The Book of the Living Dead
Edited by John Richard Stephens
Berkley, Oct 5 2010, $15.00
ISBN: 9780425237069

This is a fascinating collection of a who’s who of literature that writes a short horror thriller. Some of the contributors are expected to appear in an anthology dedicated to the living dead; defined by Editor John Richard Stephens to include zombies, vampires, mummies, other unclassified reanimated corpses, and a couple even beyond that miscellaneous categorization. Readers will expect Mart Shelley (abbreviated “Frankenstein”), Edgar Allan Poe (“The Facts of M. Valdemar’s Case”), H.P. Lovecraft (“Herbert West: Reanaimator”) and Washington Irving (“The Adventures of the German Student”). Fans will also recognize some of the titles like “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs and “The Ghoul” by Sir Hugh Clifford. These are all super entries. However, the fun in the tale is discovering works by famous writers whose genre is as far from horror as the sun is from Pluto. These include Guy de Maupassant (“The Hand”) Mark Twain (“A Curious Dream”), Sir Walter Scott (“The hero of the Tomb”) and Jack London (“A Thousand Deaths”). All twenty-seven contributions are terrific as life after death proves chillingly dark and deadly to the delight of readers.

Harriet Klausner

Bayou Moon
Ilona Andrews
Ace, Sep 28 2010, $7.99
ISBN: 9780441019458

The Adrianglian Secret Service asks William Sandine the Changeling to stop Spider from possessing a weapon of mass destruction that will lead to war. Loathing his long time enemy, William agrees to go to the Bayous of Louisiana to challenge Spider and his insidious ring of operatives.

When Spider abducts her parents, Cerise Mar becomes the clan chief. To save their property the Mire swamps of the Edge, Cerise visits the Broken. Returning to her home, Cerise and William meet. The outsider realizes she and her kin may be the tool to prevent Spider from achieving his nefarious scheme and perhaps ending his terrorism all together. However, William’s biggest problem is his attraction to his hostess; a foreign feeling to the Changeling who belongs nowhere and to no one.

This is a powerful swamp romantic fantasy starring a harassed heroine, a hermit hero, a vile villain and the mad Mar mob. The story line is fast-paced with a sort of Scottish historical Highlander feud feel to the Mire while the Spider weaves his web. However, the fun in this delightful tale is the return to Ilona Andrews’s Weird world of the Edge (see On the Edge) where malls and magic converge.

Harriet Klausner

Bones Of Empire
William C. Dietz
Ace, Oct 5 2010, $24.95
ISBN: 9780441019229

The Uman Empire has conquered many worlds, but the species they watch most carefully and carefully is the shapeshifting Sagathies. Feral to a berserker level, these predators are caged on the planet Corin under the watchful eyes of Xeno police officers who have been reengineered physically to keep these beasts from changing shapes and running violently amuck.

All seems right until Xeno-cop Jak Cato arrives with others only to be attacked by professionals. His reputation tattered and with a thirst for avenging his mates driving him, Jak takes a needed R&R in the capital city of Imperialus. There he is stunned to observe the Uman Empire emperor through his reengineered eyes is a dead shapeshifter who he thought he killed.

The second part of the Uman Empire science fiction duology (see At Empire’s Edge) is an action-packed faster than the speed of light futuristic in space thriller. Filled with gore yet also loaded with ET politics and social order, fans who read the first entry will appreciate the race to the finish line as a disgraced beleaguered hero has few allies left after the mass slaughter of the cavalcade, but must save the empire from a diabolically brilliant loner or an incredible conspiracy that would include his people.

Harriet Klausner

The Black Prism
Brent Weeks
Orbit, Aug 25 2010, $25.99
ISBN: 9780316075558

He had been the Prism who controlled the magic of the Chromeria. However that seems like eternity as he lost the civil war to his brother Gavin, the current Prism. Everyday since Gavin incarcerated him in a dungeon beneath heir home. Jacen sees a world of dispiritingly gray; he lives hoping to regain the colors he lost to his sibling.

Gavin may be an intelligent High priest-Emperor who controls the Prism since he defeated his sibling by using guile, but he knows what happened to his brother could occur to him as Prisms have relatively short life cycle usage. Once his prism dies, he will die too. Gavin knows his prism has five years of life left; five years for him to accomplish five unattainable quests or his world will lose all color and consequently all life.

Gavin is stunned to learn he sired a son. Kip will have the power of the Prism, untrained. The lad could be the opponent in the next war of power. At the same the son learns who his dad and uncle are and begins to find out about the sibling splintering, but is unsure what he should do as increasingly he fears the world is going to implode if the colors run out.

The opening tale in the Black prism fantasy is an exhilarating thriller that uses the colors of a prism as the source of magic. The story line focuses on the three male leads while cleverly interweaving the Weeks’ “physics” of magic into the plot. Fast-paced and character driven, fans will enjoy the first act as the Prime Prism practitioner begins a quest knowing he must remain vigilant watching for his son and his insane brother; failure will mean death or worse a lunacy to parallel that of colorless Gavin who once tasted the power of the colors.

Harriet Klausner

Bond With Me
Anne Marsh
Leisure, Aug 24 2010, $7.99
ISBN: 9780505528582

Three thousand years ago, the Dominion angel guardians of Heaven’s throne were murdering their brethren rather than protecting them. With proof, Archangel Michael punishes the rebels by removing their wings and souls, and exiling them as half man and half beast goblins with little hope of return unless they are redeemed by their soul mate who must teach these fallen to love. Three millennia later by 2090 none have redeemed their souls.

At the exclusive G2 club in M City, Mischka Baron searches for her cousin Pelinor “Pell” Arden who she fears has bonded with a fallen angel, which she knows means they suck at your soul. Club owner Brends Duranov wants her from the moment he senses her, but to his shock, Mischka rejects him. Right before her refusal, Brends learned from his sire Zer that a rogue Goblin Changed and was killing human and the Fallen. Brends vows to find the serial killer, but soon has a stronger motive when Mischka becomes the target; as he believes she is the one for him.

Bond With Me is a superb romantic urban fantasy with a strong enchanting world and a solid cast. The story line is a fast-paced suspense thriller as the serial killer and Brends target Mischka for totally opposite reasons. Action-packed, the key element that makes Marsh’s land seen genuine is the goblins as these are soulless predatory beasts; of whom, for the most part, are unsympathetic.

Harriet Klausner

Bond With Me
Anne Marsh
Leisure, Aug 24 2010, $7.99
ISBN: 9780505528582

Three thousand years ago, the Dominion angel guardians of Heaven’s throne were murdering their brethren rather than protecting them. With proof, Archangel Michael punishes the rebels by removing their wings and souls, and exiling them as half man and half beast goblins with little hope of return unless they are redeemed by their soul mate who must teach these fallen to love. Three millennia later by 2090 none have redeemed their souls.

At the exclusive G2 club in M City, Mischka Baron searches for her cousin Pelinor “Pell” Arden who she fears has bonded with a fallen angel, which she knows means they suck at your soul. Club owner Brends Duranov wants her from the moment he senses her, but to his shock, Mischka rejects him. Right before her refusal, Brends learned from his sire Zer that a rogue Goblin Changed and was killing human and the Fallen. Brends vows to find the serial killer, but soon has a stronger motive when Mischka becomes the target; as he believes she is the one for him.

Bond With Me is a superb romantic urban fantasy with a strong enchanting world and a solid cast. The story line is a fast-paced suspense thriller as the serial killer and Brends target Mischka for totally opposite reasons. Action-packed, the key element that makes Marsh’s land seen genuine is the goblins as these are soulless predatory beasts; of whom, for the most part, are unsympathetic.

Harriet Klausner

The Beast Within
Erin McCarthy, Bianca D’Arc and Jennifer Lyon
Kensington, Aug 31 2010, $14.00
ISBN: 9780758247353

“The Howling” by Erin McCarthy. Liv wonders whether she should delay her marriage to Scarborough as she still loves his brother Sebastian, who obviously rejected her having vanished with her money six months ago. While Scarborough flies to New York on business, Sebastian runs as a wolf while healing from when his sibling tried to kill him. He vows to return to lead his pack, but is angry with Liv for moving in with his brother.

“Smoke on the Water” by Bianca D’Arc. Donna is immune to the zombie contagion so has been partnered with veteran CIA operative John. They head to Tennessee to conduct undercover surveillance of Elizabeth who allegedly created the disease. John and Donna pretend to be newlyweds on a fishing vacation as the lodge next door makes observation easier. They begin to fall in love but neither knows where Elizabeth conceals her horde.

“Redeeming the Wizard” by Jennifer Lyon. Mira hates Gage the wizard who she blames him for the deaths of her parents, killed by trolls while visiting him seventeen years ago. Still she needs his help when a wizard kidnapped her matchmaking Gram. He asks what she offers in payment and she responds with anything he desires. Seventeen years ago Gage trusted his apprentice Jillian who seduced him and stole some of his power when she tried to bring over a demon, but lost control. The demon killed Mira’s parents. Gage killed Jillian and banished the demon, but his power overloaded and fried to unusable. As they fall in love he remains her enemy.

The male leads know what they want and go after the women they want while the fantasy elements are cleverly designed to feel genuine although the story lines are thin.

Harriet Klausner

Blood On Silk
Marie Treanor
Signet, Sep 7 2010, $14.00
ISBN: 9780451231567

Elizabeth Silk researches the vampire mythos for her dissertation in the Romanian village of Dmitriu. Speaking Romanian with the locals, several mention a nearby castle ruin where they insist Saloman the vampire was staked. She visits the site and accidentally falls into a hidden crypt. Inadvertently Elizabeth opens up a sealed sarcophagus.

The moment the lid falls off, Prince Saloman steps out from the sarcophagus prison that held him captive since he was staked three hundred years ago. Being an ancient vampire, Saloman is extremely powerful. He and his “savior” are bound by her rescuing him and their mutual desire as he craves her innocent blood and she yearns for his touch especially his teeth. However, she must decide if her attraction should tie them through the bond of blood or sacrifice her love to the encroaching vampire hunter horde coming to kill him.

Although nothing new is added to the sub-genre, Blood on Silk is an entertaining vampire romance. Whereas Saloman is a typical; arrogant vampire right out of the casting, the key to the fine story line is Elizabeth who has readers wondering if she will be his eternal love or his Judas. Fans will enjoy Marie Treanor’s entertaining tale

Harriet Klausner

Born To Bite
Lynsay Sands
Avon, Aug 31 2010, $7.99
ISBN: 9780061474323

Vampire Armand Argeneau is stunned when his lifemate and two other women close to him all died mysteriously accidental. The Council sends undercover Enforcer Eshe d’Aureus to investigate the farmer as the brass wonders if Armand is a spousal serial killer. His brother Lucien enables Eshe to get onto Armand’s farm as he tells his sibling that she is hiding from Leonius Livius the second who wants her dead.

As she investigates her host, she and Armand are shocked to realize they are life mates. Neither is pleased with this revelation as she fears she loves a psychopathic murderer and he fears the three women he cherished were murdered by an unknown adversary who probably will make his fourth female he holds dearly the next target. When the incidents begin, Eshe wants to believe a third party is causing them, but she still has niggling doubts about her beloved as all evidence seems to point to him yet everyone who knows him including his in-laws think the world of him.

The latest Argeneau urban fantasy (see Bite Me if You Can, Love Bites and A Quick Bite) is a terrific atypical entry in which the story line is more of a super investigative thriller rather than the vampire romance though the latter is a key secondary subplot. The story line is fast-paced and contains amusing interludes especially when Eshe drives Lucien crazy. Series fans will relish this wonderful tale while newcomers will also appreciate the vampiric whodunit.

Harriet Klausner

Black Magic Lover
Cynthia Cooke
Harlequin Nocturne, Sep 1 2010, $5.25
ISBN: 9780373618439

The phone call stuns Laura Larame who had believed her mom was dead. She considers someone pulled a sick joke on her, but must know the truth as to whether her mother Delilah, whom she had not heard from in two decades lives in the Louisiana bayou.

Laura Larame returns home where she meets her childhood friend Drew Michel, who saved her life on the night her mom vanished and was assumed drowned. Drew and Laura are attracted to one another and he wants more than them just being friends; while she determinedly remains fixated on her mom. Drew who sees ghosts, fears his beloved is going to be sacrificed by his mother, a voodoo priestess, who plans to use her death to bring her God back using her son’s body as the deity’s container.

This Bayou romantic suspense is an exhilarating tale that grips the reader with a need to know what happened to Laura’s mother. The story line provides an in depth look at voodoo without slowing down the plot. Although the ending seems abrupt, Black magic Lover is a fast-paced horror thriller as Cynthia Cooke shows her Mojo.

Harriet Klausner