Anonymous

Another excellent addition!

Reviewed: 02-02-23

A well-crafted tale, with excellent use of language and characterization. A nice twist at the end; it's possible to see it coming but it isn't too obvious.

Reader occasionally mispronounces a word, or uses a similar but clearly wrong word, but otherwise he's excellent, and you can readily tell who's speaking by how he does their voices.

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An excellent twist on vampire lore, and an great period piece!

Reviewed: 01-29-23

Pat Elrod's "Vampire Files" series introduced this version of the vampire mythos, and Johnathan Barrett is a worthy successor. The setting, the American Revolution but from a Loyalist perspective, is unusual enough to be fascinating, and seems well-researched.

This book is quite clearly the first in a series, with an ending that leaves quite a bit hanging for the next book, but I don't see this as a flaw, as long as you know that going in. Like many first parts, this one spends a fair bit of time establishing the setting and then the rules of this universe, but it's done in an engaging manner, as Johnathan has to figure things out in his own with very little to go on.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable book that leaves me wanting to start on the next one right away!

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A reliably fun series comes through again!

Reviewed: 10-23-22

At over thirty books, we know what to expect from Meg Langslow — amusing, quirky characters, a liberal sprinkling of both animal facts and literary and pop culture references, and a happy ending for almost everyone (and those who don't get one generally deserve what they do get)!

It's a delight to be able to count on two books every year, one Holiday and one set in the rest of the year. After occasionally branching out into Halloween and Independence Day, Donna Andrews has been sticking to Christmas lately. Nothing over the top this year, except Mother's decorating, and there isn't quite the strong focus on one particular event/hobby/setting that some of her books have, this is just a nice mystery set in familiar territory with a few new features to make it stand out.

My one complaint is that Montgomery and Caroline didn't get nearly enough time together — I've been hoping they'd end up tying the knot eventually! Ah, well, Grandfather doesn't show any sign of slowing down yet, and neither does Spike, The Small Evil One, who is probably even older than Grandfather in dog years, so there's still time! ;-)

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A real gem, one of her best!

Reviewed: 10-02-21

Another creative setting, this time a giant yard sale as Meg and Michael struggle to get rid of the hoarded junk left by their new house's former owner. You might run the risk of spending a week cleaning out your basement after reading Meg's battle against the armies of clutter!

This volume introduces several characters who become key cast members later in the series, in unique and charming ways. There are references to events in previous books, as well as set-up for future developments. The plot is clever, with both logic and unexpected twists. The characters, Donna Andrews' specialty, are interesting (and *not* the way Meg's mother uses the word!) and quirky.

As always, Bernadette Dunn does an excellent job bringing Meg and company to life. You can almost always tell who is speaking before names are given, and her voice is expressive and easy on the ears, enunciated clearly without sounding the least bit stilted.

An excellent addition to the series, whether read or listened to!

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A fun first novel in an *awesome* series!

Reviewed: 06-09-20

"Storm Front" is the first book in the Dresden Files series, and the first novel Jim Butcher ever got published. This one and the second, "Fool Moon", have a few minor ways the lack if experience shows, but they are still great books in their own right, and well worth reading for their own sake, not just to get to the rest of the series.

Butcher has created a fascinating world, much like our own on the surface but with magic seething below the surface, bubbling up in unexpected places and ways. Magic in his world is consistent and flexible, a difficult combination to achieve. His characters are rich and complex and only become moreso the more we learn about them. And Harry Dresden can snark with the best of them!

There's a great contrast between the gangly puppy of a wizard Harry is in this first book, versus the more skilled and experienced magus he becomes, yet you can see the direction he's heading, along with all the pitfalls that might lure him astray. Well, *some* of them — there's still plenty of surprises in store, too!

This book holds up well to re-reading, even after reaching the end of the series so far. There are still things you realize were put in just to set up something that happens ten books later, slipped in so casually you don't notice their import unless you know to look for them.

For an extra bonus, look for interviews with Jim Butcher about how this book came to be, as an attempt to prove his writing teacher wrong, and details like how Jim responded when his teacher cautioned him not to let a source of exposition become a "talking head" with no background or personality. (His other best-selling series, Codex Alera, originated as an online bet/dare, so challenges seem to agree with him, right or wrong!)

With the entire story planned out for 20-22 novels, plus an apocalyptic trilogy to round things out, the commitment involved might seem a bit intimidating, but it is well worth the time! (If you're not hooked by the end of "Dead Beat" then you can give up, you have no soul and will never love another book series again. ;-P ) Or, you can just read this one, enjoy a great story well-told in a fascinating universe, and see what happens. You won't be sorry!

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So many points of view! Wonderful!

Reviewed: 10-02-19

It's a lot of fun to see/hear from some of the other characters in the Dresden Files! Molly, Sir Butters, even a couple of real surprises in the last Rashomon-esque story. The voice artists are great choices, and as ever James Marsters nails not only Harry, but most of the other characters, too.

No re-read of the series is complete without the short stories. They've been incorporated into the main series more and more as it's grown. If you can't wait until Peace Talks comes out (or whichever book is due next when you're reading this), then slake your thirst for more Dresden-verse here!

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Babies Ever After starting early?

Reviewed: 04-08-18

A wonderful continuation for Biffy, Llyle, and the whole pack. It's traditional to give a couple Babies Ever After, but this time fate seems to be jumping the gun by handing the couple babies before they're even back together!

The premise of both lovers assuming the other has moved on and doesn't care as deeply, never simply *asking* each other how they actually feel, is a bit over-used, but it's well-executed and adorable to watch. The rest of the pack is fleshed out a bit more, although the story is too short to really do them justice so I hope we'll be seeing more of them. Fleshing out some new clavigers would be nice, too, now that Biffy has proven himself.

The story has a feel of "happily ever after," yet I'm eager to see what comes next, even if we only see the pack peripherally in others' stories. Will Robin be a main character in the next generation? ;-)

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2 people found this helpful