Two brand new tales
anchor this wide-ranging collection from one of urban fantasy's most
successful authors. Here is the first time that best-selling fantasy,
YA, and crime author Kelley Armstrong has had her stories collected from
Otherworld and beyond. With her signature twists and turns,
Armstrong gives a fresh spin on city-dwelling vampires, werewolves, and
zombies, while also traveling further afield, to a post-apocalyptic
fortress, a superstitious village, a supernatural brothel, and even to
feudal Japan.
With tales that range from humorous to
heart-stopping, these are the stories that showcase Kelley Armstrong at
her versatile best.
My Review:
With so many short stories in this volume, it will be a short comment on
each one! SA means standalone, WOTO is an Otherworld story. I missed
out the Darkest Powers, Cainsville and Age of Legends stories as I don't
read these series. Overall the standard was very good.
1)Rakshasi(SA)
A demon warrior doing penance plots to get free of her master. OK story but nothing special.
2)A Haunted House of Her Own(SA)
Tanya loves the idea of owning a haunted b&b but the reality is somewhat different. Good story with interesting twists.
3)Learning Curve(WOTO)
Zoe
is getting tired of her stalker being so predictable and decides to
play a game. Nice story with interesting twist and I liked seeing Zoe
again.
4)Last Stand(SA)
Monica leads the final resistors
against The Others, after a flu virus turns people into monsters. I
really enjoyed this story especially the surprising and excellent twist!
5)Bamboozled(WOTO)
This is a western setting and it was intersting to see the way Lily uses her acting skills to beat her enemies. Decent story.
6)The List(WOTO)
Zoe
is annoyed that Dr Adair lectures about the vampires in Toronto but
fails to put her on the list. She decides that she and her former
stalker are going to pay him a visit. I really like Zoe and she is fun
to read about. Wish we had seen more of her in the series.
7)Young Bloods(WOTO)
Roger
is not amused to see two young vampires attacking commuters but when
they pick on him, they soon regret it. Nice, fun story.
8)The Door(SA)
A
young girl lives an unusual life behind a closed door which only her
parents can go through. Disturbing apocalypse tale with a twist.
9)Dead Flowers by a roadside(SA)
A man grieves for the family he has lost. Nothing special.
10)The Collector(SA)
A woman is enticed to an office after solving a puzzle game. Hellraiser plotline which I thought was interesting. Decent story.
11)Harbinger(SA)
Jenna
is being followed by the ghosts of dead girls but she struggles to
understand what they are saying. The story was fine if a bit predictable
but now sure HOW she was meant to solve it!
12)VPlates(WOTO)
The
reason I wanted this book! Nick reluctantly takes Reese and Noah to a
supernatural brothel and the three of them get into trouble. This was
very funny and just typical of Nick! The poor guy could find trouble in
an empty room! Best story of the anthology!
13)Life Sentence(WOTO)
Daniel
is dying and wants to become the perfect version of a zombie, not
caring how many people his experiments kill. Really enjoyed this dark
zombie story!
14)Plan B(SA)
A cheating husband plans to murder
his wife to be with his mistress but the wife has her own ideas. This
was a clever story with well written twists throughout and I enjoyed it.
15)Dead to Me(SA)
A woman is tired of her zombie ex husband's demands. Nothing too interesting in this one.
More than a decade
after Kelley Armstrong first opened the doors to the Otherworld, fans
are still clamoring for more. In response to their demands—and to
coincide with the Syfy Network show based on the series—Plume has signed
up three Otherworld anthologies, each of which revolves around a
different theme. The second in the trilogy, Otherworld Secrets, features
fan-favorites such as Cassandra, Savannah, and Adam in rare and
neverbefore- published short stories—plus a brand new novella. Fans old
and new will flock to this mystery-themed volume to discover the deepest
secrets of this captivating world.
Anthology Contents
1) Life After Theft – new Hope/Karl novella
2) Forbidden – Subterranean Press 2012 Elena/Clay novella
3) Angelic – Subterranean Press 2009 Eve/Kristof novella
4) Zen and the Art of Vampirism – Zoe novella from Subterranean Press’s long-sold out “A Fantasy Medley”
5) The Ungrateful Dead – Jaime short story from “Blood Lite” anthology
6) Counterfeit Magic – Subterranean Press 2010 Paige/Lucas novella
My Review:
I've
already read and reviewed all but two of the stories featuring in this
anthology-I liked The Ungrateful Dead, which was funny, and Counterfeit Magic. So I'll concentrate on the two that are new to me.
Life After Theft
Karl
is horrified to discover his kid stealing from the Danver twins and
decides that it is time to go straight. However, he is instantly blamed
when a client of his brother-in-law is robbed of a jewel and the only
way to clear his name is to find out who took it. Karl and Hope soon
discover that it is a set up to force Karl to do a risky theft for a
rich man.
I liked this one as I am starting to really warm to
Karl as a character. I like that he has flaws but is devoted to his
family, and still trying to win the trust of The Pack. I think that
Elena should have taken his word that he was not involved in the theft,
as it seems unfair to keep bringing up his past. And one person he would
never hurt is Hope so why would he steal from her family? There is
plenty action in this book, revolving around the impossible theft and
trying to outwit his enemies. He and Hope get to use all their skills to
try and make the theft.
Zen and the art of vampirism
Zoe is
annoyed when two vampire enemies show up in her territory and announce
that they are going to be taking over and sending her packing. Instead
of fighting, Zoe agrees to go quietly and is even nice enough to
introduce them to the somewhat bizarre locals that they will be looking
after.
This story is pretty funny. Zoe knows that there is a
smarter way to get rid of these vampires so she starts showing them just
how undesirable this territory actually is. I liked Zoe instantly, and
the characters we meet in the book are interesting. I can't help
wondering why Zoe didn't get a couple of books of her own in the
Otherworld series instead of getting whiny Savannah all the time. Zoe is
feisty, funny and smart and I want to read a lot more about her!
Forty years have passed
since the end of the vampire/human war, and life is good. Vampires have
taken over the planet and have settled in, making themselves
comfortable in the infrastructure their predecessors built... making
just a few adjustments to ensure a permanent night. Humans are still
around (tightly controlled, of course), because the alpha species needs
to eat. But even after four decades of peace, Reginald can't shake his
conviction that the war never really ended -- that the archive he holds
in his blood still warns of an ominous change on the horizon.
As
old foes rise, the power structures of both races begin to falter and
the very existence of life on Earth (both hot-blooded and undead) hangs
in the balance. Reginald Baskin -- always an outcast, always neglected
-- may be the only chance to save it. As Reginald steps into his
destined role as a leader, he faces a startling realization that even he
never saw coming... but after forty years of hate and violence, his
solution may have come too late. The humans have developed new and
frightening weapons, and they aren't afraid to use them -- even if it
could mean the end of everything -- because in a world ruled by
monsters, humanity has nothing left to lose.
Fat Vampire 6:
Survival of the Fattest marks the last chapter in the Fat Vampire saga.
So belly up to the bar and loosen your belt, because the final course
will fill you to bursting.
My Review:
Forty years later, a bitter Reginald has given up on the Codex because
it failed him at the first hurdle. Vampires have won and human blood
farms are used to keep a captive blood supply. Reginald is rich thanks
to his range of snack food for vampires tired of just taking blood.
Claire is hiding in a vampire neighbourhood, pretending to be one of
them to stay safe. Nikki is still in touch with a group of human rights
activists.
But of course things can't stay quiet for long.
Claire indicates that things are about to change and suddenly humans are
rising up with a new leader, new weapons and a definite plan to bring
down the vampires. Feeling that the apocalypse is coming, Reginald turns
to the Codex while his old enemies Charles and Todd ask him to help
them defeat the humans or face Nikki being arrested for her activities.
Timken and Claude each have their own plans as to how to deal with the
human insurgency.
I was pleased to see that whole gang are back. I
really like Brian and I always wish that he featured more in the later
books. Claire just doesn't interest me anymore. I liked her as the child
friend of Reginald but as soon as she started developing the powers,
although she was more useful to the team, it wasn't quite the same.
Adult Claire is just dull and not greatly interesting to me. Brian was
brilliant as usual 'oh my god why are you such a douchebag' and Todd had
his moments too. Nikki drove me crazy in this book because she just
couldn't trust Reginald to take care of things and nearly causes them a
fatal problem.
I liked the twists and turns in this book, the
backstabbings and betrayals, the attempts by Reginald to get peace being
thwarted by the actions of others. It was interesting and overall a
satisfactory end to the series.
The new vampire
president and his genocidal right-hand man have been playing a dangerous
game with the humans over the past six months. In the public eye, the
two races appear to be at peace... but the situation below the surface
is hot enough to boil. And while the untrusting humans mass their
defenses, vampire armies have been building to match them -- with plans
to exterminate the planet's current inhabitants, saving only a handful
of blood slaves.
Reginald, Nikki, Maurice, and the others
bunkered in at Maurice's estate, meanwhile, have found themselves in the
middle of a no-win scenario. Is it better to fight with the fanged
armies in the vampire revolution? Or should they turn traitors -- and
risk extermination by their makers -- in order to protect the humans?
But
just as the cold war outside is about to turn hot, Reginald's unmatched
vampire brain reveals the existence of an artifact that could predict
the outcome of the coming war -- and maybe even a way to stop it. The
only problem is that nobody knows where the artifact is... and when
full-fledged war then breaks out and mass slaughter begins on both
sides, it seems that time may have run out.
Fat Vampire 5 is the
biggest, bloodiest, most snack-filled installment in the Fat Vampire
series so far, and sets the stage for the sixth book's epic series-ender
-- a conclusion so big you'll want to unbuckle your belt and push back
from the dinner table.
My Review:
The gang are now holed up in the mansion belonging to Maurice, which he
is turning into a fortress in the hope that it will save them from
vampire haters. Karl's fortress in Luxembourg has been overrun and he is
hiding in Paris, suggesting that Reginald tries to seek out the Vampire
World Command at the South Pole for help. Reginald wants to find the
Codex, which contains all information about vampires and may tell him
what is going to happen and prevent the war. Perhaps the Vampire World
Command can help him to find it.
Reginald is watching the
building of a moat and machine gun nests at the mansion, and wonders if
it will deter the Jehovah's Witnesses, which amused me. We used to get
plagued by religious people at the door but it's been years since that
happened thankfully. I hate being preached at on my own doorstep. Other
than a few sniggers like this, I feel that the apocalypse saga of the
later books has overshadowed the humour from the early books. I do miss
the regular laughs a bit although I still enjoy the stories.
Reginald
and Nikki decide to leave for Paris and then the South Pole when the
vampire haters are starting to kill their allies, looking for answers
about the Codex. However, they are unaware of the danger of the upcoming
mission or what they will find when they get there.
For me the
last two books in the series were not as good as the first four,
although I still enjoy Reginald's adventures. What I did like about this
book, however, were a couple of surprising plot twists and especially
the unexpected ending. It's difficult to say what I was expecting and
what I was surprised by without giving spoilers. I suspected Claude's
plan but not how it all played out. That's all I can say really!
So another decent read and I'm wondering how it all ends now...!
Following Maurice's
near-assassination and the overthrow of the American Vampire Council,
Reginald, Maurice, and Nikki have fled to Luxembourg, where they've
taken refuge under the protection of Karl Stromm and the EU Council.
Things in America have continued towards chaos with no end in sight, ...
but then just in time, a new leader appears, ready to restore order,
and to avoid the human-vampire war that seems inches from explosion.
Things
are soon on the mend, but a dangerous faction seems determined to upset
the fragile balance, plunging the world's vampires into a war on two
fronts -- with a deadly and prepared human force on one side and the
vampires' very creators on the other.
And in the middle, one fat undead guy fights to be a voice of reason, eating blood-soaked pizza all the while.
My Review:
I
love the cover of this book! And it was fun to again catch up with poor
Reginald and his friends. The vampires are running wild and Charles
seems to have no control over them. So when another vampire steps in to
restore order and makes a leadership challenge, he becomes the new
favourite to take control. Reginald, Maurice and Karl try to start a
summit between humans and vampires to restore peace but Claude, brother
of Maurice causes the train to derail, killing most of them and
destroying all hopes of a settlement. So when elections begin and Timken
and Claude are working together, Reginald realises that both are the
enemy and need to be stopped.
Reginald is still trying to deal
with his own body image issues and save the world at the same time. The
gang flee to the safety of Luxenbourg and are taken in by Karl and his
European Vampires. As much as they hate Charles, the gang wonder if they
might have to help him win to stop an evil pairing from taking over.
Could Claire's new abilities be used to alter the votes on Fangbook? And
what will happen if they get caught rigging the election?
I
liked the excitement and tension of the train crash sequence with the
vampires hunting the train to try and find Reginald's group. It was a
welcome piece of action in amongst the planning that Reginald has to do,
but I still enjoyed the latest offering. If the vampires would just
look beyond Reginald being fat, there is no doubt that he is the
smartest vampire and would make the best leader! Bigots with fangs!
Still keen to find out what happens in the final two books.
