Book Reviews by Today, I Read…

Remember how I said I grabbed a copy of Thirst (No. 1) by Christopher Pike because I thought I wouldn’t have to contend with any sparkly vampires? I believe I may have spoken a bit too soon.

“As I climb in my stolen vehicle, I notice that my arms and hands are glowing with a faint white light. The effect stuns me. My face is also glowing! In fact, all my exposed skin shines with the same iridescence as the full moon, which hangs low in the sky in the direction of Las Vegas.” Thirst No. 1 – pg. 450

While it’s not sparkling in the daylight a la Twilight, it’s still an iridescent vampire. A sparkly glowing rainbow vampire. I mean really? REALLY?!?

Not to give out any major spoilers, but it gets even more bizarre than that (hint: levitation). I can almost hear that gossamer thread suspending my disbelief crying out in pain.

The first book, The Last Vampire, was a breeze to read and I rather enjoyed it. The second book, Black Blood, took a bit of a nosedive compared to the first book (the voice changed completely), but pulled itself together and my hope was salvaged. The third book, Red Dice, is the one that happens to be tugging on my nerves in the worst way, but I’m hoping it will go the way of the second book and salvage itself. I don’t have much hope after the whole iridescent levitating vampire thing, though.

One problem, however, that I see throughout the books is the random romances. I can almost understand love at first sight and I understand why they’re necessary (they actually drive Sita’s personal story of self discovery forward), but they don’t properly fit and they are a major weakness to the entire story.

I started out loving this book, now I only like it. *sigh*

Sunday Sketch

There were three characters that I thought about drawing—Sita, Yaksha, or Krishna—but settled on Sita because it is her story after all.

This was a super quick sketch and I added hints of color to the eyes and lips because those were the two areas she usually focused on in the book—her powerful eyes and how she could seduce people by altering her voice.

It’s Thursday and you know what that means…another edition of Booking Through Thursday is here.

This week’s question is: What’s the worst book you’ve read recently? (I figure it’s easier than asking your all-time worst, because, well, it’s recent!)

I didn’t have to think too long to find an answer to this question…the prize would have to go to The Well by A. J. Whitten.

Usually I don’t finish books if I feel I will dislike them (since life is far too short to suffer bad books), but I was actually looking forward to reading The Well since I knew A. J. Whitten was Shirley Jump’s pseudonym and during the reading I kept praying it would get better. It didn’t.

The book has not yet been released, so I still have hope that it will go through at least one more round of editing.

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: Thirst No. 1 by Christopher Pike

First line: I am a vampire, and that is the truth.

Initial thoughts: I was walking through a department store and this book was sitting haphazardly on some magazines. Not being able to resist a book with an interesting cover that just seems to appear out of nowhere, I read the first few pages while standing there and decided to get it.

When I read the first line, though, I was about to put it back down; after the recent young adult vampire craze, I wasn’t sure whether I was ready to read yet another book featuring all too sexy vampires that possibly sparkle. But something pressed me forward and I realized this wasn’t the same ol’, same ol’ and as far as I could tell, there would be no sparkly vampires to contend with, so I dropped it in my basket.

I came to learn later that this is actually a two part compilation which combines the previously published six book series from the early 90’s. Knowing this makes me wonder where I was when these books were coming out…oh, that’s right, reading Anne Rice.

No. 1 includes The Last Vampire, Black Blood, and Red Dice. No. 2, which is scheduled for release Jan. 2010, includes Phantom, Evil Thirst, and Creatures of Forever.

Book description:

As to blood—

ah, blood, the whole subject fascinates me. I do like that as well, warm and dripping, when I am thirsty. And I am often thirsty….

Alisa has been in control of her urges for the five thousand years she has been a vampire. She feeds but does not kill, and she lives her life on the fringe to maintain her secret. But when her creator returns to hunt her, she must break her own rules in order to survive.

Her quest leads her to Ray. He is the only person who can help her; he also has every reason to fear her. Alisa must get closer to him to ensure her immortality. But as she begins to fall in love with Ray, suddenly there is more at stake than her own life….

Book Details: 624 pages; Simon Pulse; Pub. August 4, 2009

One of the purposes of this blog when I conceived it was to also expand my vocabulary through documenting new words. Unfortunately, I haven’t been keeping with that spirit…until now.

Not too long ago I came across a weekly meme that ought to do the trick courtesy of the Bermudaonion.

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading.

While reading the last two books, I knew I’d be finished with both of them by today, so I decided to take notes of the words in preparation. That means, for my first Wondrous Words Wednesday, the words will be taken from two titles.

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

The first book that perked up my eyeballs with its colorful vocabulary was Generation Dead by Daniel Waters.

variegated: adj. having patches, stripes, or marks of different colors.

viscous: adj. having the sticky consistency of glue.

brusque: adj. curt, blunt, or abrupt.

gravitas: n. seriousness or sobriety, as of conduct or speech.

rejoinder: n. reply; esp. an answer to a reply.

cortege: n. procession; esp. a funeral procession.

chambray: n. a lightweight clothing fabric of white and colored threads.

The Night Monster by James Swain

The next book that I yanked some interesting words from was The Night Monster by James Swain.

macadam: n. a roadway or pavement of small closely packed broken stone.

patina: n. 1) a green film formed on copper and bronze by exposure to moist air; 2) a superficial covering or exterior.

My apologies for not having the direct references from the texts—I’m usually very good about taking notes like that, but I must have been asleep at the wheel this past week. *sigh* X_X

Welcome to another (late) edition of The Sunday Salon…

It’s been a fair while since my last Sunday Salon post and I’m writing this one late at night rather than in the morning, but I say it’s better late than never.

Raaaawwwwr! Scary Psychologically Abnormal Monsters Abound

My current reading pleasure is The Night Monster by James Swain. I’m rounding the last fifty or so pages and will most likely finish it up tonight.

The story so far is about an ex-cop (detective) turned private investigator Jack Carpenter who’s on the hunt for a missing college basketball star, who also happens to be one of his daughter’s friends and teammates.

The case is personal to Jack because he discovers it’s connected to a case that he’d been investigating for sixteen years—a case involving an abduction that he hadn’t been able to stop.

So far, the book is great reading, though I’ll admit the first three-quarters of the book was fast-paced and even left me a little breathless and now that I’m nearing the end, and the action should be picking up, it seems to be trundling along at almost half-speed. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not necessarily a good thing either.

Even if the book’s pacing never picks up again, I still think it’s a great read. I hope to have my full review up some time this week.

And speaking of reviews I hope to have up this week…

It’s Twilight, with Zombies and Better Writing (and Only Marginally Better Editing)

I’ve finished reading Generation Dead by Daniel Waters and absolutely loved it. There were some laugh out loud funny moments and the characters are all highly well developed. The writing is tight and flows well.

What I found highly interesting is that it’s Twilight, with zombies. The pacing of the book is similar to Twilight in that it meanders for the first three-quarters of the book and then for the last quarter, the action suddenly picks up. The difference with this book and Twilight is that the action is built from the beginning. We see the villain and watch him ramp up his campaign of evil.

Tommy Williams is described as having pale skin, and despite being dead, it’s not decaying or foul-smelling—he smells rather earthy actually. He’s also good-looking, strong, and feels stone-hard and cold when he’s touched. Sound familiar? Yes, it’s a zombified version of Edward Cullen.

Phoebe Kendall is described as being very pale, doesn’t realize her own physical beauty, can’t seem to sort out her romantic feelings and is inexplicably drawn to the new zombie in town despite knowing next to nothing about him. Bella Swan anyone?

Finally there is Adam Layman who is a living, breathing, hot-blooded teenage boy who happens to be one of Phoebe’s best friends. Despite his feelings for Phoebe, which he chews down and swallows, he helps her get closer to Tommy simply so he can be near her. Sounds vaguely familiar…oh that’s right, Jacob Black.

I also spotted similarities to Alice and Rosalie Cullen, and a few other characters from Twilight sprinkled throughout. There were even a couple references to vampires that made me do a double-take and giggle.

At the end of the day, I could probably dissect both books and write an essay, but I’ll save that for some other time. Instead, I’ll share my Sunday sketch (yay! I finally did one…and on a Sunday) of the Generation Dead love triangle.

It originally had a bit of color to it (Phoebe’s eyes and lips), but since I didn’t scan it—took a picture with my digital camera because I’m lazy—I decided it looked better in black and white. Also, it shouldn’t be too difficult to see who I hope Phoebe ends up with—*cough*Adam*cough*

Smokin’ Hot Angel, Oh My!

I’ve started reading Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, but had to put the title aside and read a few other things. Why? I’m entirely too excited to read it. I’m worried that I’ll breeze through it and I would like to savor it.

When I finish the Night Monster, I believe I’ll take a few days to write reviews of all the books awaiting reviews (sad to say, quite a few) and then I’ll be picking up Hush, Hush again.

And…I may have a surprise in store for Today, I Read… newsletter subscribers coming up. That’s the only hint I’ll give.