strange and random happenstance

Death of an Unsung Hero by Tessa Alren
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: March 13th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
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The official patter:
"In 1916, the world is at war and the energetic Lady Montfort has persuaded her husband to offer his family’s dower house to the War Office as an auxiliary hospital for officers recovering from shell-shock with their redoubtable housekeeper Mrs. Jackson contributing to the war effort as the hospital’s quartermaster.

Despite the hospital’s success, the farming community of Haversham, led by the Montfort’s neighbor Sir Winchell Meacham, does not approve of a country-house hospital for men they consider to be cowards. When Captain Sir Evelyn Bray, one of the patients, is found lying face down in the vegetable garden with his head bashed in, both Lady Montfort and Mrs. Jackson have every reason to fear that the War Office will close their hospital. Once again the two women unite their diverse talents to discover who would have reason to murder a war hero suffering from amnesia.

Brimming with intrigue, Tessa Arlen's Death of an Unsung Hero brings more secrets and more charming descriptions of the English countryside to the wonderful Lady Montfort and Mrs. Jackson series."

More Lady Montfort and Mrs. Jackson! Oh, and lots more English countryside!

Whatever Happened to Margo? by Margaret Durrell
Published by: Penguin
Publication Date: March 13th, 2018
Format: Kindle, 336 Pages
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The official patter:
"In 1947, returning to the UK with two young children to support, Margaret Durrell starts a boarding house in Bournemouth. But any hopes of respectability are dashed as the tenants reveal themselves to be a host of eccentrics: from a painter of nudes to a pair of glamorous young nurses whose late-night shifts combined with an ever-revolving roster of gentleman callers leading to a neighbourhood rumour that Margo is running a brothel. Margo's own two sons, Gerry and Nicholas, prove to be every bit as mischievous as their famous Uncle Gerald - and he himself returns periodically with weird and wonderful animals, from marmosets to monkeys, that are quite unsuitable for life in a Bournemouth garden."

Recently I found myself wondering what DID happen to Margo Durrell, which led to me finding out about this book she wrote which was, until now, out of print. Can't wait!

The Heart of Mars by Paul Magrs
Published by: Firefly Press Ltd
Publication Date: March 13th, 2018
Format: Paperback, 244 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Lora faces a dramatic final battle between the Ancient Heart of Mars, which holds her family prisoner, a repository of all the life force of the planet, and the Hybrids of the City Inside. Both claim they are on the side of the humans and the Ancients have the power to restore their starships to working order, if they can only learn the secret of star-flight. Reunited with her family but caught in the middle of the conflict, will Lora decide to stay on Mars or leave forever? And what part has their ancient robot, Toaster, still to play in the fate of the red planet?"

I have really loved this series since book one, and while I'm sad to see it end, better a good ending then a series that overstays it's welcome!

Kim Reaper: Grim Beginnings by Sarah Graley
Published by: Oni Press
Publication Date: March 13th, 2018
Format: Paperback, 112 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Part-Time Grim Reaper. Full-Time Cutie! Like most university students, Kim works a part-time job to make ends meet. Unlike most university students, Kim's job is pretty cool: she's a grim reaper, tasked with guiding souls into the afterlife.

Like most university students, Becka has a super intense crush. Unlike most university students, Becka's crush is on a beautiful gothic angel that frequents the underworld. Of course, she doesn't know that.

Unaware of the ghoulish drama she's about to step into, Becka finally gathers up the courage to ask Kim on a date! But when she falls into a ghostly portal and interrupts Kim at her job, she sets off a chain of events that will pit the two of them against angry cat-dads, vengeful zombies, and perhaps even the underworld itself. But if they work together, they just might make it... and maybe even get a smooch in the bargain."

Was anyone else obsessed with the TV show Reaper to such an extent that ANYTHING with "Reaper" in the title is now appealing? 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Death of an Unsung Hero, Gerald Durrell, Kim Reaper, Lora Trilogy, Lost on Mars, Margo, Paul Magrs, Reaper, Sara Graley, Tessa Arlen, The Heart of Mars, Tuesday Tomorrow, Whatever Happened to Margo?

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer (Necromancer Book 1) by Lish McBride
Published by: Square Fish
Publication Date: May 8th, 2012
Format: Paperback, 343 Pages
Rating: ★★
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Sam is nothing much. He's a skateboarding slacker who wasn't cut out for college and eeks out a living at the local fast food joint with his friends, most of whom crash in his minuscule apartment. Everything changes when he breaks a tail light of a swanky car in the parking lot during a heated game of spud hockey, wherein potatoes can do serious damage to vintage cars if you're a crappy shot. The owner of the car, Douglas, is not pleased, but even more, shocked when he encounters Sam, who has more in common with Douglas then he could ever imagine. Sam might not know it yet, but he's a Necromancer, and so is Douglas. Necromancers don't really reside near each other or play well others, and Douglas is quick to make this point to Sam when he delivers the head of Sam's friend Brooke to his shitty apartment's door. Sam now has to figure out the truth that has been hidden from him his whole life and hope that he will survive his run in with Douglas, as well as other varieties of beasties he thought only lived in science fiction.

It's not a good sign when the best part of a book is an amusing title. But even the title loses a bit of it's luster when the song title gag is repeated at the start of every chapter. I had not heard of Lish McBride when I went to one of the tour stops of the Fierce Reads Tour back in 2012. I will admit I was solely there to stalk Marissa Meyer, she of the Lunar Chronicles, but all four of the authors present made a good impression, Lish was perhaps the most memorable. She was amusing, sarcastic, laid back, and had an obvious love of sleep, which she was needing desperately, and that's something I could seriously relate to at the time being in the middle of an amazingly busy time in my life, so much so that even taking the day off to go to an author signing resulted in me getting hives. The event had me wanting to read all the authors books instantly, but Lish's more then any of the others.

I thought to myself, if she could just capture part of herself on the page then it would be a truly awesome read. Sadly the only place I could sense Lish's personality was in the "Go Fish: Questions for the Author" extra at the back of the book. The book wasn't bad, it wasn't good, it was just flat. It felt like the book had had the soul drained out of it. I'm not sure how it got to this state, perhaps through over editing as Lish's personality was systematically stripped out of the book so that it lacked anything recognizable from her. Sometimes too much editing can have this effect... but for such a memorable person she has written a very forgettable book that was Reaper meets Mercy Thompson with the head in the box from season two of Deadwood and the job prospects of Being Human with a little Kevin Smith and a few moments of unforgettable weirdness. Hello zombie panda!

The writing style of the book also really grated on me. I have issues when authors are being "cute" or "clever" with their narration. In other words, when they tend to waffle back and forth between 1st and 3rd person. For every instance that it works, Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus, there are hundreds of instances where it fails, I'm looking at you Scalzi and that crap ending to Redshirts! Here it fails. Not on the epicness of the Scalzi scale, but it still doesn't work. The only way for this technique to really work is for it to flow with the story, but Lish seemed to be forcing it. The switching up felt like it was a writing exercise, like homework, and seeing as this book started out as part of her thesis to graduate with an MFA in fiction... that's just what it is. Homework. Do you like reading other people's homework? I didn't think so.

Yet I think, seeing as this is a first book, I could have been forgiving, I could have overlooked a lot of the flaws if it weren't for Douglas. Every book does need an antagonist. They're the stock villain that our hero must fight and whose downfall we root for. But just because you're the bad guy doesn't mean that you can just skate through the book. Oh no! A bad guy has to be just as dynamic for a book to be balanced. And I don't think my hatred of Douglas is based on the fact that his sections of the book where the ones in third person... though that did annoy me. On second thought though, just the fact that the villain has his own chapters annoys the hell out of me because it takes away the mystery knowing what he's up to, knowing his motives, and knowing how he plans to mess with Sam. In fact that might be just a general issue with this book, not having mystery makes you not in a rush to get to that last page but slowly amble in a way that you could stop or start at any time.

But really, I meant to be talking about Douglas. He's unrepentant evil. There is nothing interesting about him. He is not compelling, he is not dynamic, he is just evil. Sometimes the most fun in a book is gotten in uncovering a back story, finding a grain of goodness, where good turned evil. But the only person that Douglas reminded me of was Patrick Bateman in American Psycho... a comparison that isn't in Douglas's favor. Because of the structure of American Psycho, by being in Bateman's mind we get a depth, even amongst the evil. Douglas was just flat, blah, evil. Evil for evils sake and nothing more. I just hated him outright. In fact, I hated him so much I didn't want to read any part of the book he was in. If you're reading a book the worst thing that could happen is to have a character that makes the book so unenjoyable that you would rather put the book down then read another line about them. While Sam was meh in my opinion, just a few lines in a Douglas chapter and I was begging for Sam's return! I just hope Douglas stays dead, but via horror conventions, I know he's not. Douglas is truly sapping my will to pick up Necromancing the Stone...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: American Psycho, Being Human, Deadwood, Fierce Reads, Hold Me Closer Necromancer, John Scalzi, Kevin Smith, Lish McBride, Marissa Meyer, Mercy Thompson, Necromancer, Necromancing the Stone, Reaper

Name: Jessica Stroup

Dream Character Casting for the Lauren Willig Fantasy Movie Adaptation: Julia Conley

First Impression: Reaper. Damn, I really loved this way too short lived show with gay demons played by Ken Marino and Michael Ian Black. The show was about Sam, a normal guy who finds out he's the son of Satan. One of his love interests, played by Jessica Stroup, may or may not have been his half sister and yet another of Satan's childern. Seriously, it's funny and a little sick all in one.

Why they'd be the perfect actor for the Lauren Willig Dream Movie Adaptation: There's something no nonsense and tough about her that I think really gets to the heart of who Julia is.

Lasting Impression: The Following. Joining this deliciously campy show about a serial killer and his followers in season two as Kevin Bacon's niece Sam, she's a kick ass female Ryan Hardy who better hook up with Mike, that's all I'm saying.

What else you've seen them in: She's been around for years popping up here and there. When she showed up on The Following it was really bothering me where I had seen her before until I was able to get on imdb and go, oh yeah, Reaper! Jessica has been on Grey's Anatomy, Family Guy, True Blood in the memorable opening scene of the series before it went to shit, among others.

Can't believe it's them: 90210. Seriously, why, just why?

Wish they hadn't: Again, shall we discuss 90210? I tried to watch this when it came back and barely lasted to the reveal of who is the father of Kelly's baby, it's Dylan by the way. Just no.

Bio: Born in South Carolina, she headed to LA at the age of 17, turning down a scholarship to the University of Georgia. Taking acting classes she was soon being cast in horror movies, which also happens to be a genre she likes, with The Shining being a favorite film. She's one of the characters I hope will survive on The Following to come back next season. But if she doesn't... maybe we can get this whole Lauren Willig dream movie franchise off the ground?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 90210, James Purefoy, Jessica Stroup, Julia Conley, Lauren Willig, Reaper, That Summer, That Summer Spotlight, The Following, The Shining, True Blood

So tonight was the second season and possible series finale of Reaper on the CW. This makes me once again sad for the fate of television, but not exactly surprised, because television execs seem unable to understand clever witty dialogue or concept shows that don't revolve around humiliating some poor bastard in some reality type setting. If you've never watched Reaper, the show is about Sam Oliver, a 20 something slacker (he dropped out of college because it made him sleepy) who works at the Work Bench with his best friends Sock and Ben and the love of his life Andy. The twist is his parents sold his soul to the Devil and now he works as a bounty hunter in various dangerous situations recapturing souls that have escaped from hell. The show could have gotten worn out really fast, despite the cleverness and obvious "Supernatural" Clerks feel to it (Kevin Smith was involved in this series) but it was able to remain fresh and reinvent inself and grow. The show really started to get good when they broke away from the monster-a-week (or in this case soul-a-week) pattern and concentrated on creating a mythology, the same way Angel did. The show brought in subplots of demons working to overthrow the devil and Sam being Satan's son, not just his employee.

So here's my ode to Reaper, the best and the worst (possible spoilers if you haven't watched both seasons yet).

Best:
The Monkey Dance - Love Sam in that little fez.
College - It DOES make you sleepy.
Ray Wise - Sheer genius casting this man as Satan, he knows how to balance humor and horror, watch Twin Peaks for further proof, if you should need it.
Steve and Tony - Ken Marino and Michael Ian Black, enough said!
The Way of Steve - Cancun all the way! Plus those karaoke videos.
Nina - I thought I'd hate Ben's new girl, but I really ended up liking her.
Ben's Family - They didn't talk to the uncle that lived with them, priceless.
Gladys - DMV demon I love you.
Patton Oswalt - Surprisingly not annoying.
Ted - Awesome, total loser, and he dressed up as Captain Jack for Halloween. Almost wish he was still a grunt at the Work Bench.
Sock laying the beat down on the old lady - Wrenchy Bench rules!
Satan giving Sam a pony - The first real fatherly thing he's done.
Morgan's death - And the cult of Steve did eat the son of Satan, awesome.
Andy sells her soul - Finally putting her on an even keel with Sam, now she has nothing to be squeamish about, they are in this together.

Worst:
Sock's Mom's house - It just didn't work having the guys living there.
Ben's Grandma - Changing actresses is totally stupid, we are not dumb, so don't treat us like we are.
Mitch Peleggi - His career has been over for years, please don't make him play X-Files esque characters on other shows.
Sam's Dad post-death - Just lame, I know he served a purpose in the end, but whatever.
Sam's Mom - Why haven't we seen her lately?
Sam's Brother - What ever happened to him?
Gaeta on Reaper - You died on BSG FINALLY, no showing up on my other shows filmed in Vancouver! You've been on this and Smallville, I see you on Psych, and I'm coming to get you!
Ben's dream girl - Sure a demon is fun and I like Nina, but just ditching Cassidy and not explaining it for a few episodes, lame.
Josie's disappearance - Explain please! If you couldn't afford her a line of dialogue would suffice.
Sam as Satan's son - Once it was mentioned it was instantly accepted as truth, I don't quite agree.
Sam and Andy - They lack chemistry, except in the season finale, I really believed them then...maybe it was Andy finally let loose of her inhibitions.

I'm really going to miss this show if it's gone. Yes it was uneven with some episodes falling flat, but overall the show was great, always good for a laugh and it never insulted your intelligence. Also a note, if the only way they can save the show is by doing the syndication deal which would most likely result in the loss of Tyler Labine, aka Sock, there is no way they should do it, without the core three, Sock, Ben and Sam, there is no show.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 3:03 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Ken Marino, Ray Wise, Reaper, Tyler Labine