May 2012
77 posts
6 tags
Review: The Killing Dance by Laurell K Hamilton,...
Anita is faced with a new challenge- a professional hitman. For vast sum of money, someone is paying professionals to kill her – and kill her quickly. In many ways this is far more terrifying than anything she has faced before – she has faced witches and werewolves, vampires and even faeries all with murderous intent, but never a coldly professional human killing her for business. And never one...
4 tags
Blood Ties, Season 1, Episode 9: Stone Cold
Vicki and Celluci meet jogging and discussing the ramifications of last episode. It seems that things are tense but Vicki is confident things will be fine between them. As an added bonus, she reassures Celluci they’ll be fine. Which doesn’t please me. But more on that later. Anyway, back to the plot – and a young couple are busy getting down to business, clothes come off and then she grows...
7 tags
Cover Snark: The Longer the Series, the Less...
We have complained a lot about the unnecessarily sexualised and frankly ridiculous covers on so many Urban Fantasy novels. In particular we have complained at how the covers so often do not reflect the people who are actually in the book - there is no way the protagonist we know would dress or pose like that. What is unique this week is that we have looked at the Chicagoland Vampire series, a...
7 tags
Fated by Benedict Jacka Book 1 in the Alex Verus...
Alex Verus is a mage with a very interesting power - he can see into the future. He owns a small magical shop in London by which he makes a living. The dark mages are no fans of him after his escape from his master Richard and the council has little respect or use for him, that is until one day when when he is brought a very powerful key by Luna, the woman he considers to be his student. Luna...
5 tags
Being Human U.K Season Three, Episode 6: Daddy...
This scene opens with flashback of Herrick and Mitchell having an argument. It seems that Mitchell wanted some company and Herrick was dead set against recruits. Herrick tells him that the old ones only ever turn someone once and that it is an eternal bond. Apparently an heir inherits all of your secrets and potentially a savior. Herrick says, if something happens to you they can bring you...
5 tags
Wednesday Reboot: Wasting Away
Wasting Away was released in 2007 and stars Matthew Davis, Julianna Robinson and Michael Grant Terry. At a secret military base the government is attempting to make a super soldier. They inject a soldier with formula and it turns him into zombie. Realizing that they need to get rid of it, they label the tins of it baby formula and begin to transport it. Along route the transport is forced...
4 tags
Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 9: Blackwater
Ser Davros is leading Stannis’s fleet to Kings Landing and, as is usual with Ser Davros the Onion knight, we get some more exposition as he speaks to his extremely devout and fanatical son. In Kings Landing Tyrion wakes next to Shae, discussing the war, how he has no choice but to fight it and admitting his fear while Shae again makes it clear her loyalty is with him. Cersei is having her own...
4 tags
Continuum, Season One, Episode One: A Stitch in...
Continuum has one of the most interesting premises that have seen on television in a long time. It begins in 2077 with a terrorist bombing which killed 38,000 people to kill 20. In the year 2057, corporations bailed out the failed government and society is now run by corporations. It’s meant a loss of representation, free speech and assembly. Instead of having a distinction Canada and...
6 tags
Review: Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seath...
Abraham Lincoln, statesman, orator, president of the United States, leader of the Union during the Civil Warm, the man whose Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in the US and a vampire slayer. Being left the journals of Lincoln, a young aspiring writer is given the mammoth task of chronicling Abraham Lincoln’s life. His entire life – and that included hunting vampires almost from childhood...
7 tags
Face Off: Which Book do you Want to See Turn to...
As anyone visiting our site knows, we have read a lot of Urban Fantasy. A lot of those books go on to be made into a films or, even better, TV series - which we always run to check out. And, we have to say, we’re often disappointed, upset and even bemused by the choices made. After watching an entire season of Secret Circle, the only good thing I can say about it is that at least it wasn’t...
5 tags
The Dresden Files: Season 1 Episode 9: The Other...
To continue to be a police consultant Harry, apparently, has to get his private investigator’s license, which involves class rooms and tests (well, given that he continually uses magic which doesn’t look good on police investigations and half of the cases he’s worked on must be marked unsolved, I think it’s a miracle he’s still a consultant at all). Unfortunately for Harry, the class isn’t a...
3 tags
The Almighty Johnsons Season One, Episode Two:...
So when we last left the Johnson family, Mike and Valerie were trying to were trying to conceive a child through IVF and Axl had been informed that his quest is to find the goddess Frigg, in order to become a full God. It seems that even if you are a God, things don’t always go as planned. Mike and Valerie learn that their second attempt at IVF has failed. While the doctor is talking...
3 tags
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - Red Band Trailer
True Blood Season 5 “Everything Is At Stake” Promo
9 tags
Absent Mothers in Urban Fantasy
This piece was originally posted at BitchFlicks
Urban Fantasy — the bringing of the fantastic (vampires, werewolves, magic, fae and so much more) to a modern, real world setting — has become ever more popular as a mainstream genre. From Twilight to True Blood to The Vampire Diaries, it is now firmly entrenched on our televisions. The books regularly reach the best seller lists -...
3 tags
Review: Chill Factor by Rachel Caine. Book 3 of...
Joanne and David are trying desperately to catch up with Kevin and Jonathon – Kevin has stolen Lewis’s powers, the most powerful Warden in the world and without them Lewis is slowly dying. And Jonathon is the most powerful of the Djinn, bottled for Kevin to use. Between them they have vast power and the potential for extreme destruction – especially since they’re extremely careless how they use...
5 tags
Blood Ties, Season 1, Episode 8: Heart of Fire
Last week Celluci’s jealousy (coupled with Henry’s obtuse need to be as mysterious and non-communicative as possible) lead to Henry getting the ugly sun brooch to drain his powers and leave him vulnerable to Javier the vampire hunter. Vicki is not pleased by this turn of events. No, no she is not and makes her displeasure very well known with judicious application of knuckles to jaw. Celluci...
4 tags
Cover Snark: POC Erasure
The above image comes from a truly excellent study into YA covers performed by Kate Hart and we strongly urge everyone to go read her brilliant piece and the amazing work she’s put in on this to raise a very vital point about publishing. Naturally following this excellent study we cast a gaze over the books we’ve read. Before we go any further we stress that we realise this is a publisher...
6 tags
Midnight in St. Petersburg by Barbara J Web: Book...
A vampire, a sensitive, a templar knight and a fae descendant, are all called to St. Petersburg. It sounds like the opening line of a joke doesn’t it? Well, in this case it’s a very serious matter. Something is desperately wrong with the city and Rose, the sensitive, can feel the blackness in every waking hour. They are offered a contract by an unnamed employer, to discover who...
5 tags
Teen Wolf Season 2 The first 10 minutes!
6 tags
Being Human U.K Season Three, Episode 5: The...
This episode beings with George in the psychiatric ward of the hospital. He watches confused a man crawls on the ground. That man is Herrick. The staff is talking about taking Herrick’s picture to see if they can find any relatives or at the very least find someone who can explain what happened to him. This of course upsets George immediately. Nina and Annie are in the bathroom mooning...
4 tags
Wednesday Reboot: Zombieland
Zombieland was released in 2009 and stars Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Woody Harrelson. So a zombie apocalypse has taken over the world and there are very few survivors. Columbus has a list of rules for survival that have kept him alive. The movie starts off by showing all the people who died when they violated this rule. Columbus is a geek who is absolutely terrified and has largely...
3 tags
The Walking Dead Season 3 Behind the Scenes #1
5 tags
Review: Dancing on the Head of a Pin by Thomas E....
Remy Chandler is recovering from the death of his wife and wondering at his place in the world – if he even has a place in the world. Especially since the Thrones have offered him a place back in heaven. But the world doesn’t stop for a grieving angel. Several weapons have gone missing – weapons from every stage in history, each the very epitome of their kind and craftsmanship. They are the...
4 tags
Review of Violet Tendencies by Jaye Wells Book 4.1...
Normally, I skip short stories in any series that I read but because I have become such a fan of Jaye Wells, problematic elements not withstanding, I simply had to read Violet Tendencies. Adam, Sabina, Giguhl and his vanity demon lover Valva have arrived in Los Angelos to search for Sabina’s missing sister Maise. Sabina is hoping to sneak into town unnoticed so she arrives at...
5 tags
Game of Thrones Season 2, Episode 8: The Prince of...
Robb Stark is having a merry conversation with Talisa about his upcoming nuptials to an unnamed Frey daughter and the powerful duties and responsibilities of being a lord. It’s all very pleasant until they get a message – Jaime Lannitser escaped during the night, Catelyn the Spunky freed him in the hope that this would lead to Sansa and Arya being freed. Naturally, Lord Karstark, whose son was...
5 tags
Dresden Files, Season 1, Episode 8: Storm Front
It’s a dark and stormy night and a couple are having a romantic moment together – when they start bleeding massively from the mouth. Way to spoil the mood guys To Harry who is, ironically, musing that he thought when he became a detective that all of his cases would start with a sultry femme fatale. Uh, be fair Harry, a good half your cases so far seem to have involved femme fatales or, at...
6 tags
Review: Eat, Slay, Love by Jesse Petersen, Book 3...
Sarah and Dave are heading towards the rumoured Midwest wall; with the cure for being a zombie in their pocket. Quite literally a test-tube that could save the country, possibly the world David, meanwhile, is changing. Since he was bitten by a zombie and cured, he hasn’t been quite human. And while this comes with certain advantages, it also comes with a whole lot of worries. Not least of which...
5 tags
Face Off: The Men Sookie Broke
Now, if you’ve been strong (or masochistic) enough to continue reading the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, you know that when it comes to love, Sookie has an almost magical effect. She ruins men for all other women. Yes, when a man has lain with the Sook-eh no other women will do - indeed, in Deadlocked, Quinn rang Sookie for no other reason than to remind us how much every one...
4 tags
Grimm, Season 1, Episode 22: Woman in Black
“It shall not be death, but a sleep of a hundred years, into which the princess shall fall.”
Season finale of Grimm! Let us see some plot developed and tied off and see what we have to pull us in for season 2.
Hank has been affected by the Grimmy things he has seen – he’s been having nightmares and Nick is talking to Eddie about how he has changed. They’re worried that Hank may break trying to...
4 tags
The Almighty Johnsons, Season One, Episode One:...
The Almighty Johnsons is a fantasy show based in New Zealand. I think this is the first time we have done a show from this area of the world. The Johnsons are all human manifestations of Norse Gods. They become aware of who and what they are on their 21st birthday. They escaped to New Zealand of all places to avoid religious persecution. Throughout the years, their powers are diminished but...
5 tags
Review of Child of Fire By Harry Connolly Book 1...
The book opens with Ray Lilly driving Annalise Powliss who is a member of the Twenty Palace Society - a group dedicated to eradicating demons and stopping the use of magic in the world, towards a small town. Ray knows that when Annalise is finished using him as her wooden man that she intends to kill him. Though Annalise is the least powerful member of her society, there is no doubt that she...
13 tags
The Problem With Female Werewolves
Of all the creatures in Urban Fantasy, it seems that werewolves more than any other are intrinsically masculine. Female monsters are often much rarer - and often problematic at that - but female werewolves in particular seem to be an extra rarity. In many ways a werewolf is the utter opposite of how we view womanhood, especially white womanhood. In many European traditions (and, we have to...
7 tags
Review: Haunted by Kelley Armstrong, Book 5 of the...
Eve Levine, witch, half-demon and general supernatural bad ass is a ghost. She jumped the gun a while back protecting her daughter and ended up dead in an unmarked grave, now she’s pottering about the afterlife trying to find a purpose and stalking her daughter. Her whole life has revolved around protecting her daughter for so long – but there’s nothing she can do but watch in her afterlife. And...
5 tags
Blood Ties Season 1, Episode 7: Heart of Ice
Vicki and Celluci are doing their flirty thing, with Celluci blurring the boundaries around their relationship and Vicki giving him not too subtle “back off” vibes. And Vicki doing some actual, mundane detective work for money. On the supernatural front, Francine, a homeless woman is attacked by night-versioned beast-like hunter under the light of the full moon. Annie, another homeless person...
6 tags
Review: Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch, Book...
(In the US this book was released under the title Midnight Riot.) Peter is a probationary police officer in the MET – just about to get his first real position. And it doesn’t look good – he’s a bit too easily distracted, doesn’t have much concentration and maybe not best fit for the job; a fine future of office work awaits him. At least until he meets Chief Inspector – he’s the MET’s wizard....
5 tags
Being Human U.K. Season Three, Episode Four: The...
The episode begins with George and Nina searching for Tom in the hopes of finding answers. Both Nina and George are concerned that the baby will not survive the change. Tom is excited when he sees them in the woods but McNair tells him to hide and not come out. When George and Nina question McNair, he claims not to know anything. This denial keeps up until George hears Tom inside the truck....
3 tags
Wednesday Reboot: Highlander
Highlander was released in 1986 and stars, Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery and Clancy Brown. In the interest of transparency, I am going to say upfront that I am a huge fan of both the franchise and the soundtrack, which was done by Queen. That said, I still believe that Highlander has its share of problematic elements. Conner MacLeod of the clan MacLeod goes into battle with his kinsman, and...
4 tags
HBO’s ‘True Blood’ Season 5 Trailer
3 tags
Review: Inanimate Objects by Kendra Saunders
Leonidas is an up-coming new artist; outrageous, flamboyant, stylish and edgy. With a unique style and incredible talent – he has caught the eyes of many, especially Matilda. Lady Matilda August, an immortal muse who has had centuries of training, moulding and controlling artistic talent, bringing out the very best in artists and ensuring they will be remembered for generations to come. She is...
3 tags
Once Upon a Time, Season 2, Episode 22: A Land...
In fairy land Prince James is trying to escape from his prison cell with a rock which is, unsurprisingly, not very successful when guards arrive to take him to his execution. Of course, no guards stand a chance against a hero and he knocks them both out and he is helped by the Huntsman! Who had been enslaved by the Queen The Queen spies the prince through the mirror and sends him to a vast,...
5 tags
Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 7: A Man...
In Harenhal we have standard shots of grimness and cruelty. Tywin is convinced that the death of his soldier (who was going to reveal Arya’s note stealing last week) was an attack on him. Ser Gregor the Mountain, who is not a Nice Man, is doing lots of hanging and torturing assuming that the death was caused by “the Brotherhood”. And, yes I agree with Tywin, that’s a ridiculously pretentious...
4 tags
Face Off: A Tale of 2 Henrys
This is a tale of 2 Henrys. Now, it’s a little fluffier than usual, but I was hit by a realisation watching Blood Ties (which we’re reviewing on Thursdays and you can find in our archive) - and the character of Henry Fitzroy, the sexy sexy vampire.
Uh-huh, not throwing him out of bed for scattering crumbs. In fact, he can have a full 3 course meal with gravy, screw the sheets. How Vicki...
6 tags
Review: City of Lost Souls, Book 5 of the Mortal...
Jace and Sebastian have disappeared – and the Clave has started to reduce the hunt for them. They have other priorities and they just can’t dedicate any more resources to finding them. Of course, Clary and her friends can’t leave it at that and can’t just let him go. They’re willing to search under every rock for him, leaving no stone unturned until they can find a way to both bring him back and...
6 tags
The Dresden Files, Season 1, Episode 7: Walls
This episode begins with limits – specifically Harry’s inability to use technology because he’s a wizard and, above that, Bob’s intangibility making him unable to physically interact with the world. Something that’s especially poignant after last episode when we learned Bob was cursed into his skull after being punished for trying to resurrect his dead lover. He’s even more depressed when a...
6 tags
Review of Dark Shadows
I really wanted to like this movie and it should have been a winner considering that it once again paired up Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, but alas, Dark Shadows represents two hours of my life that I will never get back. Dark Shadows stars Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer and Eva Green. This movie was based on the television series Dark Shadows which ran from 1966-1971. I must admit that I am not...
2 tags
Grimm, Season 1, Episode 21: Big Feet
“He Stripped off his skin and tossed it into the fire and he was human form again.” Time for the penultimate episode of Grimm! Let’s see if they start tying up threads of the long neglected story otherwise I may have to break out the snark. We start with fools walking in the woods at night looking for Bigfoot. I believe that a Wesen eating him may actually improve the intelligence of humanity...
4 tags
The Vampire Diaries, Season Three, Episode Episode...
We survived season three of The Vampire Diaries. There were a lot of flashbacks this episode and for me they felt like empty filler, in a season that was riddled with filler and could not seem to find a direction. Elijah made an appearance, and I was glad to see it. He is the only one who has consistently behaved like he is a thousand year old vampire. That right there shows the sexism of the...
5 tags
Secret Circle. Season 1, Episode 22: Family
Unfortunately we begin with Diana the endlessly mopey waking up with Grant and being so very upset that the life and death struggles are getting in the way of her teenaged romance. I am so past sick of this character’s drama. While Diana is moping, Faye has been kidnapped and this Circle is meeting to discuss getting Faye back., Diana wants to use the Circle (first time ever it seems) but that...
3 tags
Review of Phoenix Rising: Book one of A Ministry...
Miss Eliza Braun first meets archivist Wellington Books when she saves him from captivity. Like all missions involving Braun, she does not completely follow orders, and leaves behind a trail of destruction. Her punishment is to be sent down to the archives to assist Books with cataloging the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences case files. For someone who loves to be out in the field, chasing down...
