Aliens, Book 1: Earth Hive b. Steve Perry

Aliens, Book 1: Earth Hive by Steve Perry

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
What I learned from this book would be: that if I wanted to possibly study an advanced, killer, alien-species be it for military value, biological value or any value and said species could replicate faster than cockroaches...I wouldn't do it on my HOME PLANET.

Not related to the book 'Aliens: Cauldron,' which I just finished up, this is the first book in a different, more hardcore series if I must say so. With a grizzled, war-veteran hero, a traumatized young girl turned ass-kicker, Earth Hive is exactly what I was looking for when I picked up an Aliens novel. It has the violence, the machismo, the intensity of swarming aliens and the humility of arrogant humans abounds!

With this book, I finally got to see not only deeper into the Aliens background with a visit to their supposed homeworld, but Perry also introduced several other alien life forms-- just as deadly as the Aliens themselves perhaps. I sooo wanted to see a Predator but...well there are other hunters, I suppose.

No this book is not literature, but it's yummy, delicious, sweet pulp and if you like a swift read with a lot of action and horror and sci-fi artillary you'll like this one! It would make a damn good film...Aliens 5...I can almost see it, except the happy ending thing might be a problem...


View all my reviews.

Aliens: Cauldron b. Diane Carey

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
The more I think that there is some sort of seperation between extreme horror and young adult literature, the more I am proven wrong. I mean I probably wouldn't have gone for the book had I known that a gaggle of children--yes kids--were going up against a pack of killer aliens, I might have thought twice about reading this book. It's not that I don't think the brightest child prodigies to ever live wouldn't be able to stave off horrifying death and mayhem. I'm sure that maybe one might live...maybe...

What started off as a promising space opera about the illegal transportation of the aliens species (disguised as cargo) on a star ship somehow denigrates to the pluckiness of brilliant space cadets in training. It was OK...not great, but it did raise two serious questions...What do the Aliens eat? How do they grow so fast after chest-burster stage? Maybe the next Aliens book I read will have more details and less of the Disney Channel.

Seriously, I would not want my teen reading this and I don't even have one.

Series or Trilogy...All that I don't know...

There are smart writers who know the ins and outs of grammar, mechanics, word usage, tense and perspective, style and various other literary terms. Then there are story tellers. Unfortunately, I belong to the category of story tellers. Yes, I was an English major and did exceedingly well but only in the analyzing and debating of great works and the rambling, passionate composition of my essays...which always got graded down due to my complete stupidity in the aforementioned categories. Therefore, at no time ever will you read me complaining about how poorly a novel was written, edited or anything about the perspective and/or . (although James Joyce...)

Anyway, that drunken broad aka my muse, came to me this morning with an idea for the sequel of "A Guardian's Desire." (Which I am extremely grateful for, Ms. Caffiena!) After about two months of worrying and trying to recall the difference between a series and a trilogy--I had to look up the definitions of both--I have decided that "A Guardian's Passion" will maybe/definitely be...the second in a series. I want more of Freya and so do a lot of the readers, or so they have said, but then I also want to tell more than just her story...okay, i don't, I just want to write more battle scenes & sex scenes involving Freya and her boys but I think it will add a powerful edge to broaden the universe... That and I am no Tolkien or Lewis....

We shall see. I am wondering if there is a term for something in between a series and a trilogy? Yup, its back to the Literary Dictionary for me...Uggh

If Paranormal Were A Spice, It Would Be Sugar

After many years of assuming that I was not born in the correct age, I realize that now is indeed the best time for me. The amount of paranormal-tinted materials, I can put my fingers upon these days is amazing. I can get my paranormal erotica, of course, filled with weres, vamps, ghosts, and demons with little effort. There is even a decent amount of paranormal in the young adult realms, such as the book I just finished "The Hunger Games," and the whole "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" series. The horror genre can almost always be counted on to provide paranormal thrills (see my review on "Ravenous") and I also like the trend of mixing them up with sci fi. A novel by Jordan Summers called "Red," is firmly on my 'To Read' list.

Sure contemporary literature, be it drama, horror, comedy, romance, etc can be pleasing, but its that extra dash of paranormal elements that make it extra delicious! My friends sometimes ask me when I'm going to write something serious and to them it could be as serious as a Drama about a pastor having an affair or a gangster chic rising up from the hood-- what they really mean though is when will I abandon my love affair with paranormal. Oh, I'd say about the same time I decide that I hate cupcakes...which would be NEVER. Ever since I began reading, I can remember being fascinated by the others; the beasts in "Where the Wild Things Are," and the mythical beasts and weres in my first book on greek mythology (Edith Wharton's, I think) and have no intention of ever abandoning it.

It's just that now, there's a lot more to consume and a lot more for me to be inspired by!

Ravenous b. Ray Garton

Ravenous by Ray Garton

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Well about half way through this truly terrifying and brutal portrayal of werewolves, I realized that while I discovered a writer who isn't afraid of gore and horror, my dreams of a fulfilling novel were not going to be realized. I give it kudos though for not romanticizing werewolves in the least and for making them into beings that would scary any vampire shitless. The sex in the book (the way that the lycanthropy virus is transmitted) was not meant for arousal and is far away from paranormal erotica as Winnie the Pooh is from Hellraiser...I even liked the almost mandatory, lone hunter in the book...what I didn't like though was the stupidity. I'm talking, straight from 'Friday the 13th' don't make out in the woods kinda stupidity-- Did I mention that I don't want to hang out with anyone that can't identify on sight a zombie, werewolf, vampire, Cthullu etc!



Now I'm not faulting the book on a whole or the writer, I'm just a greedy reader and a backstory whore. The book has a label on it about how most of the legends about werewolves were wrong...and without giving anything away, such is the case even to werewolf hunter!



Alas this was a good, gripping read and I blew right through it. Perhaps in hindsight the true horror is that after finishing the novel, I was sure that if such an outbreak of werewolves ever occurred then the human race would be extinct in less than a month.



If I'm lucky, Garton will write another book giving some origin info and some hard core solutions for dealing with growing packs.


View all my reviews.

The Hunger Games b. Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am not entirely sure whether this book is intended for young adults or not, but I will say that this book deals with some very adult issues. In the future, North America is split into 12 districts, the 13th having been obliterated. All is ruled by the Capitol, and well to say that they are a nasty, ruling body would be too mild. They host the Hunger Games, an arena-style, fight-to-the-death sort of competition which incorporates 2 children, a boy and a girl from every district. The children range from 12-18.



Katniss Everdeen is the heroine of the book and while she seems more mature than any teen I know, she almost has to be. As the main provider for her family and a natural leader, I think that it's not if she can win in the Hunger Games that's important, but rather could she ever be anything but a victim of the Capitol's cruelty and her own.



A damn fine book and an excellent start to a series. I look forward to the next in the series!


View all my reviews.