Book Review: Bookburners: The Complete Season 1 by Max Gladstone, Margaret Dunlap, Mur Lafferty and Brian Francis Slattery

Bookburners: The Complete Season 1
by Max Gladstone, Margaret Dunlap, Mur Lafferty and Brian Francis Slattery (Gladstone)

I stumbled upon a reference to this online serialized novel, and checked to see if the library had it — and lo-and-behold, we do! Bookburners was designed as an online book, co-written by four genre authors and released one chapter at a time. It started in 2015, and five “seasons” were released online. The first “season” of sixteen chapters was subsequently released in this large trade paperback edition (no subsequent seasons have come out in print form).

 

Sal Brooks is a New York City police detective, but more importantly she’s also the big sister to her screwed-up brother Perry, who she’s had to rescue from various bad situations over the years. But his latest problem is way beyond her experience — he’s been possessed by an actual demon, who had been released from an ancient book that Perry got his hands on. When a team of specialists from the Vatican, including a priest, a computer hacker, a diminutive martial artist, and an archivist show up to claim the book, Sal hitches her wagon to their cause…and is initiated into the Societas Librorum Occultorum’s “Team Three”. That team is assigned to contain outbreaks of supernatural activity, tied to artifacts or ancient texts. Sal joins them, in hopes of learning something that could save her now-comatose brother. But dealing with supernatural threats, both small and massive is a new job, which she pretty much has to learn on the fly.

 

The central characters — the members of Team Three — are all intriguing and I definitely felt myself invested in their fates. The tone of this story reminded me strongly of Buffy the Vampire Slayer — lots of snappy, snarky dialog, fast-paced action, and serious situations interspersed with the absurd. At the same that I was loving the best of this story, I was also rolling my eyes at the “Oh, really?” moments that made it a bit uneven.

None-the-less, fans of Buffy/Angel, Supernatural, Ghostbusters, The X-Files/Millennium, Shadow Chasers, Warehouse 13 or Friday the 13th: The Series, should enjoy this. In fact, it most closely resembles those last two — Warehouse 13 dealt with a government project to locate, recover and contain artifacts with a paranormal connection in a gigantic hidden warehouse; and Friday the 13th: The Series dealt with representatives of an antique store that specialized in “cursed” items trying to recover many of the objects that accidentally escaped from the store.

 

And, if you like this print book of Bookburners first season (790 pages!), be aware there are three more “seasons” of this paranormal “show” you can read as E-books.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try any of the TV series mentioned in my review, particularly Warehouse 13, and Friday the 13th: The Series. The libraries own all five seasons of Warehouse 13 on DVD, but you’d have to search elsewhere for Friday the 13th: The Series (2 seasons) — it did come out on DVD, so could be borrowed through InterLibrary Loan.)

 

( official Bookburners page on the official Max Gladstone web site )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

 

 

DVD REVIEW CONTENT

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton

Guilty Pleasures

by Laurell K. Hamilton (Hamilton)

 

Anita Blake, Animator (not friendly cartoons, dead people) and Vampire Executioner, is tasked with finding a serial killer who specializes in vampires. Anita is a strong, hard as nails woman who literally raises people from the grave (usually for will clarifications or final good byes) and executes vampires. Guilty Pleasures is a gritty story with a cast-iron heroine who will face obstacles that force her to challenge her perspectives.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Moon Called by Patricia Briggs, Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews, Dark Lover: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward or Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison.)

 

( official Guilty Pleasures page on the official Laurell K. Hamilton web site )

 

Recommended by Rio B.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Ghosted in L.A. (Volume 1) by Sina Grace and Siobhan Keenan

Ghosted in L.A.
by Sina Grace (writer), Siobhan Keenan (art), Cathy Le (colorist), DC Hopkins (lettering) (YA PB (Graphic Novel) Grace)

This graphic novel compiles the first four issues of an ongoing comic-book series by Sina Grace (writer) and Siobhan Keenan (artist). The storyline centers on Daphne Walters, a young woman who follows her long-time boyfriend from the Midwest to Los Angeles to attend college. Only, when she gets to L.A., he dumps her, she has an antagonistic relationship with her new college roommate, and after a disastrous first date with a guy who seemed to be interested in her, she finds herself trespassing on the grounds of an unoccupied mansion (with a large swimming pool). It is there that she encounters a group of ghosts, who occupy the mansion. She convinces them to allow her to stay in the mansion and serve as their hands and feet, and meanwhile they serve to give her sounding boards to try to figure out who and what she is going to become, as she’s a bit lost in life.

 

The characters are all fascinating, the artwork is terrific, and the pacing is marvelous. The plot was a little light in this first compilation, but I attribute that to needing to set everything up and in motion, and I anticipate future volumes to have a bit more “story” to them. Overall this is a charming and engaging light fantasy series, and I look forward to reading more of them as they’re released.

[ publisher’s official Ghosted in L.A. web site ] | [ official Sina Grace web site ] [ official Siobhan Keenan web site ]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The Haunting of Hill House
by Shirley Jackson

I mentor a young adult in high school, and they recently mentioned to me that they watched the Netflix series inspired by this book. When I looked the book up, just out of curiosity, I discovered it was written by Shirley Jackson! I always marveled at her short story, “The Lottery.”

Intrigued, I decided to read The Haunting of Hill House. I found it very captivating! It’s told in an old-world style, though it can easily be adapted to modern-day. I loved the way the main characters interacted with each other, always trying to laugh and joke and make light of things, even during times of great stress. I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to visit Hill House!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin.] [ The Haunting of Hill House page on Wikipedia ] | [ official ShirleyJackson.org web site ]

See Charlotte M.’s review of The Haunting of Hill House in the October 2005 Staff Recommendations

Recommended by Tracy T.
Anderson and Bethany Branch Libraries

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Locke & Key Vol 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill

Locke & Key, Vol 1: Welcome to Lovecraft
by Joe Hill (author) and Gabriel Rodriguez (artist) [741.5 Hil] 

I’ve been seeing the trade paperback collections of Locke & Key, written by Joe Hill, circulating in the libraries’ collection for the past year-or-more, and finally took the time to start reading the series. Each of the six oversized trade paperback graphic novels in this series compiles six individual comic-books into a novel-length story. In “Welcome to Lovecraft“, the first compilation volume, Tyler, Kinsey and young Bode Locke move, with their mother, from California to Lovecraft, Massachusetts, to live in the family estate known as Keyhouse. This follows the brutal murder of the kids’ father by a psychopath. As the Locke children settle into their new home, making new friends, they discover that Keyhouse has mysterious — mystical — properties. Bode discovers a doorway that when he passes through it allows him to leave his physical body behind and travel as a phantasm. He also discovers a malevolent spirit trapped at the bottom of a well…a spirit that continues to manipulate the man who killed Rendell Locke, and which is drawing him on a cross-country journey to kill the rest of the Locke family.

The writing of Joe Hill — Stephen King’s son, but a respected horror-master in his own right — and the art by Gabriel Rodriguez are superb. This first volume features only the beginning of the more horrific, supernatural and monstrous plot elements that come to dominate the subsequent volumes in the series, and feels more like a thriller with some paranormal elements on the side. I appreciate the metaphor of multiple “locks” and “keys” that recurs throughout this series, but which is set in motion to good effect in this volume.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the remaining 5 compilation volumes in the series, which definitely concludes with Volume Six: Alpha & Omega.]

[ IDW’s official Locke & Key web site ] | [ official Joe Hill web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations! #ReadersUnite

New Booktalk Booklist - I Thought With a Shudder...The Works of H.P. Lovecraft

In the month of October -- when many a reader's interests turn to the creepy, spooky, horrific, unexplained or paranormal -- it seems only appropriate to share Gordon A.'s booktalk booklist from his Gere Branch BooksTalk in April 2012.

Gordon's theme was on the overall works of legendary and influential horror writer H.P. Lovecraft -- creator of the Cthulhu Mythos. Most of the Lovecraft novels or short-story collections that are available in the Lincoln City Libraries' collection are listed in Gordon's booktalk content, as well as a checklist of individual Lovecraft stories for you to track down. Check it out!

I Thought With a Shudder...The Works of H.P. Lovecraft

Charmed: Season One

Charmed: Season One
[DVD Charmed]

Charmed was a TV show that aired from 1998-2006 about three sisters who were witches and came into their powers when their grandmother died. The entire first season is about them learning how to use their powers to fight demons and save innocents. Meanwhile they're trying to live normal lives but magic keeps getting in the way. There's a lot of humor to the show, and some great special effects. The first season stars Shannen Doherty as the eldest and most stubborn sister, Prue, Holly Marie Combs as the middle and caring sister, Piper, and Alyssa Milano as the wild child sister, Phoebe. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Supernatural -- the TV series starring Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles about two brothers who also kill demons, or "Hocus Pocus" which is about another group of three sisters who are witches - though they are the evil kind.] -- recommended by Carrie K. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[Also available: Numerous Charmed tie-in novels -- see the complete list on the TV Tie-Ins booklist on BookGuide.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this series ] | [ Detailed episode guide at epguides.com ]

Have you seen this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

New Customer Review - The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor

The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor
by Robert Kirkman [Kirkman]

The story by itself was alright but when added to the Walking Dead universe it feels very lacking. The awkward third person present tense narrative adds to the confused atmosphere of the novel -- at times I like it and think it adds dimension; at many other places though it's just plain odd. I have read all the comics and they are thematic masterpieces, I had hoped a written format would add to the awsomeness, against my hopes however it fell flat. The twist ending was in a few words was disapointing, odd, against all previous character developments, and just plain stupid. If you discounted the Walking Dead comics tie in it would work, I do not however feel it worked here. For die hard Walking Dead comics fans or someone who is just looking for a good undead action story. -- review submitted by Wyatt P. - a customer of the Gere Branch Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

New Customer Reviews - Three of the Sookie Stackhouse novels

Dead Until Dark
by Charlaine Harris [Harris]

This series is not your typical vampire books. Sookie is the human/heroine who falls in love with vampires, not the gory vampires, but the ones who are sexy with a sense of humor.

Dead as a Doornail
by Charlaine Harris [Harris]

Sookie, the human/heroine, now meets and falls in love with the Werewolf, to the frustration of her previous vampire lover. I like this series because it has 'love' scenes, but not the ones that you feel uncomfortable reading while sunning by the pool with the kids.

Dead Reckoning
by Charlaine Harris [Harris]

The latest of the Sookie Stackhouse novels. I like this one because although she was challenged by another woman (and vampire queen) she still stands up to her although she is just a 'human'. Sookie is the typs of heroine you want to be, gutsy and strong. -- all three reviews submitted by Christy T. - a customer of the Gere Branch Library

Have you read these? What did you think? Did you find these reviews helpful?

New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

Declare

Declare
by Tim Powers

What do you get when you cross John LeCarre and Len Deighton with H.P. Lovecraft and Auguest Derleth? Well, that would be Tim Powers' magnificent fantasy/horror/espionage novel, Declare. This impressive novel focuses on the intelligence community, and a 1960s attempt to fix a mission that went horribly awry on Mount Ararat during WWII. The espionage elements of Declare truly feel like reading the best of LeCarre, Deighton, Follett or any of the other "spy" thriller writers. A review of this book is hard to write without giving too much of the intricate and complicated plot away...however, Powers manages to insert the supernatural into this spy story very effectively. His descriptions of ordinary soldiers and intelligence offices' encounters with otherworldly beings is truly terrifying. Powers' research into the real-world people he includes in this book is detailed, and Declare is very dense with seemingly minor historical details...which may put off some readers. However, I recommend you stick with it -- this one is a tremendous read! -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ Declare page on Wikipedia ] | [ official Tim Powers web site ]

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

An October Staff Recommendation - The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural

To see all October 2007 Staff Recommendations, visit the Staff Recommendations page on BookGuide.

The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural
edited by Jack Sullivan [809.387 qSul]

Although somewhat dated (published in 1986), this 480-page oversized volume does a nice job of presenting entries about people, places and things of a supernatural or horrific nature in a compact encyclopedic form. Special emphasis is placed on biographical entries about prominent horror writers, novels and noteworthy horror films. Large entries are also available for all of the standard horror tropes -- vampires, ghosts, werewolves, golems, etc. The book is liberally illustrated with a variety of black and white images -- woodcuts, line-drawings, photographs, etc. Also of note -- there are over 50 lengthy essays on themes that are native to horror and the supernatural. Although this is a somewhat "dry" text, due to its encyclopedic nature, it is still filled with detailed entries on obscure topics that may surprise even long-time horror fans!

[ Wikipedia page for this book ]

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