After (Nineteen Stories of Apocalypse and Dystopia): Edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

AFTER

SUMMARY

If the melt-down, flood, plague, the third World War, new Ice Age, Rapture, alien invasion, clamp-down, meteor, or something else entirely hit today, what would tomorrow look like? Some of the biggest names in YA and adult literature answer that very question in this short story anthology, each story exploring the lives of teen protagonists raised in catastrophe's wake—whether set in the days after the change, or decades far in the future.

New York Times bestselling authors Gregory Maguire, Garth Nix, Susan Beth Pfeffer, Carrie Ryan, Beth Revis, and Jane Yolen are among the many popular and award-winning storytellers lending their talents to this original and spellbinding anthology. 

REVIEW

I am not usually a fan of anthologies. I prefer full sized books. I want my characters flushed out, full of action, and usually if I’m going to commit to something then I want it to just be longer in general.

So the real question the becomes why should you buy this anthology?

The answer is simple, because of the authors.

Anthologies offer readers a chance to enter the worlds and writing styles of readers they’ve never tried before, giving them a sample of the authors works without feeling the obligation to finish or buy a new book by a new author.

And this anthology has taken some pretty incredible authors and put them together here. Garth Nix, N.K. Jemisin, Carrie Ryan, Beth Revis, and Jane Yolen are some of the biggest names in the field of dystopian YA. There stories are fantastic and great reads for fans of their work.

My personal favorite short story in this anthology is Faint Heart by Sarah Rees Brennan. It didn’t feel like a short story, instead it felt like the first few chapters of a fantastic new novel. A novel that I really hope she finishes. The premise of the story is that the world was thrown into chaos for years, and the light that brought civilization back out of the darkness was the creation of the perfect woman. Every 25 years all of the single male population is rounded up and forced to compete against one another in a series of challenges that leaves only 1 man alive. This winner receives the hand of his perfect queen and the power to rule over all. This has been going on for years and seems  to work relatively well. The cast of characters includes, a poor thief who hates the queen and everything she stands for, a career competitor (who has trained all his life to win the queen’s hand) but doesn’t have the heart to kill others in the maze, and the queen herself, who doesn’t plan to be bought without her say so. All in all, the characters were well written, there was plenty of action, and I personally hope she writes more on this story at a later point in time.

As mentioned before, reading anthologies offers readers the chance to sample authors you haven’t heard of, alongside some of your favorite authors. This anthology is well put together, has a great cast of authors, and is perfect for fans of dystopian YA.

INFO

Publisher: Hyperion Book CH

Published: October 9, 2012

Price: $16.99

Link to Buy: http://www.amazon.com/After-Nineteen-Stories-Apocalypse-Dystopia/dp/1423146190/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1348599990&sr=8-5&keywords=after

Taken: By Benedict Jacka

TAKEN

SUMMARY

Alex Verus’s insights into the future used to be the best-kept secret in London. Now, with the aid of his apprentice, Luna, his unique investigative talents are all the rage. He just has to be careful about picking his employers, because everyone—even the beautiful woman who practically begs him to run security for a prestigious tournament—has motives that can be hard to predict. And Alex doesn’t do unpredictable.

But his latest gig just might be impossible. Apprentices have been vanishing without a trace—and someone on the Council could be involved. Alex has no evidence, no witnesses, and no suspects. All he knows is that someone is keeping tabs on him. And after assassins target Luna’s classmate, Alex sees that he doesn’t know the half of it—and that he could be the next to disappear.

REVIEW

With my reading of Taken, Benedict Jacka’s third book in his Alex Versus series, I can say with utmost confidence that this series rocks.

Jacka does a fantastic job creating a grey character that readers are able to root for. He does not want to be involved in the world of wizarding affairs, he does not want to save the day, but he does want to not die tragically, and he’s unable to sit ideally by while his apprentice, or even other wizards’ apprentices are put in harms way.

Taken is filled to the brim with action, and readers will be absolutely delighted to see Luna enter the action. Not only is there the normal level of kill or be killed action that Alex always seems to find himself in (at least in books 1-3), but the apprentices and Luna get to enter the foray with duels.

All in all I am a huge fan of Jacka’s Alex Versus series. I think the characters are well crafted, the story well written, and each book filled to the brim with non-stop action. I must read for anyone claiming to be a fan of urban fantasy.

INFO

Publisher: Ace

Published: August 28, 2012

Price: $7.99

Link to Buy: http://www.amazon.com/Taken-An-Alex-Verus-Novel/dp/1937007723/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348464093&sr=8-1&keywords=taken+benedict+jacka

The Drowned Vault: By N.D. Wilson

THE DROWNED VAULT

SUMMARY

It's been almost a year since Cyrus and Antigone Smith earned their places as Journeymen at Ashtown, home of an ancient order of explorers that has long guarded the world's secrets and treasures. While their studies go well, Cy and Tigs are not well liked since losing the Dragon's Tooth to the nefarious Dr. Phoenix. The Tooth is the only object in the world capable of killing the long-lived transmortals, and Phoenix has been tracking them down one-by-one, and murdering them.

The surviving transmortals, led by legendary warrior Gilgamesh of Uruk, descend on Ashtown in force, demanding justice. Cy and Tigs find themselves on the run in a desperate search to locate Phoenix and regain the Tooth. In the process, they uncover an evil even more dangerous than Phoenix, one that has been waiting for centuries to emerge.

REVIEW

While I liked the first book in the Ashtown Burials series, The Dragon’s Tooth, at the time I felt like it was a tad young for my taste. It started out with a bang but then seemed to slope towards a younger audience. Entirely understandable, but just not my cup of tea.

But The Drowned Vault left me with a completely different feeling. This book started out with a bang and just kept going. It didn’t spend eons catching readers up like I expected, instead it went straight to the action and kept running. Readers will love the increased interactions with transmortals (god like creatures who aren’t limited by silly things such as death), watching them use their powers, fight, and really charge up the story. These transmortals change the entire shape of the story, instead of just fighting a war on just one front, with Phoenix, now with the transmortals free, the O and B in shambles, and the Smiths on the run from everyone, lets just say readers will not be easily bored.

Of course, besides constant action, N.D. Wilson really stepped up his writing game this book, building on his characters and letting them grow and become fuller. This allows for both captivating reading as well as a deeper involvement with the book and characters overall, making a much more enjoyable read.

Really that sums up The Drowned Vault pretty succinctly. It is fun, exciting, full of action and good characters, and I absolutely can’t wait to find out what happens in the next book in the captivating series. 

INFO

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Published: September 11, 2012

Price: $16.99

Link to Buy: http://www.amazon.com/Drowned-Vault-Ashtown-Burials/dp/0375864407/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347902064&sr=1-1&keywords=the+drowned+vault

Necromancing the Stone: By Lish McBride

NECROMANCING THE STONE

SUMMARY

With the defeat of the evil Douglas behind him, Sam LaCroix is getting used to his new life. Okay, so he hadn’t exactly planned on being a powerful necromancer with a seat on the local magical council and a capricious werewolf sort-of-girlfriend, but things are going fine, right?
Well . . . not really. He’s pretty tired of getting beat up by everyone and their mother, for one thing, and he can’t help but feel that his new house hates him. His best friend is a werebear, someone is threatening his sister, and while Sam realizes that he himself has a lot of power at his fingertips, he’s not exactly sure how to use it. Which, he has to admit, is a bit disconcerting.
But when everything starts falling apart, he decides it’s time to step up and take control. His attempts to do so just bring up more questions, though, the most important of which is more than a little alarming: Is Douglas really dead?

REVIEW

Necromancing the Stone is the sequel to Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, and to put it succinctly, it is absolutely amazing.

Not only are the characters likeable and relatable (well as relatable as being able to relate to someone who is dating a werewolf/farie, who’s best friends are a were-bear and a ghost, and who is himself a necromancer, is), they are also just plain well crafted. McBride came out with a novella titled Necromancer last year showcasing Ashley, a minor character with a whole lot of spunk. And it was fantastic. That’s how good each of these characters are. I would love it if McBride not only kept writing full books that continue the series, but also if she published novellas on all the other characters in the Necromancing the Stone, everyone from Brooke, to Ramon, to Sam’s mother, to any of Brid’s brothers.

Of course, not only are the characters entertaining and fantastic, the plot itself is fantastic. Necromancing the Stone is filled with mystery, action, as well as enormous reveals about a number of the characters, including a real heart to heart from Douglas’s past.

All I can say is that Hold Me Closer, Necromancer was a finalist for the Morris, a huge honor for a debut author, and in my opinion she’s outdone herself with Necromancing the Stone, making an already great book, an even better series. 

INFO

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. 

Published: September 18, 2012 

Price: $16.99

Link to Buy: http://www.amazon.com/Necromancing-Stone-Lish-McBride/dp/0805090991/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346733440&sr=1-1&keywords=necromancing+the+stone

Call The Shots: By Don Calame

CALL THE SHOTS

SUMMARY

Coop is cooking up another sure-misfire scheme (big surprise), and this time the comedy plays out from Sean’s point of view. What’s the new master plan? Making a cheapo horror movie guaranteed to make Coop, Sean, and Matt filthy rich! It’s a terrible idea, and Sean knows it. But he actually is desperate for cash — and for a way to wipe that big fat L off his girlfriend-less forehead. But when he agrees to write a script about the attack of zombie-vampire humanzees, he has no idea just how powerful a chick magnet this movie will be. Suddenly Sean is juggling not one but three interested ladies. There’s his accidental-girlfriend-turned-psychotic-stalker, Evelyn. There’s the wicked hot actress from drama class, Leyna, who seems willing to do anything to land the starring role. And even his twin sister’s gothed-out best friend, Nessa, is looking at Sean in a whole new way. Will any of them wind up as Sean’s true leading lady? Will Sean stop being a doormat and finally start calling the shots?

REVIEW

Call the Shots is fun, full of great characters, and is just a great light hearted read. Calame has done a fantastic job maintaining the perfect balance of awkward teenager and relatable/likable character. Of course readers of the previous two books in the series, Swim the Fly and Beat the Band, will rejoice in seeing their favorite rag-tag group of teens back again in this seemingly final book in the trilogy.

Of course, while I recommend to read the books in the order they were released, Calame has created a series where if necessary each book could stand on its own, perfect for readers to jump in at any moment.

Of course, besides fun characters, readers will crack up with Coop’s insane plans, which in past books has included everything from going to a nude beach (and seeing things they all wish they could forget), joining battle of the bands when none of them know how to play an instrument, and now in Call the Shots, shooting a horror movie on a $1000 budget to win at terror fest, a horror film festival in New York.

Really this book is fantastic for anyone looking for a light engaging read, where you’ll relate to the characters, have fun following in their insane plans, and be glued until the last page. All in all a great read that I’d easily recommend. 

INFO

Publisher: Candlewick

Published: September 11, 2012

Price: $16.99

Link to Buy: http://www.amazon.com/Call-Shots-Don-Calame/dp/0763655562/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346734235&sr=1-1&keywords=call+the+shots

Josie Griffin Is Not a Vampire: By Heather Swain

JOSIE GRIFFIN IS NOT A VAMPIRE

SUMMARY

When former good girl turned rebel Josie Griffin gets busted for what was in her mind perfectly acceptable revenge on her cheating dog of a boyfriend, she lands herself in anger management therapy. It could be worse: it could be juvvie, or she could be a zombie cheerleader like the rest of her former friends. But there's something strange about therapy--these are not normal kids. There's the wannabe ladies man with a weird accent, Johann; the blindingly gorgeous Helios; Avis with his wild dreads; and Tarren, the sprite of a girl with a wicked temper. And all of them keep talking about "powers." Josie knows that has to be impossible, but strange things start happening, and nothing weird ever happens in Indiana. After all, there're no such things as vampires, werewolves, Greek gods, or fairies . . . right?

REVIEW

Josie Griffin is Not a Vampire started out interesting. Swain does a good job establishing a fun rag-tag group of misfit paranormals. Including everything from a misguided teen vampire with a speech impediment to the son of a Greek god, who just seems a bit too polished. Swain then established an interesting problem, girls seem to be disappearing from a run-away home and it will take the entire rag-tag group to find out what’s really happening.

See it sounds pretty interesting right?

Unfortunately, this is where the train falls off the tracks. Josie causes the predictable amount of trouble, there is teen romance, and then …. Nothing. The story just falls off. I wanted to find out more about the paranormals, the relationships, any one of the issues Swain brings up, from Helios’s family problems, to ramifications at the end of the book, to any one of the characters backgrounds. It was like there was an attempt to make these characters more than two-dimensional, and then no follow through.

I feel bad, but I would not recommend this book. Sorry.

INFO

Publisher: September 13, 2012

Published: Speak

Price: $8.99

Link to Buy: http://www.amazon.com/Josie-Griffin-Vampire-Heather-Swain/dp/0142421006/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346733922&sr=1-1&keywords=josie+griffin+is+not+a+vampire

Full Blooded: By Amanda Carlson

FULL BLOODED

SUMMARY

It's not easy being a girl. It's even harder when you're the only girl in a family of werewolves. But it's next to impossible when your very existence spells out the doom of your race... Meet Jessica McClain -- she just became part of the pack.

REVIEW

I have mixed feelings about Full Blooded. I read the novella Blooded, and really liked it. I thought it showed real promise and I wanted to see what happened next in Jessica’s world.

Then in Full Blooded it started off pretty interesting, it’s now eight years later, and Jessica is working as a private investigator with her friend and fox shape shifter, Nick, after having left the police force because of being hounded by a senior officer who kept putting his nose where it didn’t belong, namely, Jessica’s life. This will come as no surprise to anyone who is interested in this book, but Jessica changes into a wolf. But unlike all the other wolves in her family, her change fits with a prophecy that spells out the doom of the werewolf community, since Jessica now has done something no one else in the world has done, become the first female werewolf.

Dealing with the different fractions of the werewolf community was interesting also. The only thing that put me off a little was the fact that this seemed to be very heavy on the romance side. That said, if this was billed as a paranormal romance more in line with Jennifer Estep or Christina Henry than with Patricia Biggs, than I would completely understand and say it was exactly as billed.

As I write this review I decided I liked Full Blooded. It stated out more like an urban fantasy then paranormal romance and I think that threw off my expectations, but overall it was a fun book. Overall, perfect for someone looking for a bit of romance with a side of werewolves and action. 

INFO

Publisher: Orbit

Published: September 11, 2012

Price: $12.99

Link to Buy: http://www.amazon.com/Blooded-Jessica-McClain-Amanda-Carlson/dp/0316205206/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346733480&sr=1-1&keywords=full+blooded