve turned out to be Jack & Kate (the two who discovered them).
Death of a major character: My guess is Hurley. He’s the only character not needing some sort of redemption—he’s always been a nice guy. Ghosts visited him regularly after he left the island—and Libby, said to say ‘hey’.
