The Buzz...About Books

The Gift of Being a Man Wolf

Anne Rice returns to her gothic horror roots with The Wolf Gift. She has crafted tales of vampires, witches and angels, and now, Rice tackles werewolves.

We are introduced to our anti-hero Reuben Golding, while he is on location writing a story for the San Francisco Observer. Reuben seems to have it all, wealth, good looks and a promising career as a journalist. He is attracted to the lovely and older Marchent Nideck, who is selling her ancient family home. Reuben is captivated by the mysterious mansion, nestled in a redwood forest just north of San Francisco. While giving a tour of the house, Marchent recalls her family history, which includes a missing great-uncle Felix, who has finally been officially declared dead. During their romantic evening, Marchent is attacked and murdered and Reuben is bitten by a strange animal, while fighting with the attackers.

Of course, we all know the bizarre changes Reuben "suddenly" begins to experience at night. He dubs himself "the Man Wolf," discovering that his new animal senses allow him to hear and smell evil-doers and their victims. He becomes a vigilante of sorts, while the media, police and scientists hunt for his true identity. Throughout the novel, Reuben struggles with the moral dilemma of good and evil, and the internal conflict of embracing and fearing what he is becoming. The question of what bit him and if there are more man wolves out there continues to haunt him.

Also available in: Audiobook and Large Print

Anne Rice recently visited the Appel Salon to talk about The Wolf Gift, if you missed her that night, here are the videos!

 

 

 

Graveminder

Melissa Marr's new novel Graveminder, will captivate fantasy and horror fans alike. Rebekkah Barrow has tried to forget everything from her past, including the suicide of her sister. She left the small town of Claysville years ago and hoped to never return. However, with the sudden death of her grandmother, Maylene, Rebekkah must return to fulfill her duties at the funeral. Maylene taught her the many rituals, which must be followed at a funeral and Rebekkah is the only one who can perform these tasks.

Upon returning to serene Claysville, Rebekkah is greeted by her former boyfriend Byron, the undertaker, and is informed that her grandmother was actually murdered. Oddly, the police and town council do not seem concerned and the council simply explains that they will take care of everything. Rebekkah knew that Claysville was an eccentric small town, which follows strict burial customs, including not embalming the deceased, but she is now about to discover the many secrets that Claysville hides. "Death himself had made a bargain with Claysville, that the townsfolk knowingly accepted such a bargain in exchange for health and semisealed borders." After arriving in town, Rebekkah feels a strange pull to stay. The people of Claysville tend to live their whole lives there and if they do leave, they feel obliged to return.

Rebekkah will learn that following in Maylene's footsteps, she is now the Graveminder, who keeps the dead in their final place of rest. It is up to Rebekkah and Byron to hunt down the monster who killed Maylene.

Have a Fantastic Summer!

You may not be able to get out of town this weekend but you can go into space, visit an alternate universe or travel through time.  Speculative fiction is an umbrella term used to include all of the more fantastical types of fiction, primarily science fiction, horror and fantasy.  This incorporates subgenres like alternate history, time travel, superheroes and the supernatural.  Wizards, vampires and aliens are just the tip of the iceberg.  There's something to appeal to every reader.

Curious, but not sure where to begin?  Award winning books are always a good choice, so here is a list of some speculative fiction awards, divided by genre.  If the winner has not been announced the full list of nominees is given.

Fantasy Genre

Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel
Kraken: an Anatomy by China Miéville

 Horror Genre

Bram Stoker Awards
A Dark Matter by Peter Straub

Science Fiction Genre

Arthur C. Clarke Award
Zoo City by Lauren Beukes

British Science Fiction Association Award
The Dervish House by Ian McDonald

Hugo Awards--Winner announced on August 21. 
 Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis (Winner)
Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Dervish House by Ian McDonald
Feed by Mira Grant
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

John W. Campbell Memorial Award
The Dervish House by Ian McDonald

Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis

Nebula Awards
Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis

Phillip K. Dick Award
The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder

Prix Aurora Awards--Winner will be announced in November.
Black Bottle Man by Craig Russell
Destiny's Blood by Marie Bilodeau
Stealing Home by Hayden Trenholm
Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
Watch by Robert J. Sawyer

Prometheus Award
Darkship Thieves by Sarah A. Hoyt

Sidewise Award for Alternative History-Winner will be announced in August.
Columbia and Britannia by Adam Chamberlain and Brian A. Dixon
Pinion by Jay Lake
Red Inferno: 1945 by Robert Conroy
When Angels Wept: A What-If History of the Cuban Missile Crisis by Eric Swedin

 

 

Zombie Apocalypse Now?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently posted an article about surviving a zombie apocalypse on its website.  It’s a fairly straightforward guide to disaster planning but with zombies. The author, Rear Admiral Ali S. Khan, MD is a zombie fan whose favourite movie is Resident Evil.  He’s also the Assistant Surgeon General and Director in the CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response.

Dr. Khan is not the only one with a soft spot for zombies  During the past few years a new genre called zombie apocalypse appeared quite suddenly and is now lurching relentlessly throughout libraries and bookstores.  It may be impossible to stop, so why fight it? 

Here is a selection of some recent zombie fiction.

Breathers: a Zombie’s Lament by S.G. Brown 
Newly reanimated Andy discovers that being a zombie isn't that much fun in this social satire.

Cell by Stephen King
A pulse sent out over cell phones turns most of the population into zombie-like killing machines.  A small band of “normies” must fight for survival against all odds.

 
 Feed by Mira Grant
A team of bloggers hunts for the truth about the infection that cured most diseases but unfortunately also raised the  dead. 
 
Monster Island: a Zombie novel by David Wellington
After most of the world’s population has become zombies, an army of teenage girls travels to Manhattan in an attempt to locate medical supplies.  The first of an expected trilogy, this book has gotten rave reviews.

Paul is Undead: the British Zombie Invasion by Alan Goldsher
Zombies Paul, John and George want to make music and eat brains, while ninja lord Ringo Starr tries to keep the violence to a minimum in this alternative history of 1960s music.

 The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell
This well-regarded novel has been described as “Flannery O’Connor with zombies”.  It has been nominated for this year’s Philip K. Dick award.

 

The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore
The residents of Pine Cove, California are all set to celebrate Christmas, but then zombies come along and ruin everything.

World War Z: an Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
Through a series of interviews, a United Nations official describes the history of World War Z, a zombie pandemic that nearly leads to the extinction of human beings.

 

Related posts: 
Mashed Up Fiction and the Ick Factor
Walking Dead

The Bram Stoker Awards Shortlist

Presented by the Horror Writers Association, the Bram Stoker Awards honour excellence in the genre of horror.  The winners will be announced during Stoker Weekend, a conference held June 16-19, 2011.

Novel

Apocalypse of the Dead by Joe McKinney

A Dark Matter by Peter Straub

Dead Love by Linda Watanabe McFerrin

Dweller by Jeff Strand

Horns by Joe Hill

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Non-Fiction

The Conspiracy Against the Human Race: a Contrivance of Horror by Thomas Ligotti

Listen to the Echoes: the Ray Bradbury Interviews by Sam Weller

To Each Their Darkness by Gary A. Braunbeck

Unwanted Undead or Alive by Jonathan Maberry and Janice Gable Bashman

A complete list of nominees in all categories is available at 2011 Stoker Awards.

 

Walking Dead

      

 

 

 

 

Vampires and werewolves are so last year. Anyone watching The Walking Dead on Sunday nights on AMC will tell you that. Nominated for a Golden Globe award, the critically-acclaimed televsion series is based on the 2003 adult comic books by Robert Kirkman, illustrated by Tony Moore and later, Charlie Adlard.  In 2010, the series won the Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series.  Check out the 13 editions (each volume contains 6 of the original comic books).  Will our hero Rick Grimes prevail?

Left to Right: Rick Grimes, Walking Dead hero
Andrew Lincoln, British actor, plays Grimes in the television series
Robert Kirkman, author of The Walking Dead

 Vol 1: Days Gone By;  Vol 2: Miles Behind Us;  Vol 3: Safety Behind Bars;  Vol 4: The Heart's Desire;  Vol 5: The Best Defense;  Vol 6: This Sorrowful Life;  Vol 7: The Calm Before;  Vol 8: Made to Suffer;  Vol 9: Here We Remain;  Vol 10: What We Become;  Vol 11: Fear the Hunters;  Vol 12: Life Among Them;  Vol 13: Too Far Gone

Further reading in the event of a zombie apocalypse near you:

• Zombies: A Field Guide to the Walking Dead by Bob Curran
• Shakespeare Undead by Lori Handeland
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the Undead by Don Borchert
• Zombies: A Record of the Year of Infection by Ron Doff
• Zombies directed by Mike Leiderman for A&E

 

Revisit a Classic for Halloween

Before Twilight and the whole Edward versus Jacob debate, there was Dracula. To get in the mood for Halloween this year I decided to revisit the original Nosferatu with the new Dracula sequel!

Dracula: The Un-Dead is written by Bram Stoker's great-grandnephew, Dacre Stoker and Dracula documentarian and historian, Ian Holt. The sequel is actually based on Bram's handwritten notes, picking up plot threads and characters that did not make the original novel. Follow Quincey Harker, Bram Stoker, Jack the Ripper, Countess Bathory, and a mysterious Romanian actor, Basarab, on this new bloodthirsty journey. But don't worry many old friends are back too!

Set 25 years after the end of Dracula, we find out fearless band of heroes separated, but still suffering from the consequences of their battle with the Dark Prince. Time seems to have passed each of them by, while they have never fully recovered. Jonathan and Mina now have a son, Quincey; however, they are not the happy couple they once were. "It was little wonder Jonathan Harker had fallen to drink, having to live with a woman who was a constant reminder of their shared tragedy." Dr. Jack Seward suffers from a paranoia and madness worthy of hos former patients. Arthur Holmwood is a bitter man, who blames Mina for his unfulfilled life. Van Helsing, vampire hunter extraordinaire, is still waiting for the return of Dracula; despite his old age and ill health, he knows this will be a battle to the death.

Suddenly their worst fears come true as they are hunted down. Has Dracula survived? Or is there a more sinister and relentless force out there?

Also available in:
Large Print

Other Halloween Vampire Treats:

Fall Thrillers

Fall is my favourite season.  Aside from beautiful foliage, it is also the biggest publishing season.  After Labour Day publishers release their biggest, flashiest and most important titles.   There are so many releases, it is impossible to keep up.  This is a small selection of the mystery, crime and suspense novels that are coming out in the next few months.

Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny 
Inspector Armand Ganache haunted by mistakes he has made, is nursing his wounds in the library of the Quebec City Literary and Historical Society.  When a murder occurs at the library exposing a mystery that has been hidden for centuries, he is compelled to investigate.   

• Audiobook
  

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

An unlikely friendship between two boys with diverse backgrounds develops in 1970s Mississippi but is later torn apart by suspicion when a local girl disappears. 

Fatal Error by F. Paul Wilson

The Repairman Jack series is a blend of horror and mystery with a dollop of science fiction for good measure.  Jack is a fixer, solving problems others cannot.  He is more concerned with justice than with the law, and often uses creative, though not necessarily legal, methods.  Although he takes normal cases, his work often pits him against supernatural forces, as in this book when he tries to prevent the end of the world.

Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane
Lehane finally returns to his terrific series featuring Boston private eyes, Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro.  I can’t wait for this one.  Although I love all of Lehane’s books, I’ve really missed these plucky detectives.  It will be released on December 6.

• Audiobook
• Large Print Edition

Sleepwalkers by Paul Grossman

German police detective and war hero Willi Krauss is called upon to investigate when a surgically mutilated girl is found floating in the Havel River.  Set in the final weeks of the Weimar Republic, the Jewish Krauss finds his task complicated by the political turmoil around him. 

This debut novel is getting rave reviews.

• Audiobook
  

Mashed up Fiction and the “ick” factor

Mash-up fiction or Paraliterature is hot and sometimes icky but fun to read.

Authors, some well known for “real” writing and some not so well known have decided for reasons beyond me to "mash up" beloved classics into twisted tales of gore and mayhem.

Well loved fictional characters are key to this new genre.  Jane Eyre becomes Jane Slayre. Elizabeth Bennet learns to be a Zombie Warrior and Byron [spoiler alert] turns my favourite author into a vampire. Nothing is sacred as even Queen Victoria and Abe Lincoln have been re-born as slayers of zombies, vampires and other demons.

Gore and more gore! I have rated the books below on “ick” factor. Low ick factor has more story with gore on the side and high ick factor has gore that is central to the story. I have yet to read any books where the ick factor is medium.  Perhaps, for me, it's either high or low.

Here are few good, yes good reads, in this new genre:

Jane Bites Back by Michael Thomas Ford

Jane Austen is a vampire quietly running a bookstore near New York City. After 200 years she's decided to stay out of the way of other vampires, especially the famous poet who turned her. Being immortal would not be so bad if she could get a publisher to take her last manuscript seriously.  Ick factor: Low

Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith

This is a prequel to the smash hit Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Graham-Smith. Here we learn just how the Bennett sisters became Zombie Warriors and why Netherfield Park must be let.  

Includes illustrations! Ick Factor: Low

Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter by A. E. Moorat 

Victoria ascends her throne only to find that she is also the new chief Demon Hunter for her kingdom. Now, if she can only get the handsome Prince Albert out of her mind so she can concentrate on ridding her country of the zombie plague.  Ick factor: High (but still fun!)

Jane Slayre by Charlotte Brontë & Sherri Browning Erwin

This is a teaser as there are no copies available in the library yet. I can't wait to read a mash up version of Jane Eyre that promises us a blood-sucking twist. Perhaps this time she won't leave Mr. Rochester!?

Anyone got a good mash up to recommend?  What is your "ick" factor rating?

- Jane

For achievement in horror... "The Strain"

No gorgeous vampires in The Strain. No sulky teen undead. It’s just a first-rate horror novel full of sympathetic characters and suspense that never lets up.
 
The Strain was co-written by crime novelist Chuck Hogan and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, director of the movies Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy.
 
The horror begins when a plane lands safely in New York City's JFK airport. On touchdown the plane's power goes out and its communications fail. All the window shades are down.
 
Post 9/11 emergency responses swing into effect.
 
A baggage handler notices that one of the window shades is up and suddenly knows in her deepest animal nature that something wants to eat her.
 
Bad things happen to good people in this book. But the names -- Dr. Goodweather, The Stoneheart Group -- show that the authors want us to have some fun along with the chills.

Hogan was asked if there were plans to make the book into a movie. “Even better -- a long-form cable-type series. That way you get the episodic nature of the book, with its various cliffhangers and character surprises - and you get your full-on scare as well.”
 
This is the first volume of a trilogy. I can't wait for the second two books. If you like horror literature, don't miss The Strain.