The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
Graphic novels are sadly overlooked and not considered literature by most critics, shrugged off as pubescent cartoons or erotic ‘adult’ fetishes. While this can be true (at least in my limited experience), there are a number of wonderfully complex, bitingly intelligent, metaphorical graphic novels…and The Sandman is certainly one of the elite...(Read More)

The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne
I begin with a confession and a plea. The confession: this is my first spy novel so I read this book without any expectations. The plea: I urge you to forget about the ghastly cover and get this book now for this is truly a masterful work...(Read More)

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Wow. I had read this book before when I was much younger, but I am incredibly glad I reread it. As with many books you may have read as a young adult, rereading them tends to be a wholly new, enlightening experience. The Blue Sword is no exception...(Read More)

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer Sometimes I wonder why I even bother with my brain when I am clearly controlled by my heart – and other parts of my body as well. My brain tells me that this is a Young Adult book and therefore deals with stuff way behind the level of maturity I should be reading...(Read more)

Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean
In 1929 , Barrie gave all the rights of Peter Pan to his favourite charity: Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children. IN 2004, the Hospital decided to run a competition to find someone to write an official sequel to Peter Pan. Gerladine McCaughrean , British author, outlined a plot and wrote a sample chapter and won the competition. This is how Peter Pan in Scarlet came about...(Read More)

The Gunslinger Born by Stephen King, Peter David, Robin Furth and Jae Lee
The Dark Tower. The title itself conjures images of foreboding darkness and danger. Stephen King began his lifeblood series as a young man in university, with The Gunslinger. The Dark Tower series is his greatest achievement, and his homage/take on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. In her review of book 1, Ana discusses the similarities between Aragorn and Roland, the Gunslinger. This is not an unconscious parallel. Similarly, the Dark Tower itself, the nexus of all universes and axis of the beams, is meant to conjure comparisons to Mordor and Mt. Doom, and Sauron’s Barad-dur (literally, translated from Sindarin, the “Dark Tower”). Later books expand on these similarities, from the sigul of the Crimson King (an image of an eye) and the Eye of Sauron, to wizard glass, waste lands, and the ultimate quest to save the universe from the coming of chaos and darkness...(Read More)

Demon Night by Meljean Brook
You know when a writer has a very distinctive style that you can recognise anywhere and that is completely different from anything that there is out there in a specific genre? I believe Meljean Brook is one of them. In a league of her own amongst Paranormal Romance authors, not an obvious writer – she drops one word here, one sentence there, a glimpse of a thought later on and then pieces come together and the puzzle is finally complete – it is the work of an artist; I would say an impressionist: if you see each stroke from very close you are not too sure of what you are seeing, but if you only take one step back, the whole becomes clear and then you get it. And it’s beautiful...(Read More)

A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison
I have a huge girl crush on Kim Harrison. Seriously, just when I think her books can’t get any better--they do. I should probably remark that I am writing this review after having read the last available book in the series, so my partiality may be compromised--but no matter, because each of the Rachel Morgan books build on each other, reaching a powerful crescendo. As with the previous three books, A Fistful of Charms picks up almost immediately after the conclusion of the previous work, setting straight off to work with lose ends tantalizingly dangled in front of the readers’ noses. In the fourth installment, Rachel begins on a run with werewolf insurance adjuster David--who also happens to be her Alpha (for insurance reasons, purely business). And, in typical Rachel Morgan fashion, the run doesn’t go exactly as planned as Rachel ends up somehow in a challenge for her standing as a pack leader (it’s a werewolf thing)...(Read More)

The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold
Miles is Vor—that is, he is a Lord, of the military variety. On Barrayar, a monarchical planet ruled by an Emperor and a somewhat archaic caste system centered about the military, Miles Naismith Vorkosigan is trying to make a career for himself, following the footsteps of his illustrious military diplomat father (and grandfather, and great grandfather, and so on and so forth). Problem is, Miles is at a distinct disadvantage. While pregnant with Miles, both his mother and father were the victims of a poison gas attack (one of the hazards that come with being a political diplomat). Both parents survived relatively unscathed—but the legacy of the attack leaves Miles at a physical disability. He is short (under five feet tall), and his bones are extremely brittle. So while it may seem that Miles has the classic hero thing going for him (privileged, wealthy son of an admired military lord), he is referred to by other characters as a mutant because of his dwarf-like stature and less than dashing appearance. Instead of knocking Miles down, however, he is determined to make a name for himself as a military man, and to make his father proud...(Read More)

The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold
Finished with the Academy, graduation parties behind him, and having dealt with the serious situation at Silvy Vale, Miles waits anxiously for his first assignment. With his sights set on ship duty (like his father before him, and his grandfather, and so on), Miles is completely taken aback when he is assigned to meteorological expert on Kyril Island. At Camp Permafrost, as affectionately referred to by the grubs. It also happens to be base camp for the Infantry--and given Miles' brittle, slight physique, something seems wrong with this assignment. When Miles asks for answers, he is told that while he is exceptionally bright, and displays wonderful leadership tactics with other bright men, he has a slight subordination problem. In short, he argues too much. His assignment to Kyril Island is meant to be difficult, for Miles to work on his argumentative nature, and also to show that as a "mutant", Miles can serve in the Infantry (even if it is a specifically technical position as Meteorology Officer)...(Read More)

The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn
It is no secret that I adore Julia Quinn's books and I may be biased for that, but the Lost Duke of Wyndham is not only a delightful read but also her best book to date, in my opinion, and one that will most definitely make my top 10 of 2008...(Read More)

Hostage to Pleasure by Nalini Singh
Hostage to Pleasure continues a story arc that began back in Caressed by Ice when we were first introduced to Ashaya Aleine, the M-Psy (M is for Medical, her Psy denomination) who was working for the Psy Council on the Protocol 1 project. In Mine to Possess we learn that Ashaya is working under duress – she is against the Protocol but the Council is holding her child hostage, which is the catalyst for her to put a plan in motion. It starts with her helping the leopard pack in rescuing Jonquil in the end of Mine to Possess, a help that comes with a price – she is to call to ask their help when her own child, Keenan, needs rescuing. That was the first time Dorian and Ashaya set eyes on each other, from afar – but still enough to get Dorian’s cat aroused and curious. (Read more)