Click here to get step-by-step instructions on how to add a charred corpse effect to a skeleton without actually setting that neighbor kid you hate on fire.
But if you leave this thing laying around, don’t act shocked when the police knock on your door.
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Checking out these exciting new titles from Black Death Books:
LIQUID DIET by Michael McCarty, with Introduction by Michael Romkey
As the blood red sun sets over the Chicago skyline, vampire writer-and real life vampire-Andrew Bloodsworth makes his way into WOLF 99.9 FM, an all-night radio station hosted by the beautiful Bella Donna, Goth queen of the airwaves. But OTTO-the Opposition To The Occult, a religious right organization-is also listening to the radio show-and they’re upset.
Soon after, chaos ensues…and the airwaves-and our world-will never be the same again! A Demonic Clown book.
More info…
VAMPIRE APOCALYPSE: DESCENT INTO CHAOS by Derek Gunn
The enthralling sequel to Vampire Apocalypse: A World Torn Asunder, soon to be a major motion picture.
The first battle is over and Nero is dead.
Now the human survivors will pull themselves from the ruins of their base to find that the world is a very different place outside Nero’s territory.
The War is Over. The Vampires have Won. But a new campaign is about to begin…
More info…
CAINWOOD MANOR: KEEPERS OF THE DEAD by Bob Freeman
The blood-soaked Cairnwood Legacy continues…
From the haunted halls of Cairnwood Manor to the bowels of Rosslyn Chapel, Keepers of the Dead hurls you into the very heart of the eternal conflict between the forces of darkness and the forces of light.
A sinister cabal converges to unleash the ultimate evil against an unsuspecting world. Now it’s fang versus claw, spell versus steel, and love versus death in an epic battle of blood and thunder.
More info…
THE NAMELESS by Ray Wallace
They move through the city streets under cover of darkness, claiming human prey. Powerful. Flesh-hungry. Immortal.
Nameless.
One short of the thirteen that would make their Coven strong. But the Master Nicolae has seen in a vision the face of a mortal woman, young, beautiful, who will claim the vacant position within the Coven. But first she must become…Nameless.
More info…
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The Harlequin
15th book in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series
by Laurell K Hamilton
It’s been a while since I could bring myself to read this series. I used to be a huge fan and an avid reader of the series, but after Incubus Dreams my interest in the series all but died. I even had a hard time reading old favorites in the series as the disapointment always returned with an abandon. However, reading Micah managed to draw me in again. Still, I remained leery of the series regardless and this book ended up sitting in my TBR (To Be Read) pile for many months after receiving it through Paperback Swap.
I have to say, this is more like the Anita Blake vampire hunter books that I read and fell in love with all those years ago. And yet, it’s still nowhere near the level that the previous books achieved; with Obsidian Butterfly being the truly last great one.
The Harlequin opens up with Anita in her office, a not unfamiliar beginning, and Malcolm, leader of the church of eternal life sitting across from her. Despite his strong dislike of her and Jean-Claude, Malcolm finds himself seeking their assistance to save his congregation. He knows Anita has a warrant of execution for one of his members but he suspects that they’re being framed. He cannot name who he thinks may be behind it, for it is taboo, so he leaves Anita with this ambiguous request to deliver to Jean-Claude.
That night, while at the cinema with Nathaniel celebrating their anniversary, Anita is the recipient of a strange gift that is not Nathaniel’s doing. The gift is an unpainted white mask, much like those seen during Mardi Gras. After a quick call to Jean-Claude the unnamed scary guys that Malcolm feared might be involved have been named, they are the Harlequin. The Harlequin are the vampire police and modeled, in a sense, after the legends of the Wild Hunt in order to drive fear into the hearts of vampires everywhere. Only Marmee Noir, the Mother of all Darkness, invokes more fear than these guys. Jean-Claude assures Anita that receiving a white mask is a good sign, it merely means that they’re there to observe, and not necessarily them. It’s the red and black masks you have to really fear.
What makes these guys so frightening is the fact that they’re powerful, their identities are unknown, and they are judge, jury, and executioner all in one. They have laws they have to abide by though, and unfortunately for Anita and her harem, it would appear that the rules have been thrown out the window. It sounds like a very promising plot, and really it would have been, but the problems of previous books bleeds over into this one as well sadly. When the book first started it seemed as though Hamilton was going to keep the attention where it really should be, the actual story. And since over a hundred pages pass before Hamilton feels the need to employ her deus ex machina (a.k.a the ardeur) it feels like the story itself will advance, characters will be fleshed out, and there will be some scintillating sex to spice things up. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
During Nathaniel and Anita’s outing Nathaniel brings up the fact that Anita isn’t meeting all of his needs. At first I thought it was great that, that scene was in there. A major point of growth for Nathaniel, who started off as nothing more than Reina and Gabrielle’s perfect submissive sex toy, and who would never have thought to voice his complaints and necessities in a relationship. Anita is uncomfortable with where he wants to take their sex life since she’s not comfortable with that part of her self. A bit hypocritical since she enjoys rough and bloody sex and all Nathaniel is asking her to do is tie him up, but okay, fine, whatever. A few pages later, Hamilton completely underscores the importance of the scene by bringing Byron and Requiem into the equation and making it more about who is having sex with Anita and who isn’t, but wants to.
The relationship between the were and vampire community is a tenuous one at best and the corner stone that apparently holds everything together is, you guessed it, who does and doesn’t get to have sex with Anita. Using the ardeur, Hamilton adds to Anita’s ever growing lists of conquests, and this time it’s characters you just never wanted to see Anita have sex with. After all, they’re characters you’ve come to respect and never expected or wanted to see end up as one of her many lovers - Raphael the rat king and Donovan Reece the swan king. Before that, Hamilton utilized the ardeur in order to work in a dream-sex sequence between Belle Morte and Anita as well. Something that was otherwise improbable given that Anita didn’t have any inclinations towards the fairer sex, gosh but that ardeur sure comes in handy!
The drama between Richard and Anita is still not resolved and honestly looks like it never will be. In fact, Richard’s anger, jealousy, resentment, bitterness, and rage is just old and reaching new heights of absurdity. He pretty much tried to kill Anita which winds up nearly killing all three of them along with Damien and Nathaniel, and yet still the two won’t move on. Yes, they are tied through Jean-Claude, but really, it’s obvious that it’s time they agree on friends and being tied and nothing more. After fifteen books in the series, at least ten of which I’ve actively disliked Richard, I still can’t fathom why they can’t just move on from each other. I will always think that Micah and Nathanial are the better matches for Anita on the shifter front. That said, every time Richard started posturing like a drama queen I found myself skimming over that portion. This is a character that has really just gotten out of control and kills the emotion and mood no matter what the situation.
Despite the good start that the book had, Anita and her harem spent the majority of The Harlequin either talking about the sex they had, sex in the future, who will and will not be having sex with Anita, who wants to have sex with her, and what the sex was like. In fact, it wasn’t until more than halfway through the book before Anita gets serious about the Harlequin. About a quarter of the book was left before Anita met up with Edward and his backup and went hunting. It was good seeing Edward again, and Olaf, even if they were shells of their former selves.
One thing that really did not sit well with me was deal with the lions. The Rex of the werelions is a married man and his wife doesn’t want to share him with Anita, period. Understandable, right? Apparently not in Anita and everyone else’s books. In this situation Anita just came off as a selfish bitch, especially when she attempted to bully the Rex over it towards the end.
Initially The Harlequin was a vast improvement over the last few installments in the series, but that progress was quickly halted as the book progressed. The actual story became bogged down with the endless prattle about sex with Anita and was shunted to the foreground. It’s readily apparent that the author’s focus is on sex and only sex when character introductions include lines that go along the lines of: “I slept with him when…” and “underneath those clothes is a body built like…..believe me, I know”. Between comments like that and her treatment of the werelion’s Rex, my respect for Anita has fallen significantly.
The Harlequin themselves, along with the appearance of Edward and Olaf, and the time spent with Anita’s wereleopard pard were the savings grace of the book for me. But over all I found this book to be only a slight improvement in quality. The first hundred pages or so of The Harlequin will suck you in and keep you hooked, but the story quickly drags and soon it becomes apparent that the story simply will not advance until we’ve had several back to back sexcapades and some pointless banter of who has and hasn’t had sex with Anita yet and what it’s done for them.
Joana’s Rating: 
(3 out of 5 stars)
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Ed at Vampires & Slayers had a chance to interview Sophia Myles back when Moonlight was still on the air. There is an excerpt from that interview posted over at Vampires & Slayers. Head on over there and have a listen! Thanks, Ed!
Sophia Myles with Vampires & Slayers
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I’m performing for a Hallowe’en party tomorrow night at Moti Hasson Gallery, to accompany my exhibition Waking the Dead. Beckley Roberts, Anne Marie Richard, and Andrew Garn will be performing along with me.
Costumes, especially scary ones, welcome! Or come prepared to be transformed…
Wednesday October 31, Hallowe’en, 2007, 7pm
Moti Hasson Gallery
535 West 25th Street
New York, NY
212.268.4444
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Here’s what I’ve been stitching on mostly.
This is Just Nan’s Ghoulies and Ghosties. This is actually the first JN chart I’m stitching for myself 
I’ve been having a lot of fun with this - it’s DMC on 28ct linen, so it’s not something I have to concentrate too much on. That’s a good thing, because it’s been one of those awful weeks at work. I am ever so happy that it’s Friday tomorrow, and I’m really looking forward to hopefully going to the State Fair this weekend. Plus, ya know, working on the many exchanges and such that I *should* be working on. On that front, I have what I’m going to stitch for my Fair & Square partner picked out, so I hope to start that this weekend. For Hannah’s long overdue exchange, I need to find my sewing machine. I *think* it’s buried in the garage…. somewhere. I’ve decided the main chart I’m going to base the next RR square after and now I just need to graph it up and make sure it fits well in the space allowed. And then, after all that’s done? It’ll be well past time to start Christmas presents 
! Ah well, at least I can’t complain about being bored!
I’m going to try to get more pictures of the house this weekend, so you can see the slightly-less-boxes decorating style we’ve got going on now 
I hope everyone has a good end to their week!
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Night World No.1
Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, and Spellbinder
by L.J. Smith
This is the first set in the newly reprinted collection of the Night World series by L.J. Smith that was first published in 1996. The series is being reprinted now in three volumes, each containing three of the Night World novels that were originally published on their own separately. Included in this set are the first three novels of the series: Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, and Spellbinder respectively. Grab something to eat or drink and get comfortable folks, this is going to be a long post.
The Night World, as it were, is not so much a world but a society that runs parallel and, at times, intertwined with the world as we know it. The Night World is comprised of vampires, shapeshifters, and witches, along with a handful of other supernatural things, and is ruled by a governing body that is comprised of representatives of each species. Each species, however, has their monarchy who dictate to them. There are numerous rules that each species adheres to, but the two that are of the utmost importance are:
As you can well imagine, the Night World Series is comprised of tales when these two fundamental rules are broken.
Secret Vampire starts the series off. In this first story, L.J. Smith introduces a handful of characters who will play fundamental roles in the events to come. She also takes the opportunity in this story, as well as the following two, to lay down the foundations of the world in which these characters live. In doing so her supernatural characters become that much more understandable and the differences between the human and non-human characters, both superficial and non, become readily apparent.
The story revolves around Poppy, a young high school girl just starting the summer vacation of her senior year in high school, and James Rasmussen a living vampire and her long-time best friend. At the beginning of the summer Poppy is diagnosed pancreatic cancer, a terminal form of cancer with a less than 1% chance of survival. For James, sitting back and watching Poppy die is not an option, but the only other option is to turn her into a vampire. The second option opens up a whole new can of worms as it will not only break every rule set into place by the Council, but will also force the both of them to go on the run. To top it off, James’ cousin, Ash Redfern, is in town. Ash seems to care nothing for humans, with the exception of females he can play with. When Ash discovers Poppy’s secret all hell breaks loose.
With the knowledge of Poppy’s inevitable death, no matter what choice she makes, there comes a roller coaster of emotion to ride out. Fear of the unknown, the loss of everything she holds dear, and everything in between, Poppy’s emotions run the full gambit giving a very realistic feel to what it must be like to know that you are dying and your only choice is to die or die, wake up, and leave your life behind. The final showdown between James, Phillip (Poppy’s twin brother) and Ash however felt rushed and a bit anticlimactic. The juicy tidbit of information regarding Poppy’s possible heritage that Ash dangles before Poppy and James however is rather ironic and slightly surprising. I say only slightly surprising as Smith was very careful to drop hints early on in the book, though they can be easily overlooked for the most part.
One other thing that stood out to me was the fact that Rowan, Kestrel and Jade supposedly ran away from the alcove they had been living at because of its strict and traditional living. Women in dresses, men rule while women kowtow to males, no music or television from the “outside” and so forth. And yet, aside from instance where Jade becomes alarmed when a boy catches her listening to music, the girls do not appear to have been cutoff from the outside world their entire lives. There is no adjustment period and no learning stage. Not really believable.
In Daughters of Darkness the trouble making Ash Redfern makes a return, this time he’s been sent to track down and return his three renegade sisters (Jade, Rowan, and Kestrel) to the safe and isolated Night World alcove from which they ran away from. In the process however, he comes across a human female who has the courage and fortitude that most Night Worlders do not, to go toe to toe with Ash Redfern. Ash, his sisters, Mary-Lynette, and her brother Mark find themselves mixed up in a good old fashioned whodunit. Mrs. Burdock, Ash and his sister’s great-aunt Opal, was found staked in her basement on the day the girls arrived. Initially clues point to the possibility of a vampire hunter and then Ash, but it soon becomes apparent that there’s more to her murder.
On top of all this, the six teens find themselves racing the clock to solve the mystery because by the end of the week an old and ruthless made-vampire whose reputation can give Ash pause will be checking to make sure Ash has taken care of everything. Where as Ash tolerates humans and has found his soulmate in the form of Mary-Lynette, Quinn utterly despises humans and is the sort to take Night World law into his own hands if it’s not enforced properly. This was the first mystery of series, and L.J. Smith definately handled it with finesse.
In the end, when the killer is revealed, it’s not only an “Ah-hah!” moment, but also a bit heart breaking as well. After all, he was such a nice guy and his reasons were understandable. In short, the reader can’t help but to sympathize with the “villain” and it becomes readily apparent that there is no right or wrong side in the story. It’s also interesting to note that the ending is not quite so happy as it is bittersweet, which makes this tale differ drastically from the other two in the set.
Spellbinder focuses around the two young witches that Ash introduced to Poppy in Secret Vampire. Blaise and Thea Harman are both young witches in their senior year attending a new school after being kicked out of the last one. Blaise enjoys flaunting her abilities to toy with human boys, and as a result, has gotten both her and her cousin kicked out of five schools since their sophomore year. Now, Blaise and Thea are living with their grandmother, the Crone of all witches, with the threat of being sent to a Connecticut alcove (referred to as the “Convent”) hanging over their heads. At the new school however trouble is already brewing on the first day. Thea meets Eric Ross who is an all-around star athlete at the school and a scholastic overachiever looking into becoming a veterinarian and Blaise’s new target.
Initially, spells start flying as these two duke it out over the boy and then again when Blaise realizes that a human is her cousin’s soulmate - something she’d rather stop in order to protect Thea from Night World law. Likewise the effort she goes through to help her cousin who chooses her soulmate over the Night World was heartwarming. From the beginning it was apparent that Thea considered Blaise to be like a sister to her, and although there were times when one would doubt it, it became very apparent that Blaise felt exactly the same. The bond between these two truly stood up against all odds.
With the exception of Eric, who I just didn’t care much for, Smith did an excellent job on characterization. Each character, both major and minor, brought something to the story that would have been lost without them. I found the relationship between Blaise and Thea to be of more interest than that of Thea and Eric though. Eric’s personality was rather bland and easily pushed to the background when more than two characters were present. Despite Blaise’s rather cruel hobby, it’s clear that she’s no “evil witch” and does in fact care a great deal about not only Thea but her fellow Night Worlders as well.
With the conclusion of this story we also get the sense that something fundamental in the Night World underway. Previously, it was only vampires, Redfern descendants and cousins, who were discovering their soulmates amongst the humans. With Thea we learn that the changes underway are affecting multiple species and that there is an underground movement tied to it as well. Night Worlders are finding their soulmates one after another, something that has been hinted at in all three books as being unusual, and amongst humans no less. And then there are the murmurings of the approaching millennium as well. With that tantalizing thought in mind, the following novels promise to be very interesting.
Joana’s Rating: 
(4 out of 5 stars)
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