Girl Who Reads: Review: The Sound of Crickets by @MarissaFarrar

Reblogged from the Girl Who Reads: Review: The Sound of Crickets by @MarissaFarrar: by Claire Rees The Sound of Crickets  by Marissa Farrar is written as a blog and as e-mails between four women. They met online after...

Cure (A Strandville Zombie Novel) by Belinda Frisch - Review

Like many people with a kindle (I suspect), I download a lot of free books. I hate to say it,  but many of them just don't do it for me. For reasons such as downloading something that isn't really the genre I read, to just plain bad books, a lot of what I read I end up discarded after a few chapters. With the invention of e-readers, the term 'disposable fiction' has never been more apt.

However, occasionally something catches me by surprise. After dragging myself through the book of a fairly well-known author, I picked up Cure. Several hours later I was halfway through and had to force myself to put down my kindle in order to get some sleep!

"Cure" tells the story of a crazy doctor who has discovered a zombie virus and decided that in order to heal all sort of diseases, such as cancer, he is going to create a zombie-human half breed by kidnapping and impregnating them with zombie genes.

This is a multi-character filled cast, from the people working in the hospital, to the poor women who have been kidnapped, to the family of those women. At times it was hard to keep track of who was who, but that was also because the book was so fast moving. It was pretty horrific in places, so this isn't for the faint of heart, but it certainly kept me turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next!

I give Cure four out of five stars. The only reason it didn't get five were perhaps a couple too many points of view to keep track of, and a little too much gore (I did have to hold down my dinner on a number of occasions, though this is only testimony to Belinda's vivid power of description). Overall this is a must read for all zombie fans, with a new fresh setting and idea in what is an over saturated zombie market.

Here is the blurb and a bit about the author. You can buy "Cure" from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

"Cure" is book #1 in the Strandville Zombie Series. Stay tuned for "Afterbirth", "Cure's" sequel. March 2013, the experiment continues...

A thriller hailed as "original" among zombie fiction readers and enjoyed by those who aren't such fans of the genre.  Includes "Payback", a BONUS Strandville Zombie Series Short.

When those closest to you break your trust, the only option is payback.

Six months before an outbreak of viral plague turned the residents of Strandville into a mob of flesh-hungry undead, Max Reid was a new father struggling to overcome a gambling addiction for the sake of his family.
Desperate to keep his secret, out of work, and on the losing end of a debt large enough to get him killed, Max turned to Mitch, a Nixon Center guard and the closest thing he had to a friend, to make the money he needed to break-even. What he didn't know was why Mitch was so eager to help him or how far he'd have to go for the cash.
Max Reid is about to find out a terrible secret that will change his life and push him to destroy others'.

About the Author

Belinda Frisch's fiction has appeared in Shroud Magazine, Dabblestone Horror, and Tales of Zombie War. She is an honorable mention winner in the Writer's Digest 76th Annual Writing Competition and her novel, CURE, is the runner-up in the General Fiction category of the 2012 Halloween Book Festival. She is the author of DEAD SPELL, PAYBACK, and CURE, the first in the Strandville Zombie Series which has recently been optioned for film.

Sneaking into Day Seven of Creepfest with 'Monsters Unmasked' - a Zombie Novella with Heart.

For a while now I've described my genre as 'romantic horror'. When I read 'Monsters Unmasked' by Lori Whitwam, I thought, 'Yay! Another romantic horror author!'

'Monsters Unmasked' in set in the time of a zombie apocalypse, but the zombies aren't the only monsters in the book. The real monsters are the ones who are left behind--the men who take advantage of anything and anyone who might help them survive and prosper in this new world.

Right from the start of the novella, the author plunges the reader into a world of real life horror. Ellen Hale (the main character) first witnesses the brutal murder of her brother and is then kidnapped. She lives as a slave; sexually abused day after day. But finally she is rescued and taken to The Compound. Here she tries to rebuild her shattered self, though she fears she might become a monster herself. While during a battle to keep zombies out of The Compound, she meets the fearsome Quinn. He is a big, heavily tattooed brute, but he saves her life, and from here starts a touching relationship.

Unlike most zombie stories, 'Monsters Unmasked' is less about the zombies and more about the survivors. The zombies are described almost as an after thought. There are some parts during the attacks which are scary, but for the most part it's the other survivors who dish out the horror. The theme of no one being what they seem is continued throughout the book as social stereotypes are broken down in this new, terrifying world.

I really loved Quinn's character--I mean really loved his character! Who doesn't love a bad boy turned good? There were some parts where I didn't totally buy into Ellen. She made some snarly remarks at a time when I thought most people would be on the verge of killing themselves. Maybe this just showed her strength of character, but I think she might have been a bit too resilient considering what she goes through.

I read 'Monster Unmasked' in one sitting. I wish it was longer but this isn't a criticism of the book, but a compliment! I'd just gotten into Ellen's world and her relationship with Quinn when it all ended! The story is emotional, redemptive and sad. Anyone who has enjoyed 'The Walking Dead' will also enjoy 'Monsters Unmasked'.

Monsters Unmasked can be bought from Amazon for $2.99!

Lori spent her early years reading books in a tree in northern West Virginia. She currently lives in a northwestern suburb of the Twin Cities for reasons that escape her, but were probably good ones at the time.

 

Since arriving in Minnesota in 1996, she has worked in public libraries, written advertising copy for wastewater treatment equipment, and managed a holistic veterinary clinic.

Parents of a grown son, Lori and her husband were high school sweethearts, and he manages to love her in spite of herself. Some of his duties include making sure she always has fresh coffee and safe tires, trying to teach her to use coupons, and convincing the state police to spring her from house arrest in her hotel room in time for a very important concert. That last one only happened once – so far – but she still really, really appreciates it. 

Her full length romance novel, 'Make or Break' is also available to buy. You can find out more about Lori and   where to buy her books at her website.  

Book Review -- Antarktos Rising

One of the great things about my new writing career is that, while researching agents and publishers, I came across a whole host of novels I might not otherwise have found or read on my own. Antarktos Rising by Jeremy Robinson is just such a novel. Though it was published by Variance Publishing back in 2008, it features a topic that is very popular today -- the Nephilim.

I'm sure all of you who read this blog have read my own novel, Release, and therefore are quite familiar with who the Nephilim are in Judeo-Christian mythology ;-), but just to refresh your memory, the Nephilim were man-eating giants, descendants of angels and mortal women, who populated the earth in the days before they were wiped out by the great flood (though it seems that they may have been around afterwards, too). 

“The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.”

– Genesis 6:4

Basically, the premise of the novel is this:  the earth's crust shifts drastically, causing the magnetic poles to shift and basically, much of the earth ends up under ice and uninhabitable. The only land left for humans (what's left of them, as the shifting of the crusts and resulting climate change happens quite suddenly, killing most everyone) that is habitable is Antarctica, which is now a lush, green paradise.

Our heroine (yay -- you go girl!), Mirabelle Whitney, is picked (or rather, forced) to be on a team of elite members who are to compete in a race with other countries (or conglomerates thereof) to claim Antarctica. Why is she picked, when she's just a wildlife photographer? Because her father knows more about the land down under more than anyone -- he's actually trapped down there when all this crustal displacement starts.

So Mira must find her dad, compete with other teams, some of whom will do anything to win, and make it across Antarctica. As the team gets deeper and deeper into the new land, however, they find that things which they thought were long gone had merely been frozen for centuries, and are now out and about, looking for food and vengeance.

Okay, let me state right off the bat that for the most part, I can suspend my disbelief with regards to science and accept whatever fiction is thrown at me -- that to me is part of the fun of reading, to take the impossible and make it into a 'real' story. I've read that this novel got negative reviews for its implausible science, but honestly -- it didn't bother me one bit.

This is a plot-driven novel, though the author does take a bit of time to develop characters, though don't expect something out of Austen, and I liked them well enough that I wasn't happy when some of them died. It's not a deep novel, but rather a light, fun adventure full of ancient civilizations, crossovers of religions, danger, and father-daughter bonding. The mythology was very interesting, and the pace for this type of novel was very good. The ending is very much a cliffhanger, and if there is a sequel I will be interested to see where this author takes the story.

Something Wicked -- 3/5

Under The Dome, Stephen King

I think I have probably made it clear by now that I am a huge Stephen King fan.  I grew up reading his novels and whenever I thought about what my aspirations were as a writer his name was always at the forefront of my mind.  of course, I wasn’t just thinking about the millions of dollars (although that would be nice), what I really wanted to be able to do was create characters that feel as real as any actual person and combine them with original and involving plots.

Unfortunately most of Kings best novels (The Stand, It, The Talisman) were written a long time ago (and were written when he was suffering from a narcotic and alcohol addiction) and it does feel as though he is always striving to live up to those older books.  Unfortunately, more often then not, he falls short, but the books he produces are, in my opinion, still head and shoulders above most other horror writers out there.

Under The Dome is an epic novel, at over 300,000 words.  However, it certainly doesn't feel like an overly long novel as King keeps the pace going throughout the book. It takes place in the small Maine town of Chester’s Mill where, one warm October morning, a giant invisible dome falls down around the town, killing several and cutting the town off completely from the outside world.

But it is not the creators of the dome that are the thing to be feared. The town is run by ‘Selectman’, second-hand car salesman, and methamphetamine factory owner, Big Jim Rennie.  As the dome fails to be penetrated by missiles, acid, and anything else the army tries, Big Jim starts to take over the town as a dictator.  He uses riots, arson, and murder to frame the one person who could help the town ‘Colonel Barbara,’ a retired Iraq soldier who now works as a short order cook in the local restaurant.

As fear takes over, the towns population is split between those on Barbie’s side, and those on Big Jim’s.  Although there is a sci-fi aspect to the novel, this is not focused on. Instead it is simply the people and their ‘small lives’ that leads to the potential destruction of the town and everyone in it.

Under The Dome did not disappoint. It is not The Stand (the novel it has been most compared against because of its length), but it is still an action-packed novel that kept me gripped from start to finish.  The numerous characters were King’s usual ‘larger than life’ cast, and I missed them when I had finished.

My only negative was (*Spoiler alert! Spoiler alert!*) the number of people who were killed off.  While I understand the need for a few to die, towards the end of the novel I couldn’t help but start thinking ‘oh God, not another one!’  I wanted to shout at the book ‘not the children and dogs – at least leave them alone!’ I do like a happy ending and when most of the people you have come to love over the last five hundred pages end up carking it, it does feel like a bit of an anti-climax. I also would have liked to have had more of a final confrontation between Big Jim and Barbie.  It did feel as though the novel had been building up towards the big ending, yet it didn’t happen.

Despite this I still thoroughly enjoyed the book.  Not quite ‘King at his best’, but certainly getting there.

Something Wicked 8/10

Book Review -- Midnight Brunch by Marta Acosta

A few weeks ago, I was looking for a novel that was light, funny, but smart. Having read and re-read Bridget Jones countless times, I really wasn't up for another go-around, when I remembered, "That's right -- I'll pick up a Casa Dracula novel by Marta Acosta!" I'd read and loved Happy Hour At Casa Dracula, and I have to say -- Midnight Brunch -- even better than the first one!

The only negative thing I can say about this novel is that it's not available through iPhone apps; Happy Hour is, as well as Bride of casa Dracula, but not this one. This actually turned out well because I was able to read this on my vacation by the pool (not too brave to read my iPhone by water!), but I'm loving the iPhone books right now, just sayin'.

Midnight Bruch re-introduces us to Milagro de los Santos (and I'd always wondered what the "Milagro" in the title of that movie, The Milagro Beanfield War meant, and now I do!). Anyway, Milagro is living happily with Oswald in a cottage near a ranch, where the rest of Oswald's family (grandmother, cousin, and ex-fiancee) live. Oswald and his family have this, condition, regarding their blood and it makes them sensitive to sunlight, and yeah, they crave blood now and then. Human and animal.

What I love about these novels is the heroine, Milagro. She's hapless, though she's got a better sense of self than Bridget ever did -- Milagro knows she's prone to making mistakes and doesn't always try to stop herself. In this adventure, she meets Oswald's parents, who make it clear that Milagro is not good enough for their darling son. After Mil and Oswald fight, Oswald heads out of town on business, and trouble ensues...

Yes, Milagro gets herself into a pickle, though not all of it was her fault -- you can see why she trusted a certain person. In the last novel, Casa took a romantic diversion in the middle that I didn't really care for, but this one had a great, tight plot, smart, funny dialogue mixed with action, a little romance (you know it's just not my thing), and my favorite, the deeper soul-searching stuff. Milagro comes out okay, but she learns things along the way, and no man is responsible for saving her -- she does it herself.

In addition to plot, I love the tidbits of pop culture Ms. Acosta throws into the novel; the chapter title "I'm Not Sick But I'm Not Well" had me singing that song by Harvey Danger all day. And now I'm singing it again (thanks Marta!). Her prose is also sublime; I love the imagery and contrasts in these sentences:

I looked at Oswald's eyes, the color of rain clouds above, the stones in the creek, the weathered fence posts. "I like how you're color coordinated with the landscape."

Beautiful and funny and smart, all wrapped up into a nice, fun read that's great for vacation. Snap it up!

Marta's also got a FREE download right here called Shadow Girl of Birch Grove; it's a young adult novel set in a boarding school with vampires, that was turned down by an editor because vampires 'were so over'. Yeah, apparently they don't work for said publisher any more! I've not downloaded it yet, but it sounds amazing, so stop on over and check it out!

Hope you all enjoy your week and partake in Something Wicked along the way!