A TOUCH OF DEAD: A Sookie Stackhouse Collection

Sookie Stackhouse enjoys her job as a cocktail waitress in Merlotte's, a small-town bar in small-town Bon Temps, deep in Louisiana. She's funny and pretty and, thanks to her grandmother, she's very well-mannered - but since not many people truly appreciate her ability to read their minds, the guys haven't exactly been beating down her door... And then along came Bill, tall, dark and handsome - and Sookie couldn't 'hear' a word he was thinking. He was exactly the type of guy she'd been waiting all her life for. Of course, Bill had a disability of his own: fussy about his food, not into suntans, bit of a night person: yep, Bill was a vampire. But at least now Sookie knows there ARE guys she can date who won't worry about her catching them thinking about other women... And that's going to make Sookie's life really interesting!

This gorgeous and sleek book contains five short stories by Charlaine Harris that up until now were included in other anthologies. They're all about Sookie Stackhouse and take place between certain books in the series. I think the UK/Australian cover is absolutely gorgeous. This is the US cover, which is really cute too. And the inside is just as stunning. There's an introduction by Charlaine herself, and a two-page illustration at the beginning of every story.

Now, here's a little about the stories...

FAIRY DUST: A fairy walks into a bar, seriously she does. Claudine walks into Merlotte's looking for Sookie. She and her brother Claude need Sookie's help to figure out who killed their triplet, Claudette. They've got three human suspects - a stripper, a bouncer, and the owner of the club.

This is a short but fun story where Sookie uses her telepathic ability to figure out who killed the fairy. I enjoyed it heaps, and liked finding out a little more about Claudine, Claude and fairies in general.

DRACULA NIGHT: When Eric invites Sookie to Fangtasia for an annual vampire event that celebrates Dracula's birthday, she agrees to go. She also finds out that Eric is quite the Dracula fan who secretly hopes that Dracula will make an appearance at his party. But when the person who claims to be the Lord of Darkness shows up, the unexpected happens.

I enjoyed this one too. It was a lot of fun to see the cool, calm, and collected Eric acting a little neurotic. Pam was great in this little story, her side comments made me laugh.

ONE WORD ANSWER: While Sookie is doing some late-night gardening with Bubba, a limo arrives at her house. A man who claims to be a lawyer by the name of Mr. Cataliades gets out and tells her that her cousin Hadley is dead, but that's not all he's there to tell her. His visit entails more revelations then she expected.

I really liked the simplicity of this story. It's a straightforward tale that gives Sookie some answers about her estranged cousin, but also has a few very cool twists in the end. Well-worth reading.

LUCKY: When Greg Aubert pays Sookie a visit, hoping she'll help him figure out who's been sneaking past his spell to get into his insurance office at night, Amelia and Sookie investigate. What that entails is a telepath (Sookie) and a witch (Amelia) following one clue after another, until Sookie can find whoever's responsible. Who would've thought that someone could hog all the luck in one town?

This was a great story that captured not only Sookie's world, but what makes a short story really work. I loved it!

GIFT WRAP: Sookie's all alone on Christmas Eve, but when she goes for a walk in the woods and finds an injured Were, she insists on taking him home to make sure whoever attacked him doesn't return to finish him off. But the mysterious stranger brings a little festive magic to her night.

This delicious tale was excellent. I wasn't expecting the sneaky twist at the end, but loved it.

A Touch of Dead is a collection that every Sookie Stackhouse fan should own and will love. I know I did!

A Touch of Dead: A Sookie Stackhouse Collection, October 2009, ISBN 0575094435, Gollancz Paperback

I got some things done today!

Yay! It always feels great to get things done, doesn't it?

Today was jam-packed with stuff. Firstly, even though I started the third (and final) draft of BOUNDLESS a day late, I'm back on track. Last night I reached page 20, and this afternoon I got my chunk done for today. I'm now at page 45/76. Not bad.

After my daughter goes to bed, I'm hoping to squeeze in another chapter. That would be awesome. Even though, as it stands, if I can get 16 pages done tomorrow and 15 the next day, I can still get this draft finished by the end of the week. *fingers crossed*

I also got my weights workout done, even if I couldn't get up for yoga this morning. I was too tired. We went to bed after 1AM, which is never a good idea on a weeknight. Still, it didn't stop me from getting stuff done. I even finished reading the first DARKE ACADEMY book. It was great, loved it!

The only problem with being so busy this week is that I'm not spending any time planning for NaNoWriMo. No time at all, not even thinking time because my mind's stuck in Alyce's world, or in my zombie ones. I mean, gee, I'm a pantser and all, but I'm usually organised. This year, not so much. So NaNoWriMo might end up being a little messy for me this year. If I get it done at all. :/

Anyway, that's it for another day. See ya!

*Don't forget that the VampChix VampBash is going on right now. There are a LOT of awesome things up for grabs.

**I'll also be posting an interview with fellow Damnation Books author, Lily on the 29th. And I'll be over at her blog on the 30th. Yay. :)

DARK ACADEMY: SECRET LIVES

The Darke Academy is a school like no other. An elite establishment that moves to an exotic new city every term, its students are impossibly beautiful, sophisticated and rich. And the more new scholarship girl Cassie Bell learns about the Academy, the more curious she becomes.

What sinister secrets are guarded by the Few -- the select group of students who keep outsiders away? Who is the dark stranger prowling the corridors at night? And what really happened a year earlier, when the last scholarship girl died in mysterious circumstances?

One thing Cassie will discover is that a little knowledge may be a dangerous thing, but knowing too much can be deadly!

Something strange is going on at the Dark Academy, and the new girl is about to find herself in the middle of it. It's quite an intriguing concept, and I have to admit that I was curious about this story as soon as I read this blurb. Of course, after I read the Prologue I was itching to find out more.

Cassie Bell has had a rough life, so being accepted at an elite Academy in Paris on a scholarship sounds like a fantastic opportunity. But from the very first day, she notices that a lot of the students aren't just snobs, but also have a very mean streak. Especially the bunch who call themselves the Few. Luckily, she meets the Latin Isabella, her roommate and instant friend. Of course, there's also the mysterious Jake, who seems to want to get to the bottom of things as much as she does. As well as the enigmatic but very alluring Ranjit.

Before she realises it, Cassie becomes the center of attention for this select group, and it's not necessarily a good thing. There are a lot of secrets in the Darke Academy, and finding out what they are can be deadly.

I loved it! The tension builds up so thick and the mystery so deep that I devoured the entire book in about a day. I just had to know where this was going. There are some very spooky scenes that'll keep you guessing and push you forward, further into the dark. I didn't want to put it down. I'm hooked.

The characters were great, especially Cassie and Ranjit. I can't wait to find out where the outcome of this book is going to take these two kindred spirits.

Dark Academy: Secret Lives is a wonderful and very creepy book that starts out just like any other story about a new kid in school, but becomes so much more. It throws you into a mysterious school with a very dark secret. I think it's a winner.

I'm looking forward to the next one, Dark Academy: Blood Ties.

Dark Academy: Secret Lives, October 2009, ISBN 9780340989241, Hodder Children’s

KEEPING IT REAL

The Quantum Bomb of 2015 changed everything. The fabric that kept the universe's different dimensions apart was torn and now, six years later, the people of earth exist in uneasy company with the inhabitants of, amongst others, the elven, elemental and demonic realms. Magic is real and can be even more dangerous than technology. Elves are exotic, erotic, dangerous and really bored with the constant Lord of the Rings references. Elementals are a law unto themselves and demons are best left well to themselves. Special agent Lila Black used to be pretty but now she's not so sure. Her body is now more than half restless carbon and metal alloy machinery. A machine shes barely in control of. It goes into combat mode, enough weapons for a small army springing from within itself, at the merest provocation. As for her heart...well ever since being drawn into a Game by the elven rockstar she's been assigned to protect, she's not even sure she can trust that anymore either.

When I read the blurb for this book I couldn't decide if it was a futuristic, an urban fantasy, a Sci-Fi, or just a straight out fantasy. I just knew that I wanted to read it. After I started it, I found out that it's pretty much a mix of all of the above. Just like Lila is a mesh between human and machine.

After the Quantum Bomb, the world changed forever. Even the name changed, Earth is now known as Otopia. But more importantly, the fabric between the dimensions was torn, opening up the way to five other realities. Humans can live alongside creatures from other realms. Demons, elves, elementals, and all types of faery live amongst us in a world now deep in magic and technology.

Lila Black is a woman, but she's also a machine with an AI. After a mission that almost killed her a few years back, her body was fused with carbon and metal alloy to become an efficient machine with enough weapons to have something handy for any situation.

When she takes the job of guarding an elf who happens to be the lead singer of a very popular band, the story seems very grounded in a recognisable world. But when someone attempts to kill and in fact take Zal from this realm and into Alfheim, she has no choice but to put her trust in the elf responsible for her 'upgraded' physical condition. The one who almost destroyed her.

Wrapped in a futuristic package is a fantastical tale with places and concepts that will stretch the boundaries of your imagination. I enjoyed the seemingly simplicity of Lila, and how the further you get into the story, the more complicated and real she becomes. Things are certainly not what they seem with any of the elves she is forced to depend on, or work with along the way to saving Zal.

Keeping It Real is an action-packed book that'll keep you guessing at every turn. Just when you're sure you understand the elves and their peculiar ways, something else is thrown into the mix to totally confuse you. Double-crossing, possession, lust, and the very interesting concept of Games, are just a few things to expect in this fascinating new world/s.

Keeping it Real: Quantum Gravity Book 1, 2009, ISBN 978-057-507907-6, Gollancz Paperback

THE LAUGHING CORPSE

'The older the zombie, the bigger the death needed to raise it.' After a few centuries, the only death 'big enough' is a human sacrifice. I know because I'm an animator. My name is Anita Blake. Working for Animators, Inc. is just a job - like selling insurance. But all the money in the world wasn't enough for me to take on the particular job Harold Gaynor was offering. Somebody else did, though - a rogue animator. Now he's not just raising the dead... he's raising Hell. And it's up to me to stop it.

The Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton has been repackaged and re-released. I think this series is one of the pioneers of the urban fantasy genre. The other obvious one that comes to mind is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They might be two different mediums, but I'm a fan of both. The Anita Blake books, one through to ten, are some of my most favourite books of all time, but I gave up on the series after book eleven. :(

Everything that I loved about the series - the horror, gore, Anita's relationship struggles, her personal inner struggle, her complicated friendships, the tough as nails attitude, the way her job dominates her life because it's so much more, and just the strong Anita that kept me turning the pages, eventually faded into an almost unrecognisable shadow of herself. One that depended on the ardeur and not much else.

But this is about the second book in the series, and I love this one! It has everything that made this series so addictive to start with. I couldn't put it down until I got to the end.

The Laughing Corpse is a clever, dark and very gritty book. Anita takes us into some very grotesque situations as she struggles to keep a human balance in her life by raising the dead for a living, trying to avoid a vampire who wants her, and agreeing to wear an awful pink bridesmaid dress to be in her friend's wedding. It's not an easy thing to do, but Anita somehow pulls it off in a very entertaining way.

This is the Anita Blake that became a constant in my life years ago, so I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to re-read this book. If you're into urban fantasy and haven't given this series a go, I recommend that you do. Especially the earlier books, because they are truly awesome!

The Laughing Corpse, November 2009, ISBN 075535530X, Headline Paperback (B)