Allies of the Night (Cirque Du Freak, Book 8) by Darren Shan

Allies of the Night by Darren Shan


Darren Shan, Vampire Prince and vampaneze killer, is obliged to attend school! But homework is the least of Darren's problems. Bodies are piling up. Time is running out. And the past is catching up with the hunters fast!

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
While on a mission to find and destroy the Vampaneze Lord, Darren and the rest of the group decide to go to Mr. Crepesley's hometown where there have been a string of bizzare murders that Darren believes are the result of a mad vampaneze. While searching the city for the killer, Darren somehow finds himself enrolled in school and forced to attend so that the authorities do not get suspicious. So begins a challenge for Darren that he may not come out of alive.
As it all comes together, Darren and his group are hot on the trail of the killer when they are caught in a trap by the Vampaneze Lord and end up running for their lives.
Another good chapter in this series, but I hate how the author ends a book right in the middle of things. I am just glad that I have the entire series sitting here or I would be very upset.






View all my reviews.

Hunters of the Dusk (Cirque Du Freak, Book 7) by Darren Shan

Hunters of the Dusk (Cirque Du Freak, Book 7) by Darren Shan

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another great read in the saga of Darren Shan.



The pursuit begins…

Darren Shan, the Vampire Prince, leaves Vampire Mountain on a life or death mission.

As part of an elite force, Darren searches the world for the Vampaneze Lord. But the road ahead is long and dangerous - and lined with the bodies of the damned.


After spending 6 years at Vampire Mountain training for his position as Prince, Darren finds out that he is one of three vampires who are destined to encounter and battle the Vampaneze Lord. If one of these three chosen can defeat the Vampaneze Lord then the War of Scars will end and vampires will survive. If not, then the vampire race is destined to be defeated and become extinct.
With this knowledge, Darren, Harkat and Mr. Crepsley leave Vampire Mountain to follow their destiny.
They have one of 4 predestined encounters with the Vampeneze Lord.
Looking forward to reading more of this series.


View all my reviews.

Time's Eye (A Time Odyssey, Book 1) by Arthur C. Clarke, Stephen Baxter

Time's Eye by Arthur C. Clarke


In an instant, Earth is carved up in time and reassembled like a huge jigsaw puzzle. Suddenly the world becomes a patchwork of eras, from prehistory to 2037, each with its own indigenous inhabitants.

The explanation for this cataclysmic event may lie in the ancient city of Babylon, where two groups of refugees from 2037 - three cosmonauts and three U.N. peacekeepers - have detected strange radio signals. The peacekeepers find allies in nineteenth-century British troops and in the armies of Alexander the Great. The cosmonauts join forces with the Mongol horde led by Genghis Khan. Both sides set out for Babylon, vowing to win the race for knowledge - as a powerful and mysterious entity watches, waiting.

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
While I did enjoy this book, it was not as good as I was hoping it would be. I love time travel stories and was really looking forward to this one considering who the authors are. While the story was good enough to keep me reading it was not great. Too much historical information for me and while I know that there is a second book, I was a little disappointed that we really did not find out why or who caused the Discontinuity. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, but only because I want to know who and why.


View all my reviews.

The Vampire Prince (Cirque Du Freak, Book 6) by Darren Shan

The Vampire Prince by Darren Shan


Branded a traitor, betrayed by a friend, hunted by the vampire clan -- Darren Shan, the vampire's assistant, faces certain death. Can Darren reverse the odds and outwit a Vampire Prince, or is this the end of thousands of years of vampire rule? Darren's initiation on Vampire Mountain draws to a stunning, bloody conclusion -- but the Saga continues ...

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Very much enjoying this series of books.



In this 6th installment in the series, Darren survives his mad flight from Vampire Mountain and a death sentence, but just barely. After recovering with a pack of wolf friends he decides that he must go back to Vampire Mountain to warn the clan about the imminent vampaneze attack and the traitor among them, even if it means his death.



What follows is a battle with the hidden vampaneze that results in several deaths and results in the possible extinction of the vampires.



Looking forward to moving on with this series.


View all my reviews.

Trials of Death (Cirque Du Freak, Book 5) by Darren Shan

Trials of Death by Darren Shan


The trials: seventeen ways to die unless the luck of the vampire is with you. Darren Shan must pass five fearsome trials to prove himself to the vampire clan - or else face the stakes of the Hall of Death. But Vampire Mountain holds hidden threats. Sinister, potent forces are gathering in the darkness. In this nightmarish world of bloodshed and betrayal, death may be a blessing. . . .

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was an nice step back into Darren Shan's world of vampires.



Most of the books in this series take right up where the one before it stops. In this one we are with Darren at Vampire Mountain as he faces the Trials of Death to prove that he is worthy of being a vampire. There are 5 trials all together and if Darren is unable to complete them then he is put to death. We follow him through the trials. The triumphs and the failures. When Darren fails to complete all 5 trials and is awaiting a decision that he knows will mean his death, he is talked into running away from Vampire Mountain to save his life. In doing so he uncovers a plot that involves some of his fellow vampires and the vampaneze.



As with all of these books we are left right in the middle of a life and death struggle.



My only complaint about this series is that it seems that the author took a larger novel and pieced it into smaller books, leaving off right in the middle of something with one book and taking it right up with the next.






View all my reviews.

Key to Conflict (Gillian Key, ParaDoc, Book 1) by Talia Gryphon

Key to Conflict (Gillian Key, ParaDoc, Book 1) by Talia Gryphon


Synopsis
Meet Gillian Key-a paramortal psychologist who can treat the mental distress of nonhumans. And she's a Marine Special Forces operative who can get physical with them when the situation calls for it.

Gillian's two worlds collide when she travels to the Carpathian Mountains in Romania to counsel a dangerously attractive local master vampire-and becomes embroiled in a brewing turf war with the legendary Dracula.

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
After reading other reviews here and after reading the first few chapters of this book I had my doubts as to rather I was going to enjoy it. The main character, Gillian Key, renowned ParaMortal Psychologist and decorated marine captain, seemed a bit flitty and out of control. I was not thrilled with her apparent ease of sleeping with whoever interested her at the moment. But she grew on me. The beginning of the story was very romancy and a bit historical, but it moved on to become quite and interesting action packed book. I loved the various characters, including those on Gillian's 'team'. I am very much looking forward to going right on to read the next book in the series as this book leaves us on quite an interesting note.






View all my reviews.

Dying to Live: Life Sentence by Kim Paffenroth

Dying to Live: Life Sentence by Kim Paffenroth


At the end of the world a handful of survivors banded together in a museum-turned-compound surrounded by the living dead. The community established rituals and rites of passage, customs to keep themselves sane, to help them integrate into their new existence. In a battle against a kingdom of savage prisoners, the survivors lost loved ones, they lost innocence, but still they coped and grew. They even found a strange peace with the undead. Twelve years later the community has reclaimed more of the city and has settled into a fairly secure life in their compound. Zoey is a girl coming of age in this undead world, learning new roles-new sacrifices. But even bigger surprises lie in wait, for some of the walking dead are beginning to remember who they are, whom they've lost, and, even worse, what they've done. As the dead struggle to reclaim their lives, as the survivors combat an intruding force, the two groups accelerate toward a collision that could drastically alter both of their worlds.

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Absolutely loved this sequel to Dying to Live. This story of the survivors takes place 12 years after we left them in the last book. The story is told by Zoe, who is the baby that was rescued in the first book, as well as by Truman, a Zombie who retains the ability to read and write. Unlike the first book this one is not so much a story of survival as it is a story of hope.



I really look forward to finding more work by this author as I was very impressed with his talent as a writer.






View all my reviews.

Daemons Are Forever (Secret Histories, #2) by Simon R. Green

Daemons Are Forever by Simon R. Green


Second in the trilogy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Man with the Golden Torc.

Eddie Drood's clan has been watching mankind's back for ages. And now he's in charge of the whole kit and caboodle. But it's not going to be an easy gig…

During World War II, the Droods made a pact with some nasty buggers from another dimension known as the Loathly Ones, which they needed to fight the Nazis. But once the war was over, the Loathly Ones decided that they liked this world too much to leave. Now it's up to Eddie to make things very uncomfortable for them or watch everything humanity holds dear go up in smoke.

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I totally enjoyed this second book in the Shaman Bond series. I love the humor that this series of books is written with. Completely enjoy Eddie and Molly and love the supporting characters in this book. I had a hard time getting into the first book of this series because it was so James Bondy but this one is not and was a completely enjoyable read. Looking forward to the next book in this series.


View all my reviews.