Books: Day for Night by Stacey Bryan

Okay, so I haven't read it. But I did interview the author! Please read all about her and her book (described as "urban paranormal comedy") here.

Books: The Gates of Evangeline by Hester Young

I picked this one up off a shelf at Barnes and Noble because my daughter's name is Evangeline. After reading the book flap, it sounded intriguing enough to give it a try. And I'm glad I did.

This one was difficult for me to put down, possibly because it hit so many of my sweet spots. It's a mystery, has a paranormal element, and is set in my home stomping grounds of the Louisiana swamps and antebellum glamor.

The story is of Charlotte "Charlie" Cates, a single mother who has just lost her four-year-old son. His death has triggered prophetic dreams in which young children seek Charlie's help. When she's given the chance to go down to Louisiana to do a story on a cold case disappearance, one of these dreams prompts her to accept. [Aside: between this and The Lake House, I seem to have a cold case/child disappearance thing going. But the two books pair really nicely.]

There is the fish-out-of-water element of a New Englander navigating the South. (I myself am a Southerner who lived for years in New England, so . . .) Young does a decent job with it, and doesn't go too far with the dialect spellings, giving just enough to allow readers to hear it mentally. Meanwhile, the book is also populated with interesting characters.

Though I predicted most of the revelations early on, the twisty-turny journey of the story kept me turning pages. Things move at a good clip, yet Young doesn't sacrifice detail for plot. It's a nice balance of beautiful prose and pacing.

The only thing that felt somewhat overdone—the one thing that drew attention to itself—was the argument for faith and God and religion. Now, Charlie isn't religious, and it's true that down South one is likely to run into and deal with a lot of people who are. But this book felt the need to explore that a bit too much in that it detoured into that discussion a tad too often. It left me half wondering if the novel had originally been written for the Christian market.

But overall this is a really compelling read. It's one of those books that I'm sorry to see end, one that will be difficult to follow.

Books: Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch

So this is the fifth in the Peter Grant series, and I'll say (again) that if you haven't read them, you're really missing out.

For background, I'll explain that Peter is a PC (police constable) in London, assigned to the Folly, which is sort of a Hogwarts/X-Files hybrid where Peter both learns magic and investigates police cases that might involve the supernatural.

In Foxglove Summer, Peter is sent off his patch and out to Leominster and its environs to help in the case of two missing 11-year-old girls. Now, I have to say that the reason for sending him felt a bit flimsy—something to do with always checking on missing kids because wizards and witches sometimes like to use them? Stuff of fairy tales, I guess, but whatever. Off Peter goes, and the short answer is that it was a slow start, a great middle, and a shaky and abrupt ending, as if Aaronovitch was racing a deadline. The best metaphor might be that he was flying along and someone told him to land the craft, now, and so he set her down none too neatly in the clearest spot he could find.

At least the book answers the question of what Molly is, exactly.

But it leaves a lot of stuff hanging, too. There should have been more to the fact the food often turned people's stomachs, and did they ever figure out who took Stan's stash? Fairies? Hmm. Fairies hopped up on goofballs . . . All that setup for Hugh and his granddaughter, too, that just gets dropped, but maybe that will be revisited in later books. Peter still owes Hugh a gift, after all.

Fewer typographical errors this time, though a few things pricked me, like the "then" that should be "than" on page 38. (I have a list, Ben, if you want the rest.)

Overall, though, another fine book in what is probably my favorite current series.

Television: Constantine, "Non Est Asylum"

So, for the few who might not know: Constantine is derived from the comic book Hellblazer. There was the Keanu Reeves movie back in 2005, but based on the pilot TV episode, I'd say this comes closer to the comic than the movie did.

John Constantine is . . . Well, in the show he calls himself an exorcist, but really he's just a guy who manages to get caught up in getting rid of other people's demons while constantly having to fight his own. His friend Jasper, who had a gift for seeing "truly," meaning he could see the souls still wandering the earthly plane, has died but his daughter Liv apparently carries the same gene . . . Constantine goes to save her from a demon intent on . . . Killing her, I guess? Dragging her into Hell? I don't know, something bad anyway.

Constantine is aided by looooong-time friend Chas, and he's pestered by an angel named Manny who wants Constantine to fight for "their" side, whoever "they" are.

Rather like Sleepy Hollow, the setup is along the lines of an approaching apocalypse. I'm guessing each week will feature yet another demon to be put down, though whether there is an overarching mythology remains to be seen. There is the through-line of Constantine trying to retrieve the soul of 9-year-old Astra.

The pilot entertained me enough that I'll continue to watch for now. Liv departed at the end of the episode, and apparently Zed (from the comics, a former lover of Constantine's) will take up the token female role.

For more on Constantine's comics book origins, go here.

Books: The Supernatural Enhancements by Edgar Cantero

One of the best books I've read this year.

It's a haunted house story told via a collection of diary entries, dream journal entries, transcribed notes and audio recordings, security camera footage, and video recordings. Think of it as a kind of Paranormal Activity in writing. Only the main characters aren't completely stupid, so aside from thinking they should probably change bedrooms, you don't get exasperated with them. Well, though A. (we're never given his full name) can be a bit pompous.

Without giving anything away, I can tell you A. and his mute friend Niamh leave the UK to take possession of a [very old] house in Virginia. It is supposedly haunted, and what's more the man who lived there before jumped to his death from the same window his own father had also committed suicide from. Both had died at the age of fifty.

And so A. and Niamh move in and weird things begin to happen. Meanwhile, as they begin going through papers and such, they piece together a puzzle. Several puzzles, actually. Cyphers and such.

All of this is set in 1995, with many references to The X-Files.

I can't do the book justice, and I don't want to give anything away. I can only say I do highly recommend it.

Movies: The Conjuring

I love a good haunted house movie. So long as it isn't gory, I'm all in. Admittedly, though, they're all kind of alike. A couple, or more often a family, moves into a house (it's usually old, was remarkably cheap) . . . Strange things happen. Sounds, things moving, glimpses of stuff in mirrors and out of the corners of one's eyes. The wife and/or child(ren) begin to be tormented, or maybe become obsessed with some pervasive notion . . . Someone may be possessed before it's all over . . .

In this sense, The Conjuring is pretty typical of the genre. Not even all that many jump moments. And yet, what I can appreciate about this film over others like it is the treatment of the subject matter. And I think that's because of the Warrens.

Ed and Lorraine Warren were paranormal investigators known for helping people suffering from problems with ghosts, demons, spirits. Ed passed away some years ago, and I don't think Lorraine does much work any more (she's 86 now). But as someone who has dealt with her share of the otherworldly, I liked the way the Warrens explained things in The Conjuring. It was very similar to the ways I explain it when people ask me about it. That more than anything, for me, gave this film a ring of truth that most other such movies don't have—even if they say they're based on real events.

The Conjuring is based on a true story of one of the Warrens' cases. I haven't done any particular research to discern how much of the film is true to the story, though I'm guessing a lot of the stuff toward the end might have been built up to make for a grander climax.

Either way, these kinds of movies have been hits at the box office, counterpoints to the epic FX films. (Pretty soon we'll have a two-party system at the cinema: tentpoles on the one side, horror flix on the other.) The Conjuring made twice its production budget in its opening weekend and a sequel is already in the works. Will it tackle that case in Long Island? Or, that having been done a few times now, will they choose another of the Warrens' undertakings? So long as Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are back (and they are signed), I'll probably watch it, whatever "it" is.

Books: Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch

My son spotted this book lying around and asked about it, and after I described in the vaguest of terms the general sense of the Peter Grant series, my son said, "Oh. It's Harry Potter for grown-ups."

Yeah, kinda.

I've enjoyed the series, of which Broken Homes is the fourth installment. I did get tripped up by the seriously bad editing job, however. I used to work in publishing as an editor, so maybe I'm oversensitive, but I think these would be errors almost anyone might notice. Like, page 7*, which refers to Richard Weil as a "dead Volvo driver." Except, assuming I've followed the action on pages 1–3 correctly, Richard Weil (identified as driver of the Volvo in the very first sentence of the book) isn't dead. In fact, he ends up taken in for questioning on suspicion of murder. Which you don't typically do with dead people, even in a Peter Grant book.

And page 216 uses Gandalf as a villain as an example. Is Gandalf a villain? Did I miss something in all those years of reading and watching Lord of the Rings? I'm going to assume Aaronovitch meant Saruman, but still, pretty glaring.

Okay, so those are nitpicky things to do with the writing, but then there's the actual editing, wherein typos too numerous to include here (yes, even taking British spelling into account) niggled at me, and a floating comma on page 94 nearly gave me a seizure . . . Seriously, these things scream "slapdash!" Did anyone read the fucking thing before printing? Proofs? Anyone?

Yes, all right, you want to know about the story. Fine. It's scatty, actually. A bit mosaic, more so than typical even for these books, by which I mean there are a lot of incidents, a few of which add up to what becomes the central plot, and a few that remain hanging, to be threaded into future plots I suppose. Aaronovitch tips his hand a bit too obviously in Chapter 17, so that the twist ending is utterly foreseeable, and the groundwork is also being vociferously laid for Nightingale to go the way of Dumbledore at some point, though I do hope we'll avoid that old chestnut. I like Nightingale and feel the books could do with more of him.

The big draw for me when it comes to these books is that as the main character, Peter Grant's tone is just the right balance of smart and smart-ass. He's fun, and because the books are filtered through his POV, they're fun to read. The world Aaronovitch has built is layered and intoxicating. It's good stuff. Mostly. Though do we always have to meet the bad guy on a rooftop?

Bottom line is: Broken Homes is a good book (even for a weak link in a strong series) and sets up some interesting dynamics for any forthcoming follow-ups. I was distracted and distressed by those editing snafus I mentioned, and I felt the book took a while to gain traction, but at least Peter keeps things amusing even when doing mundane work. Though, when you're a wizard apprentice, perhaps there's no such thing as mundane . . .

*Page numbers and editing problems refer to the hardcover first edition of this book (UK) and may not be applicable to subsequent editions. At least, one hopes not.

Books: The Phantoms of Dixie by Hans Holzer

I love a good ghost story, and I'm originally from the South, so when I read about this old out-of-print book I decided I had to give it a try. I found a copy in good condition courtesy of Alibris and ordered it, and I have to say, I do love the smell of old books (this one being a retired library copy). As for the book itself, well . . .

In Phantoms of Dixie, Holzer covers ghost stories from 11 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas x2, Virginia). I put the "x2" next to Texas because it actually gets two chapters. Each of the rest of the states only gets one, and in some there is only one or two stories for that state, which is a bit of a let down. All of North Carolina's chapter is taken up with the Maco Light and is in large part more about the huge media coverage Holzer and his wife received when they went to investigate it, right down to the newspaper clippings. I mean, you know there have to be more stories than that . . . somewhere . . .

In truth, it's a slim volume and the tales contained within are not terribly indepth. More than haunted houses and such, Holzer talks about specific people who have encountered psychic and paranormal phenomena in various locations. The book itself was originally published in 1972, and Holzer eventually went on to have something like 100 titles to his name (most famously he investigated Amityville), so one supposes that if he were putting out so many books, they couldn't any of them be particularly long or involved. But the end result is a kind of gloss, almost a weak index that makes me want to go find other books about these places, or maybe even look up some of the people (are any of them still alive?) . . . It's the kind of book that sends you scurrying to the Internet for more information.

Still, Phantoms is a good book for those who might be curious but also a little bit wary. Nothing in this book is particularly fright inducing, so one can read it with both interest and ease. In all it's good for toe-dipping but fails to make much of a splash.

Books: The K-Pro Giveaway on Goodreads

You can win a signed paperback copy of The K-Pro on Goodreads by entering here. Contest runs through May 20.

Since I wrote the book, I'm not going to review it, but I'll summarize the story to see if it's something you might like:

Andra Martineau is a K-Pro—a living good-luck charm with the ability to make people’s dreams come true. But when led to help up-and-coming actor David Styles, Andra’s presence seems to be more curse than blessing. With the help of David’s incorrigible co-star, Andra begins to realize the true nature of her power . . . and David’s hidden identity as well. Will she be able to save David from himself?

I'd call it a paranormal romance except there's nothing hot or steamy going on here (though there is an attraction of sorts). Editors I chatted with called it "paranormal women's fiction" or "fantasy women's fiction."

It's a quick, fun read anyway, perfect for summer.

Books: The 13th Floor Series by Christine Rains

I have posted past reviews of some of the earlier installments in this series: "The Marquis" and "The Alpha." Since then two more have been released, so I'll remark upon them together here.

"The Dragonslayer" was a good one; I liked the modern-day knight theme. I always was more of a girl who liked the chivalrous types over the bad boys. I found the reporter a bit obnoxious, but maybe that's just because I was siding with Xan (the titular dragonslayer), and he also found her somewhat irritating.  I didn't quite get the chemistry between them, but the story as a whole was pretty good.

But "The Harbinger," which was just released this week—this one is my favorite so far in the series. Using a mythical harpy as a heroine? That definitely beats the usual stuff out there. And again, Rains supplies a nice guy as the love interest, which is simply very much my speed.

I'd say on the whole the series gets better with each new addition. Two more to come, in April and May respectively. Something to look forward to.

Books: "1302: The Alpha" by Christine Rains

I don't know if it's the subject matter or what, but I liked this one more than "1301." I think "The Alpha" is stronger in part because Rains delves in a bit more—into the characters' backgrounds (though I might've liked to hear more about James' experience in being bitten by a werewolf) and, really, into the characters themselves. While once again the villain is bad for no clear reason other than one needs an antagonist, at least there's somewhat more depth to his story than Vetis of "The Marquis."

In short form, "The Alpha" is the story of Stefanie, a werewolf who was meant to lead her pack but was bested and abused by the evil Wyatt until she finally escaped to Carmine (where all the 13th Floor stories are set). Now she's an artist—and I might've liked more details about that, too, but it hardly signifies—living on the 13th floor and spending time hiding from her pack . . . Why? Not clear, though she seems fairly certain they'll be looking for her. Which, of course, they are, and they find her, and therein lies the story.

I say "not clear," but really it seems the impetus to find Stefanie lies in Wyatt, the aforementioned villain, who refuses to let her go. Since [were]wolves are largely territorial, this left me to wonder that he and his pack would wander so far in search of Stefanie (thereby leaving their home territory undefended), but maybe that's meant to be a testament to his unyielding nature. Or maybe Stefanie is the territory, and Wyatt refuses to cede her.

James, meanwhile, is a lone werewolf also (coincidentally) living in Carmine. He saves Stefanie from the first attack by her pack. And here I have to wonder some more: while it's explained that James is able to mask his scent, surely he's been able to smell Stefanie all over town? But then maybe that's why he was in the woods that night, too.

I like James as a character, mostly because I have a soft spot for the geeky type. (Think Ben Whishaw in Skyfall and you've got me.) And while I still think a lot of the characters in "1302" are tropes, the story here is interesting enough to buoy them.

There was some nice dovetailing with "The Marquis," too, so that readers of both can see how the puzzle is beginning to take shape. On the whole, the premise for The 13th Floor series is a good one, and I'm waiting to see how the remaining stories play out.

Books: "1301: The Marquis" by Christine Rains

This tightly written, fast-paced novella heralds the start of Rains' The 13th Floor, a series of supernatural tales about the denizens of a hidden or non-existant floor in an old building in Carmine, Indiana. Each story will have a room number and tenant, six in total, and a new novella will be available every month from now through May 2013.

In "1301" the central character is Marc, once known as The Grand Marquis—a retired demon just trying to make a life for himself in the purgatory that is the world. The novella opens with Marc being confronted by a couple demons, one of which decides to make a personal project of tormenting Marc and trashing his town. Though the characters are quite clearly written, I might have liked a little more backstory here, a little more of Marc's previous relationship or dealings with this demon (whose name is Vetis).

As a character, Marc plays a bit like Hellboy of comic and film fame, though at least he has the luxury of looking human except when driven to use his latent demonic powers. Stoic and solitary, Marc nevertheless has developed a bit of a crush on a local café owner, a tenderhearted woman named Mae who serves coffee to ex-demons (if unknowingly) and local prostitutes (knowingly) alike. Though it's the frat boys who are the real troublemakers. Well, and Vetis.

Rains packs a number of action sequences into this short form, but when it comes to Marc's interior monologue she has a habit of telling more than showing; though the reader is assured many times over of Marc's love and devotion to Mae, at least in words, I felt little romantic tension. And Mae herself is almost too good to be true, and therefore suffers for lack of character flaws to make her human. (Unless she's not? Is she literally an angel? Perhaps more will be revealed in other stories in the series.) Marc, on the other hand, carries more than his fair share of failings. Well, they do say opposites attract.

What "1301" does very well, however, is set the tone for the other stories in this series by offering tidbits about the other residents of the titular 13th floor. I'll admit I'm curious to read more about each of them: the vampire Kiral, Harriet (a witch?), the harpy mentioned in passing . . . I'm waiting to see how it all ties in and plays out. The building is a character in and of itself, as is Carmine—there's something Stephen King-ish about the setup here: an odd little town populated with strange and interesting "people." It's intriguing. So despite a few weak spots, I'll definitely be reading more of this series. Nothing's perfect, after all.

Except maybe Mae.

Television: American Horror Story: Asylum (revisited)

I'm only just catching up with this show (only just watched "The Origins of Monstrosity"), so bear with me. And be warned there are spoilers in the following text.

While it came as no surprise to discover Zachary Quinto's Dr. Thredson is at least one of the major villains of this season's AHS, I'm still disappointed. Quinto does evil quite well, it's true, but that's exactly why I wanted to see him do something different. I really wanted things to go in a more unexpected direction.

I do also find it a bit of a cheat on the part of the writers or directors or creators (whose fault it might be is unclear) since early images of Bloody Face showed someone with blue eyes and Quinto's are brown. Now maybe this will be accounted for later in some plot twist—they may yet surprise me, which would be delightful—but if not, then that's a foul on the creative team for leading viewers astray. (ETA: While my first thought had been Quinto, someone pointed out to me that the voice on the phone in the modern-day frame story may be Dylan McDermott's.)

Meanwhile, along with Thredson's evil turn, still more of the plot has become predictable as it relies heavily on the most oft-used tropes of horror. The devil (or at least a devil) possessing a nun. A creepy, murderous child that speaks in monotone. An ex-Nazi performing experiments on people. Aliens. ::shrug:: None of this is terribly inspired, and it's becoming increasingly pedantic as things drag on.

Particularly atrocious in "The Origins of Monstrosity" was the flashback to when Monsignor Timothy (Joseph Fiennes) encounters and more or less hires said ex-Nazi (James Cromwell). The dialogue in all this was especially clunky, the whole thing handled in a ham-fisted expository way. That more than any of the "horror" in this show made me gag and want to be violently ill.

Still, I will admit I want to see how things end and where everyone ends up. I wouldn't call AHS: Asylum "compelling," and yet it must be, since by definition it drives me (and ostensibly others, since its ratings are good) to continue to watch. I'm still hoping for some big, amazing twist. We'll see what they serve up.

Television: American Horror Story: Asylum

I'll say up front that I can't stomach gore. However, I am a big fan of psychological thrillers. And I enjoy ghosts, haunted houses, and the like. American Horror Story seems to tread a fine line that runs through the nexus of all these. I had tried the first season but found it less than compelling, giving up after just two or three episodes. But when I heard that the new season would be completely different, I decided to try again.

So far, I've mostly enjoyed the second season of AHS. I think the 60s New England setting gives it a kind of Stephen King feel, and I do love Uncle Stevie (I can read gore, just can't bear to watch it on a screen). The frame story of the honeymooning couple is kind of weird, not sure if it's going anywhere or what, but the meat of the story is the 1964 serial murders committed by one Bloody Face. They believe they've caught the killer and locked him in the asylum known as Briarcliff (run by the Catholic church), but it wouldn't make much of a season if that were true, now would it?

Meanwhile, we've got James Cromwell as Dr. Arden doing some kind of Victor Frankenstein experiments with the mental patients. We've got Sarah Paulson (who, incidentally, shares the same birthday as me, though I'm a bit younger) as the snooping reporter who lands herself in the asylum after crossing Sister Jude (Jessica Lange). We've got Kit Walker (Evan Peters), whose only real crime seems to have been that he married a black woman and was promptly abducted by aliens—but now he's been pinned as Bloody Face. And Sister Mary Eunice (Lily Rabe) . . . Who the hell knows what's going on with her. She may very well be Bloody Face for all we know.

With all this setup, AHS is like a freight train moving under its own weight and momentum. Which is a good thing. It keeps the story going, keeps things interesting. And AHS also has a win on use of flashbacks, with a technique far better than anything Revolution is doing. Maybe it's the editing. This show is visually edited all to hell, but it works. The overall tone is consistent without being monotonous.

While there's still more gore than I'd personally like, I'll keep watching. Even though I know this train is bound for glory headed for a wreck, I'm along for the ride.

Right Now I'm Reading . . .

The White Forest by Adam McOmber. It was sent to me as a review copy, and I do try to get around to those once in a while. I like this novel, which is set in Victorian London and features a narrator who has a strange "talent" for hearing the voices of inanimate objects. The central story is a mystery about the disappearance of the narrator's friend, who was involved in a cult-like organization. Overall the novel is pretty good but very dense; I can only read it in bite-sized chunks, which is why it is taking me so long. Well, that and I'm busy with other things as well.

One thing about The White Forest is that it skips around in time a bit, with the narrator remembering things and such. In many cases this is used to build tension around the core mystery, but sometimes the gimmick draws too much attention to itself. I still like the book, though. Really, really dislike the narrator's friend Maddy (not the one who is missing but another "friend" who isn't much of one at all, at least not thus far; maybe it's just I knew too many people like her back in the day).

Since I haven't yet finished the book, I can't say whether I'd recommend it, but so far I'd tell my friends who like supernatural mysteries that it's a good read.

And next on my stack is The Heart Broke In by James Meek, which I read a review of somewhere and found myself intrigued. I don't even remember now what it's about, but I do recall thinking while I read the review that it maybe reminded me of Nick Hornby's Juliet, Naked, which is one of my favorite books. We'll see how it goes. I'll have it with me on my Kindle as I travel next week.

Books: Fearless by Christine Rains

There is something somewhat Buffyesque about the protagonist (Abby) in this novella. She is one of the Fearless and has the supernatural power of helping small children defeat their (very real) monsters. In a unique turn, Rains has given Abby a stuffed hippo named Tawa as a spirit guide. (That explains the cover.)

Things get complicated when Abby rescues a handsome fae who in turn dedicates himself to paying back his blood debt . . . Mostly by getting in Abby's way when she's trying to work, and by occupying her thoughts when she should be trying to figure out why the number of monsters seems to be multiplying. The answer is an amusing stab at pop lit culture.

Fearless is a fun, quick read and I hope to see more of Rains' work in the future.