Urban Books - Page 15

City of Saints and Madmen

Jeff Vandermeer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 39 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In City of Saints and Madmen, Jeff VanderMeer has reinvented the literature of the fantastic. You hold in your hands an invitation to a place unlike any you’ve ever visited–an invitation delivered by one of our most audacious and astonishing literary magicians.

City of elegance and squalor. Of religious fervor and wanton lusts. And everywhere, on the walls of courtyards and churches, an incandescent fungus of mysterious and ominous origin. In Ambergris, a would-be suitor discovers that a sunlit street can become a killing ground in the blink of an eye. An artist receives an invitation to a beheading–and finds himself enchanted. And a patient in a mental institution is convinced he’s made up a city called Ambergris, imagined its every last detail, and that he’s really from a place called Chicago.…

By turns sensuous and terrifying, filled with exotica and eroticism, this interwoven collection of stories, histories, and “eyewitness” reports invokes a universe within a puzzlebox where you can lose–and find–yourself again.

Coyote Dreams (The Walker Papers, Book 3)

C.E. Murphy

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Big yawn 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This book was BORING, I made it almost half way & gave up. The best thing about this book was the book cover, which was excellent.

A Good book, Bad ending... 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I was so excited when this book came out! Urban Shaman wet my thirst and geared me up for the long haul, but Thunderbird Falls was a bit of a let down. Coyote Dreams started out great and kept me reading. It definitely made up for any dislike I had for book two. This book dug so much deeper in to the characters we've all come to love or hate - I no longer wanted to reach in to the pages and shake some sense (or nonsense) in to Joanne! I gobbled up this book and couldn't wait for the next!

...but the series ended there.

Fellow readers may agree that the series didn't feel "complete." I, for one, have unanswered questions. Great read, but if you're expecting more to come then prepare yourself for disappointment. Oh well, that's what the imagination is for.

Editorial Review:

Much of the city can't wake up. And more are dozing off each day.

Instead of powerful forces storming Seattle, a more insidious invasion is happening. Most of Joanne Walker's fellow cops are down with the blue flu—or rather the blue sleep. Yet there's no physical cause anyone can point to—and it keeps spreading.

It has to be magical, Joanne figures. But what's up with the crazy dreams that hit her every time she closes her eyes? Are they being sent by Coyote, her still-missing spirit guide? The messages just aren't clear.

Somehow Joanne has to wake up her sleeping friends while protecting those still awake, figure out her inner-spirit dream life and, yeah, come to terms with these other dreams she's having about her boss...

Valentine's Exile (Vampire Earth, Book 5)

E.E. Knight

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

valentine's discovery... 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful.

this is book 5 in the series...all of them have been a progressive discovery of how one discovers what one is made of, i.e., "the right stuff". David Valentine is a man for all times, a philosopher and a man of action and justice. He is challenged by an invasion of earth and the devistation of civilization as we know it, yet he must find a way through it and, at the same time, remain human in the ideal sense of the word...he is judge, jury, and executioner all in one...not only of the "enemy" that has invaded earth, but of his fellow humans who are not up to the challenge of preserving liberty, freedom, and the "American" way of life...this series continues to inspire, impress, and challenge the reader to put him/herself in the position of david valentine and look at today's reality and "what if's". It is an excellent series to share with your children when they are old enough to grasp the philosophical principles involved. I can't wait for book 6 due out in july of '07...thank you e. e. knight

Editorial Review:

David Valentine is revered as a hero for his part in fighting to regain Earth's freedom. When a former Quisling traitor is badly wounded, he asks Valentine to find his wife, who has vanished into the darkness of the Kurian Order. With the help of old friends and new allies, Valentine traces her to a mysterious, heavily guarded compound in Ohio. And what Valentine finds within will shake his sanity to its very core.

Dead and Dateless (Dead End Dating, Book 2)

Kimberly Raye

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

SHE’D LIKE HER BLOOD BOTTLED, PLEASE!

The sassiest vampire in all of Manhattan, Lil Marchette, is the owner of Dead End Dating–a matchmaking service for hip, intelligent singles like herself. After only three months, business is booming, and she can finally pay her bills (or, more important, feed a hungry cosmetics addiction). But when one of her clients turns up dead (as in never coming back), Lil is named as the prime suspect.
Murder?

Sure, she’s a vampire, but she can’t even work up her nerve when it comes to blood-sucking. Hacking somebody to pieces is so out of the question.

To make matters worse, Lil must also contend with a pack of werewolves who ask–no, demand–that she find each one a tall, dark, and handsome mate before the next full moon. Plus, the to-die-for-if-I wasn’t-already-dead Ty Bonner, a lusciously sexy lover but totally unsuitable eternity mate, is never far from her midnight fantasies. But Lil has no time for such thoughts. She must prove her innocence and focus on pairing off the dead and the furry–and maybe stake a claim to her own tasty true love.

“Kimberly Raye is hot, hot, hot!”
–Vicki Lewis Thompson, author of Nerds Like It Hot

War for the Oaks: A Novel

Emma Bull

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 60 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Emma Bull's debut novel, War for the Oaks, placed her in the top tier of urban fantasists and established a new subgenre. Unlike most of the rock & rollin' fantasies that have ripped off Ms. Bull's concept, War for the Oaks is well worth reading. Intelligent and skillfully written, with sharply drawn, sympathetic characters, War for the Oaks is about love and loyalty, life and death, and creativity and sacrifice.

Eddi McCandry has just left her boyfriend and their band when she finds herself running through the Minneapolis night, pursued by a sinister man and a huge, terrifying dog. The two creatures are one and the same: a phouka, a faerie being who has chosen Eddi to be a mortal pawn in the age-old war between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Eddi isn't interested--but she doesn't have a choice. Now she struggles to build a new life and new band when she might not even survive till the first rehearsal.

War for the Oaks won the Locus Magazine award for Best First Novel and was a finalist for the Mythopoeic Society Award. Other books by Emma Bull include the novels Falcon, Bone Dance (second honors, Philip K. Dick Award), Finder (a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award), and (with Stephen Brust) Freedom and Necessity; the collection Double Feature (with Will Shetterly); and the picture book The Princess and the Lord of Night. --Cynthia Ward

Thunderbird Falls (The Walker Papers, Book 2)

C.E. Murphy

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

What a Disappointment 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I almost find it hard to believe that I just read the same book that the rest of these folks did. I would have given it no stars at all, if that had been an option.

Others have summarized the story, so I won't repeat, but I have to say the plot was one of the weakest I've seen since Laurell K. Hamilton made the transition to dark erotica, and the obviousness of the solution to the mystery was matched only by my wonder at the fact that I actually paid 15 bucks for this garbage....which I did largely because of the Amazon reviewers's raves. (Thanks, gang.)

As a woman, I object strongly to the classification of the main character as a "strong female lead." She is not strong, she is an emotionally stunted human being with all the poise and consideration of a surly teenager. In other words, she's thoughtless and annoying.

The author's use of a stream of consciousness method doesn't help, since the protagonist comes across as both a scatterbrained idiot and hopelessly dense. This might have been easier to bear if she hadn't been presented as a beat cop who'd been promoted because she was thought to be "promising."

To find a strong female lead, check out Kelley Armstrong, Patricia Briggs, or Lilith Saintcrow, to name a few. For sophisticated plots and just plain fabulous writing, Jim Butcher is your man.

But this book? Wow. If you're a thinking person who reads a lot, please don't waste your hard-earned money.

Editorial Review:

It's the end of the world . . . Again.

For all the bodies she's encountering, you'd think beat cop Joanne Walker works in Homicide. But no, Joanne's a reluctant shaman who last saved mankind three months ago -- surely she deserves more of a break! Yet, incredibly, "Armageddon, take two" is mere days away.

There's not a minute to waste.

Yet when her spirit guide inexplicably disappears, Joanne needs help from other sources. Especially after she accidentally unleashes Lower World demons on Seattle. Damn. With the mother of all showdowns gathering force, it's the worst possible moment for Joanne to realize she should have learned more about controlling her powers.

Crescent Moon (Nightcreature, Book 4)

Lori Handeland

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

New Orleans is known for sinful pleasures and strange magic, but for cryptozoologist Diana Malone it offers one irresistible attraction. For over a hundred years there have been whispers of wolves around the Crescent City, and the recent discovery of bodies in the nearby swamps hints at a creature even more dangerous…one that could make Diana’s career and fortune, if she lives to capture it.

Adam Ruelle is a reclusive former Special Forces officer, the last of a mysterious Cajun family rumored to be cursed, and the only person skilled enough to guide Diana in her search. Rugged and captivating, he fills her nights with desire…but by day, Diana is plagued with doubts. Adam clearly knows more than he’s telling, but is his aim to protect her or distract her? Something is stalking its prey in the Louisiana bayous, and every step towards the horrifying truth brings Diana closer to a centuries-old enemy that lives for the smell of fear and the thrill of killing, again and again…

A Lick of Frost (Meredith Gentry, Book 6)

Laurell K. Hamilton

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 166 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

I am Meredith Gentry, princess and heir apparent to the throne in the realm of faerie, onetime private investigator in the mortal world. To be crowned queen, I must first continue the royal bloodline and give birth to an heir of my own. If I fail, my aunt, Queen Andais, will be free to do what she most desires: install her twisted son, Cel, as monarch . . . and kill me.

My royal guards surround me, and my best loved–my Darkness and my Killing Frost–are always beside me, sworn to protect and make love to me. But still the threat grows greater. For despite all my carnal efforts, I remain childless, while the machinations of my sinister, sadistic Queen and her confederates remain tireless. So my bodyguards and I have slipped back into Los Angeles, hoping to outrun the gathering shadows of court intrigue. But even exile isn’t enough to escape the grasp of those with dark designs.

Now King Taranis, powerful and vainglorious ruler of faerie’s Seelie Court, has leveled accusations against my noble guards of a heinous crime–and has gone so far as to ask the mortal authorities to prosecute. If he succeeds, my men face extradition to faerie and the hideous penalties that await them there. But I know that Taranis’s charges are baseless, and I sense that his true target is me. He tried to kill me when I was a child. Now I fear his intentions are far more terrifying.

The Blood Books, Vol. 1 (Blood Price / Blood Trail)

Tanya Huff

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Private Investigator and Her Vampire Friend 5 out of 5 stars.
19 of 19 people found this review helpful.

The Blood Books, Volume 1 (2006), is an omnibus edition of the first two fantasy novels in the Blood series. It includes Blood Price and Blood Trail.

Victoria Nelson -- Vicki -- is a former Toronto homicide detective who had resigned for medical reasons. She had been diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa and experienced various visual disorders, including night blindness, tunnel vision and myopia. Now she works as a private detective on cases that don't overtask her senses.

In Blood Price (1991), eight months after leaving the force, Vicki witnesses the death of a young man attacked by something that tore out his throat. Her former partner -- Mike Celluci -- responds to the call. As usual, she and Mike fight over everything, but even Mike confesses that he had missed fighting with her.

Now she can't seem to let go of the case, particularly when similar deaths occur. The media start speculating about the murders being vampire slayings. She keeps calling her friends in the coroner's office and the Criminal Investigation Division to find out more information. She even goes to the scenes to look for clues missed by the police.

One night, she catches up with the killer just as he is disappearing. She also finds a vampire on the scene, but he punches her out and takes her to his apartment. Henry Fitzroy, the vampire, has a choice: kill her or trust her with his story. He takes the second course, although he can always remedy any mistake by killing her later.

Henry is the illegitimate son of King Henry VIII of England. He is now four hundred and fifty years old and has been a vampire for most of that time. He was made a vampire by Christina, who also rescued him from his deep grave after his apparent death at the age of seventeen.

Henry explains to Vicki that the killer is a lesser demon, who is working on a scheme to open this world to Hellish havoc. Since they can't trust the police with this information, Henry and Vicki need to nullify the scheme. Vicki is charged with finding the master and Henry will try to take out the lesser demon.

Then Coreen, girlfriend of the first victim, hires Vicki to find the alleged vampire. Even if the police don't believe in vampires (or demons), Vicki has an acceptable reason to search for clues. Besides, the client will pay for her time and expenses.

In Blood Trail (1992), Vicki is tired and sweaty from working a case on industrial sabotage and is just starting to shower when the phone rings. Being a compulsive phone answerer, she quickly dries off and races for the receiver. It is her mother calling about spending time together. Mothers!

Vicki finishes the shower and is preparing supper when the phone rings again. This time it is Celluci. He wants to know some information about a previous case and is using Vicki's memories instead of the files. Former partners!

She is eating cold eggs and watching the Jays play in Milwaukee. It is the bottom of the seventh, the Jays behind by two runs, two out and one man on second. Just as a Jays power hitter steps up to the plate, the phone rings. This time it is Henry. He has some friends who need the help of a private investigator. Phones!

In this story, Vicki goes over to Henry's apartment to meet his friends. The security guard recognizes her and buzzes her through, but also gives her a suspicious look. When she reaches the condo, the door swings open to reveal a huge russet colored dog.

A young woman is waiting with Henry in the living room. Henry introduces her as Rose Heerkens and then Rose introduces the dog as Storm. Sitting on the couch, Vicki puts on her professional face and asks why she is needed.

Rose tells her that two members of her family have been shot in the past month. When Vicki asks about the police findings, Rose tells her that they don't know about the shootings. Vicki is puzzled about this remark, so Henry tells Rose to show her.

Rose takes off her sandals, then stands up and removes her sundress. Standing there naked, she suddenly transforms into a white dog and the russet dog turns into a young man, who now introduces himself as Peter. The pair are werewolves.

Highly recommended for Huff fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of supernatural ploys, preternatural concerns and a touch of romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Editorial Review:

Vicki Nelson is an ex-homicide cop turned private detective. Mike Celluci, Vicki's former parter, is still on the force. Henry Fitzroy is an author of bodice rippers-and a vampire. Together, the trio find themselves caught up in mysteries with a supernatural slant-from demons to werewolves and every otherworldly creature in between.

Thunder Moon (Nightcreature, Book 8)

Lori Handeland

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Another opportunity to visit Lake Bluff, Georgia! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I love Lori Handleland's Nightcreature novels. I especially enjoyed visiting Lake Bluff, Georgia (small human population, large paranormal population) again. In this installation, Grace (the sheriff) is trying to figure out who or what is killing the dying residents, and evetually the not-so-dying residents of the town. With her handy assistant, Cal (ex-Marine and Chuck Norris Fan), and Doc (who knows all about the paranormal), Grace sets out to discover what is amist in her small town. Of course, in comes a handsome Doctor Ian, who not only seems to know a little about her Cherokee heritage, but also knows about the paranormal. Grace can only turn to her friend Claire, the Mayor, who in the last installment fought werewolves and found love, for understanding as she both accepts her heritage and finds what she has always been searching for, LOVE. I loved this novel and can't wait for the next. It is easy to read (2 days tops) and filled with humor and a decent story. Enjoy.

Editorial Review:

Practical, skeptical Grace McDaniel was not looking for romance. The Sheriff of Lake Bluff, Georgia, and the granddaughter of a Cherokee doctor, Grace’s hands are full with the daily trouble of small-town life. Arriving in the wake of a freak storm is Ian Walker, a mysterious stranger who blends modern medicine and traditional Native American cures. Even though she is wary of his ideas, Grace cannot resist what his touch awakens in her. But Ian is hiding a terrifying secret. And only he knows the truth about a creature stalking the citizens of Lake Bluff. A creature who preys on the dying…and then on the young, the living, the vibrant…Now, to save her people, Grace must put her faith in Ian’s haunting power and succumb to her wildest passions—before the rumble of thunder fills the air, and a relentless evil strikes again…