Demented Tales: Stories from the Crypt

Intertwined

2011-07-12T19:42:00.000-07:00

Intertwined by Gena Showalter (Intertwined Book #1)

Most sixteen-year-olds have friends. Aden Stone has four human souls living inside him:

One can time-travel.

One can raise the dead.

One can tell the future.

And one can possess another human.

With no other family and a life spent in and out of institutions, Aden and the souls have become friends. But now they're causing him all kinds of trouble. Like, he'll blink and suddenly he's a younger Aden, reliving the past. One wrong move, and he'll change the future. Or he'll walk past a total stranger and know how and when she's going to die.

He's so over it. All he wants is peace.

And then he meets a girl who quiets the voices. Well, as long as he's near her. Why? Mary Ann Gray is his total opposite. He's a loner; she has friends. He doesn't care what anyone thinks; she tries to make everyone happy. And while he attracts the paranormal, she repels it. For her sake, he should stay away. But it's too late....

Somehow, they share an inexplicable bond of friendship. A bond about to be tested by a werewolf shape-shifter who wants Mary Ann for his own, and a vampire princess Aden can't resist.

Two romances, both forbidden. Still, the four will enter a dark underworld of intrigue and danger but not everyone will come out alive....

Young Adult

When I finished this book four months ago, I was jumping up and down in joy, content to put it away to reside for all eternity beneath the many tomes of literature that both I and my parents own, never to be seen again.

And I say this with relief.

This just might be the worst book I have had the pleasure of seeing since the incident with Twilight, no joke, and may I say that I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. Gena Showalter, who has more published books than I wish to count, has made the year of 2010 even more hellish than I originally imagined, and I've officially ranked her with those of Lauren Kate and Stephanie Meyer, who also had a hand of making last year a literature nightmare.

In all honesty, though, the book originally appeared to be an overall not-too-shabby YA chunk that has been littering the market for the past couple of years. But then I read past the first twenty pages.

The protagonist of the series, Haden "Aden" Stone, at first appears to be well-fleshed out, likeable and with an interesting history to boot, no doubt worth my time. But, as the story drags out you can literally watch the skin and muscle peel back to reveal the cardboard bones beneath, and then his true nature is revealed as a whiny, angsty brat who I want to shoot to put out of its misery. And then Mary- ~~Sue~~ Anne Gray lets herself be known.

And it all goes downhill from there.

Why of course she's got to be the most perfect dickens, doing her homework all nice like and dating the local football star, never straying from her father's chosen path and even choosing the career he laid out like the precious little angel she is, never arguing our voicing her own opinions like the little mechanic robot she is.

Mary - ~~Stue~~ Anne is the character from H E Double Hockey Sticks. She literally makes me want to go to my room and cry over the fall of modern literature.

She even calls her dad daddy for gods sake.

So then starts the epic adventure of Aden and Mary ~~Stue~~ Anne, and their even more horrid love interests, the vampire and the werewolf, Victoria and Riley.

Yeah. That's their names. No joke.

So, our perfect little succubus is the princess of vampires, who can only be wounded through her ears our eyes, and is the daughter of my historical hero, Vlad Drăculea.

You can tell that this irritates me, can't you?

So, our wonderful Prinţesă and her god of a guard, the ancient, cursed lycanthrope from medieval Romania branded with the name Riley, fall in love with the mortals Aden and Mary, despite the fact that they would long outlive them as they turn to dust.

After these wonderful timbits (Yes, timbits. I'm Canadian, okay?) come into play, the author decides to cram the book so much paranormal creatures that the Pope would have a heart attack. Everything from Ghouls to Faeries to Witches and Werewolves. Now, you see a book like Nightlife manges to balance this well, Intertwined makes it seem utterly ridiculou since you get little to no facts on how creatures such as this avoid human detection.

And it is all blah, blah, blah, I don't wish to be here all day ranting about a sucky book I wish had never seen the light of day. Trust me. This is garbage. The characters are trash, the plot is trash, the pages are trash. This book is a pile of stinking mess squashed between to cardboard flaps and sold for fifteen dollars (I honestly wish I had my money back). The writing is juvenile and there is so many mistakes (ex. welsh instead of some other word, I can't really remember right now) that it is truly sad.

She also allows a prep to kill of the King of Vampires and Impaler of unfortunate souls, Vlad, without a second thought. That is a big no-no among most books and many wouldn't even think of committing such a hanus crime.

Number one sign of a bimbo author behind the keys.

Goodnight to all Fantasy Readers and taker care. Be warned that there are monsters out there, both literary and not.

-Diavol

Soldier X

2011-06-18T16:10:00.000-07:00

Soldier X by Don L. Wulffson

As World War II rages, sixteen-year-old Erik Brandt finds himself on a train traveling to Russia. He's one of the hundreds of thousands of German boys being sent to the Eastern Front by Hitler-since no men are left to fight. Trained as an interpreter and not a soldier, Erik manages to survive the combat, but only by slipping into a dead enemy's uniform, and posing as a wounded Russian. Now the young German must keep up his charade....

Soldier X is based on a conversation author Don Wulffson had with a German war survivor. The result is a thoughtful and compelling novel that takes readers inside the mind of a boy who must fight and even die for a war he doesn't believe in.

Ages 12-14

Soldier X illustrates the dramatic tale of a young boy thrown into the midst of battle and lost behind enemy lines...As a member of HJ, or, more commonly known as the Hitler Youth.

I have always been a WWII buff, and I'll literally do anything to get my hands on a piece f literature relating to it, but, sadly, this one didn't meet my expectations.

In my opinion, you wait and wait, and you expect something big to happen, then it just...doesn't. Every one goes home, and nothing really actually happens. Though the beginning of the novel held such promise.

I don't really have much to add to this, but, if you do enjoy War fiction, this just might wet your appetite, and, I also wouldn't rule it out for Junior readers. As a young adult, things like this (written simply without much graphics), just don't hold my attention. If you're schooling your children, or sixth grade class about the Holocaust, and want a unique perspective of Germany's feeling on the war, this is perfect for you. As a matter of fact, my youngest brother absolutely loves this, and your younger children probably will too.

Vision- 3 stars
Originality- 3 stars
Technique- 4 stars
Imagination- 3 stars

Overall Value- 4 stars

Boredom

2011-06-02T20:04:00.000-07:00

Death Note Volume 1 by Tsugumi Ohba, Art by Takeshi Obata

R to L (Japanese Style)

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects - and he's bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal...or his life?

Light tests the boundaries of the Death Note's powers as L and the police begin to close in. Luckily Light's father is the head of the Japanese National Police Agency and leaves vital information about the case lying around the house. With access to his father's files, Light can keep one step ahead of the authorities. But who is the strange man following him, and how can Light guard against enemies whose names he doesn't know?

Older Teens- Age 16+ for Blood, Violence and Mature Themes

Most anyone of the manga and anime world have been introduced to the wildly popular Death Note series, and I am no exception, and, I have to admit, I've become a huge fan of this series.

With a complicated plot that has only just begun to reveal itself, you can't help but wonder, will L get him? Who is L? Will Light stray from his chosen path? And just what are the exact rules of the Death note?

This was, actually, the first manga I've ever read, and I can honestly say I wasn't disappointed, the only difficulty I encountered was the reading style, essentially you have to read it backwards, which is difficult for most to do.

But, seriously now, this is the best book I've seen in a long while, and three times better than the infamous Bleach.

I've also developed a serious crush on L, which may make this review slightly biased, but still, this is an excellent series! Anyone who is into anime should read this!

I can't wait to see some American author to try and rip this off.

Vision- 5 stars
Originality- 5 stars
Technique- 5 stars
Imagination- 5 stars

Overall Value- 5 stars

Dogs: Prelude

2011-05-31T18:00:00.000-07:00

Dogs: Prelude Volume 0 by Shirow Miwa

R to L (Japanese Style)

Mihai, the "Weepy Old Killer": A former hitman now trying to live a quiet life but haunted by the deaths of his victims and his lover

Badou, the "Gun Smoker": A chain-smoking "information broker" and hired gun whose reckless façade hides a serious intent.

Naoto, the "Blade Maiden": A preternaturally, skilled swordswoman with a single desire: revenge against the assassin who cut down her family.

Heine, the "Stray Dog": A cipher with a metal collar bolted to his neck, a disturbing talent for mayhem, and a childhood sacrificed to a thing known as "Kerberos."

Driven by their ghosts-both dead and alive-and their desire for truth, all are struggling to solve the secrets of the past while surviving the dangerous present-by gun and sword and courage and luck.

M+ for Graphic Violence and Mature Themes

I was first introduced to "Dogs" through the ever popular goodreads.com, where I had been mindlessly searching for something even remotely readable, unlike some of the other garbage I had been introduced to lately.

I didn't really expect much from it, having read other Seinen manga and having been...revolted by their perspective on women. But this was remarkably good, and, dare I say it?--Almost rivalling the artwork and storyline of Death Note.

But maybe I'm being slightly too enthusiastic in my remembrance, as I've been known to be, but, that besides, you can trust me when I say that this manga won't disappoint.

The art style is unique in the way that there is rarely a background to go with a scene, but in the case of Badou's tale the lack of background in the previous and later pages is made up for there.

The characters (in my opinion) are fresh and likeable (you can't help but chuckle at Mihai's and Badou's antics, and sympathise with Naoto and Heine), and the ending shouts out unfinished, I can't wait to see the series in action, and I'll try to get my hands on the next copy as soon as possible.

Vision- 4.5 stars
Originality- 5 stars
Technique- 4.5 stars
Imagination- 5 stars

Overall Value- 5 stars