No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong (‘Women of the Otherworld’ series Book #7)

  No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong

‘Women of the Otherworld’ series Book #7

U.S. Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages – Publisher: Spectra (February 26, 2008 ) – Language: English – ISBN-10: 0553588370 – ISBN-13: 978-0553588378

CDN Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages – Publisher: Seal Books (Feb 26 2008 ) – ISBN-10: 0770429807 – ISBN-13: 978-0770429805

Back of the Book reads:

In her acclaimed Women of the Otherworld series, bestselling author Kelley Armstrong creates a present day in which humans unwittingly coexist with supernatural beings. Now, in this spellbinding new novel, a beautiful necromancer must come to terms with her power – and an evil she never through possible.

It’s the most anticipated reality television event of the season: three spiritualists gathered together in one house to raise the ghost of Marilyn Monroe. For celebrity medium Jaime Vegas, it’s her best shot at the celebrity holy grail: a TV show of her own. Because, unlike her colleagues, who are more style than substance, Jaime is the real thing.

Yet reluctant to upstage her fellow spiritualists, Jaime suppresses her talents, as she has always done. But something is lurking in the gardens behind the house: trapped spirits without a voice. And for the first time, Jaime understands what it means to be haunted. When events culminate in a psychic showdown, she must use her darkest power to defeat a shocking enemy – one whose force comes from the last realm she expected…

No Humans Involved at Amazon.com

No Humans Involved at Chapters.ca

No Humans Involved at Amazon.ca

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9-Oct-08 to 12-Oct-08

Review: I can talk to dead people.

Jaime Vegas is a true necromancer. She can raise the dead if she has to. She can see and talk to ghosts. Only problem is, she can’t control seeing them. Constantly, everywhere, they see her, she pretends not to see them. Sure, she can deliver a message for them, but she can’t figure out why they’re dead, who killed them, what killed them, and would prefer not to even try. Now part of the interracial council, Jaime gives her feedback when it’s needed and wanted. However, she still doesn’t think they take her as seriously as she’d like them to.

Jeremy is a werewolf, the pack’s Alpha. As the Alpha, he’s constantly being protected, bodyguard and otherwise, for no one in the pack wants to lose him, and those not part of the pack wants to see him dead. This time he meets up with Jaime without protection, just ‘for a visit’. While he’s slow at getting there, he wants her. He just doesn’t want to put the risks on her of what a pack Alpha means; the constant need to be protected, always at risk, for the easiest way to get to Jeremy would be through Jaime. But she’s been wanting him since they met, and this time Jaime is determined to get him.

On the set of an anticipated TV show, something strange happens. Seems ghosts are trying to get her attention, but she can’t see them. She talks to them, but they don’t seem to understand or hear her. And other than indistinguishable whispers, she can’t understand them either.

With the help of mostly Eve, Kristof, Hope, Jeremy and Karl, they delve into the mystery, unable to understand why these ghosts are unlike those she’s ever encountered and wanting to lay them to rest. With a little sleuthing, they discover the ghosts are those of children, ghosts who’s energy has been taken away, making them unable to appear in corporeal form, unable to be heard even by Eve and Kristof. But finding out who and why is enough to shock everyone.

I liked the mystery involved in this one. I’d have never guessed – not true, LOL! I got an inkling of the who, just not quite the why and how. It was interesting to see how the plot worked out – definitely different from your usual run of the mill paranormal story. What I thought cute was how Jaime was portrayed like Daphne from the Scooby-Doo cartoon – a wimp, always the one in trouble, getting kidnapped and needing rescuing. But  the courage Jaime finds to defeat them was right-on perfect. I couldn’t expect better.

I liked the banter between Jaime and Jeremy, especially the way she teased him. I do feel that there could have beem a little more spark between them. While it was strong, it wasn’t enough. Could have used a little more ‘oomph’ between the two of them.

And while the book is full of the usual: horror, action, adventure, suspense, mystery, satire, there were little inconsistencies that you catch and just let go. But I thought it was a little too neat, like it was hastily written. Too many tidy coincidences and not enough twists. And I know I’m not the only one who’d have loved to get more of Jaime’s background. You get snippets of her past, but it’s like the info barely made a dent on who Jaime is. Could’ve really used more on her.

Otherwise, another hit for the series. Keep ‘em coming, Kelley!

Rating:

White Night by Jim Butcher (‘The Dresden Files’ series Book #9)

 White Night  by Jim Butcher

‘The Dresden Files’ series Book #9

Paperback: 480 pages – Publisher: Roc (February 5, 2008 ) – Language: English – ISBN-10: 045146155X – ISBN-13: 978-0451461551

Back of the Book reads:

Someone is targeting Chicago’s magic practitioners, the members of the supernatural underclass who don’t poessess enough power to become full-fledged wizards. Some have vanished. Others appear to be victims of suicide. But now the culprit has left a calling card at one of the crime scenes – a message for Harry Dresden.

Harry sets out to find the killer, but his investigation turns up evidence pointing to the one suspect he cannot possibly believe guilty: his half brother, Thomas. To clear his brother’s name, Harry rushes into a supernatural power struggle that renders him outnumbered, outclassed, and dangerously susceptible to temptation.

And Harry knows that if he screws this one up, people will die – and one of them will be his brother…

White Night at Amazon.com

White Night at Chapters.ca

White Night at Amazon.ca

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21-Sep-08 to 24-Sep-08

Review: A more complex Harry Dresden.

Murphy calls Dresden to the scene of what is being classified as a suicide. But something doesn’t feel right. And with his own brand of investigation, manages to find a hidden message: one that even the police would never have found. A message for him. Exodus 22:18. ‘Suffer not a witch to live.’ Murphy things perhaps a religious fanatic. Harry doesn’t think so.

As Harry investigates, he’s finding more of the ‘supernatural underclass’ are turning up either dead or missing. And he doesn’t like the looks of things. A security tape points right at Thomas, Harry’s half brother, and Harry refuses to believe it. His brother wouldn’t do that. But finding Thomas is an investigation in itself ~ Harry can’t find him and he’s started to get worried.

As Harry delves deeper, he and Murphy are targeted more and more, and he’s suddenly thinking of a bigger picture. There’s more to these supposed suicides, he’s sure of it.

Without warning, Elaine pops into the story, surprising Harry with the actual amount of strength she has as a wizard. However, she’s keeping a low profile; she doesn’t trust men, refuses to be controlled by them again, and is staying on the down-low, refusing to call attention to herself. She wants nothing to do with the Wardens or the White Council and will do anything to keep it that way.

The investigation grows more complex, time is running out, and Harry has to figure out a way to stop the threat of a bigger war.

Harry knows he can’t do it alone. But is he willing to throw his friends in the fray and watch as they get hurt or, worse yet, die?

I saw a different side of Harry in this novel, and at times, he even scared me. Harry is doing what he can to teach Molly the different between doing something right for the right reasons, knowing that if she screws up, it would be the end of the road for them both. But Molly doesn’t really understand what Harry’s trying to teach ~ that is until two seriously intense moments between them. One of them scared the daylights out of me – and I’m not a character in the book. Disturbing is just one word I could use to describe it. Even Murphy demands an explanation after witnessing that episode. And yet he finally manages to get through Molly’s thick skull – by golly, she’s learning. And while teaching Molly, Harry is brought back to his roots, revising everything he had learned at her age, and is finding new ways to deal with his magic. LOL, even patience has a new meaning to him.

When Harry and Murphy confront a group of women for answers to their questions, only more questions pop up. With the help of Lasciel, Harry discovers that there was someone else in the room, one that veiled themselves to keep from being recognized. Low and behold, Elaine had come to the aid of a woman seeking her help to protect her and the others. Then he realizes something: she’s stronger than she’s pretending to be. After a few questions answered by Ramirez, now Harry’s certain. Finding out why she’s keeping on the down-low is almost hurtful.

As the investigation goes deeper, Harry discovers that three of the other houses are attempting to overthrow the king of the White Court, wanting to stop the peace talks and throw their weight in behind the Red Court and their war with the Council. Harry is desperate to stop that from happening – should the war continue, and the threat of a Black Council rise, it would be the end of Harry’s world. And he’s determined not to see that happen, no matter the cost.

With the help of Molly, Murphy, Thomas, Ramirez, even Lasciel and Marcone and some of his men (including Hendricks), Harry puts an end to the fight. But it’s a really close one.

Action scenes are incredible ~ I truly love watching/reading Harry in his battles. The end of the last fight scene was fantastic. The way he got through to Molly was damn near scary. At first, I wasn’t happy with the way he did it, even though I understand why. He even reasons with Lasciel, making her understand his point about it all. His agreement with Marcone was something of a surprise, I most certainly didn’t see that coming. And the more and more he investigates with Murphy, the more and more she’s understanding everything. I’m glad that Harry and Ramirez talked. Harry knows not to trust anyone, and yet Ramirez gets fired up that Harry hadn’t trusted him. Carlos even began to suspect Harry. Whew, glad that was put to rest.

What I like about Butchers novels is that, now matter how he does it, there is always something new to learn in about in Harry’s world. In earlier novels, we learn the differences between the vampires: White Court, Red Court and Black Court, and what kind of vampires they are. In this one, we learn the differences between the families/houses in the White Court – sort of made me think of the mob. These novels are addictive … darn near unputdownable. The dialogue is smooth, Harry is witty and fun to read. The plot simply flows – there’s no slowing down. There’s never the same old, same old. Always something new, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Rating:

Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher (‘The Dresden Files’ series Book #8)

 Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher

‘The Dresden Files’ series Book #8

Mass Market Paperback: 496 pages – Publisher: Roc (February 6, 2007) – Language: English – ISBN-10: 0451461037 – ISBN-13: 978-0451461032

Back of the Book reads:

There’s no love lost between Harry Dresden, the only wizard in the Chicago phone book, and the White Council of Wizards, who find him brash and undisciplined. But war with the vampires has thinned their ranks, so the Council has drafted Harry as a Warden and assigned him to look into rumors of black magic in the Windy City.

As Harry adjusts to his new role, another problem arrives in the form of the tattooed and pierced daughter of an old friend, all grown-up and already in trouble. Her boyfriend is the only suspect in what looks like a supernatural assault straight out of a horror film. Malevolent entities that feed on fear are loose in Chicago, but it’s all in a day’s work for a wizard, his faithful dog, and a talking skull named Bob…

Proven Guilty at Amazon.com

Proven Guilty at Chapters.ca

Proven Guilty at Amazon.ca

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17-Sep-08 to 20-Sep-08

Review: And I love horror movies because?

Rougly a year after his escapes in Dead Beat, Harry Dresden is back. We open in the middle of a warehouse, Harry and several other Wardens tight in a circle, all staring down at a young man, a wizard who used his magic for darker purposes. Found guilty, he is beheaded, as is the direction of the White Council. If a wizard is proven guilty of breaking one of the seven laws of the White Council, if sentenced to death, it is carried out immediately. And this seriously disturbs Harry. To Harry, the young man was no more than a child in wizard age, and was never taught right from wrong. But a soulgaze on the young man proved there was no helping him and it had to be done. Still, it doesn’t sit well with Harry.

As he is leaving, he is handed a note from the Gatekeeper. Black magic is afoot in Chicago, and as the regional Warden, it is his duty to find out the who, why and stop them. And just when Harry is about to start his investigation with a new and powerful ‘toy’, Molly, the daughter of Michael, an longtime friend of Harry’s, calls, begging for help. And true to Harry’s form, he can’t pass up a ‘damsel in distress’ and, against his own judgement, runs to her aid. However, she isn’t the one in trouble. Her boyfriend, Nelson, is. Seems he was arrested for beating up an older gentlemen, simply because he was the only one in the room. No blood on his clothes, no break in the skin of his knuckles… Something is very strange, and Harry’s determined to find out what’s going on.

The first of many areas, Harry glimpses around the bathroom of a conference centre in a hotel, using his Sight. What’s disturbing is the residual reflection he sees – and doesn’t like it one bit. The hotel is very busy, what with the SPLATTERCON!!! horror convention going on, and while talking with Rawlins outside the bathroom, something else goes down, and Harry runs to find out what.

With more questions and answers, the attacks are made by phonophages, made to look like the ‘bad guys’ fron the horror movies. Phonophages are sprirtual entities that feed on fear and are being either pulled or pushed from the Nevernever. The higher the fear, the more powerful they become. Harry needs to do two things. Stop the phonophages from attacking and find out who’s sending them.

The deeper we get into the story, the more complicated it gets. Just when Harry thinks he’s got it beat, a twist slaps him back – Molly has been kidnapped by more phonophages and is now being held in Winter’s Queen Mab’s ‘headquarters’, Arctis Tor, and with the help of Molly’s mother Charity, Murphy and Thomas, Summer Lady Lily and Summer Knight Fix, they go in and get Molly back. Once they’ve retreated and hare back with Father Forthill, Molly is given a choice, one that she has to make up herself. Can Harry handle what the Council might do to her?

Oh, how I love this series! Nothing is ever as it seems, and Harry is constantly battling others as well as himself. He relies heavily on his instincts and does the best he can with what he’s got. Considerate as he is, he’ll do whatever is necessary and deal with the consequences later.

Non-stop action, the plot not only keeps Harry on his toes, but the reader as well. No one can predict how the story is going to turn. Add in horror movie characters, add in magic and control of that magic and it makes for one heck of a story. What I truly like is how his personal life is entertwined with all that action, between Harry and Murphy, Harry and Molly and her family, Harry and Thomas, and Harry and his feelings of the Wardens and the White Council, Harry and Ebenezer, you not only get a real sense of what Harry’s dealing with, but you truly understand what it is about him; why he is the way he is, why he thinks the way he thinks. As a bookaholic who loves many different genres, Harry is one of the top characters where a reader truly gets the ‘inside look’ at the main character.

I can’t ask for better. I can only ask that Mr. Butcher keeps Harry coming. Serve me up more, please!

Rating:

Dead Beat by Jim Butcher (‘The Dresden Files’ series Book #7)

 Dead Beat by Jim Butcher

‘The Dresden Files’ series Book #7

Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages – Publisher: Roc (May 2, 2006) – Language: English – ISBN-10: 045146091X – ISBN-13: 978-0451460912

Back of the Book reads:

Paranormal investigations are Harry Dresden’s business, and Chicago is his beat as he tries to bring law and order to a world of wizards and monsters that exists alongside everyday life. And though most inhabitants of the Windy City don’t believe in magic, the Special Investigations department of the Chicago PD knows better.

Karrin Murphy is the head of SI and Harry’s good friend. So when a killer vampire threatens to destroy Murphy’s reputation unless Harry does her bidding, he has no choice. The vampire wants the Word of Kemmler (whatever that is) and all the power that comes with it. Now Harry is in a race against time – and six merciless necromancers – to find the Word before Chicago experiences a Halloween night to wake the dead…

Dead Beat at Amazon.com

Deat Beat at Chapters.ca

Dead Beat at Amazon.ca

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15-Sep-08 to 17-Sep-08

Review: Fast-paced, action-packed and witty, a T-Rex of a ride!

First, it starts off with an uncomfortable moment between Harry and Murphy. She’s asked him to water her house plants during the weekend ~ while she’s in Hawaii with none other than Kincaid. While Karrin deserves a vacation, Harry wishes it wasn’t with Kincaid.

To make matters worse, he receives a note from Mavra, a vampire from the Black Court, the vampire that previously tried to kill him. She has pictures of Murphy doing things a cop isn’t supposed to be doing while helping Harry and Kincaid, and if Harry refuses to do Mavra’s bidding, she’ll send the pictures to the police. Harry can’t let that happen, and he has only three days to find what Mavra’s looking for – all without help.

However, Mavra isn’t the only one looking for the Word of Kemmler, a book written by Kemmler himself, a powerful necromancer, that had been taken out ages ago by the White Council. For necromancy is the worst kind of magic, and to use such magic is to break the laws binding all wizards.

Between saving Butters’s butt and and fighting off zombies, Harry has to find a way to stop the other six necromancers all wanting what Mavra wants – all of Kemmler’s powers. But Harry can’t do that job alone and finally calls in the White Council to help, only to find out what three-quarters of all the Wardens have been eliminated by the Red Court. How did the Red Court know where to hit? Is there a traitor among the Senior Council? And why are the necromancers looking for the Word of Kemmler now, of all times? Captain Luccio, the head of Wardens, desperately needs the help, and Harry becomes a Warden, something he never thought he’d accept. But will Harry find the answer and the power to stop what’s about to happen? One can only hope.

And true to his word, Harry does.

Action-packed and fast-paced, this novel is a joyride. For three days, there is fight after fight, question after question, all with very little results until closer to the final battle. And just when you think it’s hopeless, Harry uses the necromancer’s magic against them, with a T-Rex of all things (and I swear, it was the best part of the book!) to fight the good fight.

And just to make matters more difficult, Harry has his own inner battles to fight as well, along with wanting to tell Lasciel (a Denarian from a previous novel) to take a hike and not being able to. Yes, he needs her help, but the cost would be astronomical, and it’s a cost he doesn’t want to pay. But without any kind of help from her, he knows, deep down, that he won’t be able to get the job done.

Along with his witty comebacks and remarks making this reader bark out with laughter, it’s darn near impossible to put down any of the Dresden Files novels and not think about them. An excellent read for sure, it has everything that I crave in a good book: mystery, action, suspense, magic, feelings, wit and inner turmoil, all wrapped up together. This is definitely a series for the paranormal/supernatural/sci-fi/fantasy lovers out there who love a good book. High recommendation!

Rating:

Death Masks by Jim Butcher (‘The Dresden Files’ series Book #5)

 Death Masks by Jim Butcher

‘The Dresden Files’ series Book #5

Mass Market Paperback: 378 pages – Publisher: Roc (August 5, 2003) – Language: English – ISBN-10: 0451459407 – ISBN-13: 978-0451459404

Back of the Book reads:

HARRY DRESDEN – WIZARD

Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.

Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only practicing professional wizard, should be happy that business is pretty good for a change. But now he’s getting more than he bargained for:

A duel with the Red Court of Vampires’ champion, who must kill Harry to end the war between vampires and wizards…

Professional hit men using Harry for target practice…

The missing Shroud of Turin…

A handless and headless corpse the Chicago police need identified…

Not to mention the return of Harry’s ex-girlfriend Susan, who’s still struggling with her semivampiric nature. And who seems to have a new man in her life.

Some days, it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed. No matter how much you’re charging.

Death Masks at Amazon.com

Death Masks at Chapters.ca

Death Masks at Amazon.ca

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30-Aug-08

Review: ‘Unputdownable!’

The war still rages between the Red Court of Vampires and the wizards. Only now, the stakes (no pun intended) have been risen (again, no pun intended); Ortega, a duke of the Red Court, has come to Chicago with a purpose. A duel between himself a Harry – a way of drawing the war to a close. However, there’s another purpose to that – one that Harry manages to figure out.

Father Vincent, a priest from the Vatican approaches Harry, looking to hire him to find a holy relic stolen from the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, Italy. The Shroud of Turin, to be exact, believed to be the burial cloth used by Joseph of Aramithea to wrap the body of Christ after the Crucifixtion. The thieves, known as the Churchmice, are selling to the highest bidder. And who do you suppose that is? The Shroud needs to be found before the exchange can be complete, and before someone or something ‘evil’ gest their hands on it first.

Susan returns, supposedly to get some of her things and say good-bye.

Murphy calls, needing Harry’s help. Seems a handless, headless corpse has been found, but there are stranger things connected to it.

All in less than 24 hours. Now Harry has to fight a duel to the death, find a missing Shroud, somehow say goodbye to Susan forever, and fight something even more sinister than he’s ever faced before. Yep, sometimes it really just doesn’t pay to get out of bed.

I can’t help myself or stop myself returning to this series, book after book. Butcher sure knows how to write them. Harry is a character all his own. He doesn’t believe he’s courageous, and yet he stands up for what he believes in; That woman shouldn’t be used or violated, that weaker beings deserve to be defended, and that evil doesn’t deserve the light of day (no pun intended). Harry is determined, whether scared spitless or not, he’s chivalrous, has his own code of ethics and morality, no matter what is against him. But it’s the way that he reverts to sarcasm and smart-ass jokes when he’s tense or threatened that have me laughing. The things that he says is pure Harry – there is no way to describe it. You have to read it yourself.

Harry is clever, his mind figures out things even when it’s at the last possible second, and I love to seem him persevere against all odds.

Lots of action, magica or not. a romance that breaks your heart, several mysteries, pure suspense and plenty of activity to keep a reader glued to each page. This reader is truly a big fan or Harry Dresden.

Rating: