Read yesterday about the upcoming first run publication of 350,000 copies of the new Twilight graphic novel.  “The characters and settings are very close to what I was imagining while writing the series,” Stephanie Meyers, the author of the original Twilight series has said of the graphic novel.  (Does this mean that Ms. Meyers always pictured the characters and settings as cartoonish?)

Okay. Stop.  Guilty confession time.  As followers of this blog know, I wallowed in the Twlight series.  I have also, more recently, wallowed in another vampire series—The Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris, also known as the Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries.

(What can I say?  I get tired, manic, depressed.)

Which brings up another question.  Why is the Twilight Saga (whose collective sales have now reached 45 million) so much more popular than the Southern Vampire Sookie Stackhouse Series?

(Don’t get me wrong.   Charlene Harris is unlikely to live in a garret.  Still, 45 million!)

What makes the difference especially remarkable is that the two series have enough in common to make a vampiric copyright lawyer lick his blood-stained chops.  Both focus on a human-vampire love story; both share telepathy, characters whose minds cannot be permeated by telepathy, super-handsome, super-sexy vampires (well, Edward Cullen is sexy in principal at least), shape-shifters/werewolves, love triangles,  heroinic (as in both addictive and held by the heroine) special blood, attempted suicide through sun-stepping, a ruthless vampire hierarchy, controlling and hyper-jealous male lovers, and fast, fancy cars.   Most importantly, both series have spawned commercially-successful screen versions.

So what makes for the phenomenon? (Other than the casting of Robsten.)

First, there’s the teen factor.  Perhaps (believe or not) tweens and teens simply read more.  After all, they have parents who tell them to turn off the TV and the internet, and they usually don’t have full time jobs.

Then there’s the identification factor.  Bella Swan, the Twilight heroine, is herself a teenager. (Sookie’s in her early twenties.)

More importantly, Bella is presented as Every Girl—Every Girl who is cute enough but clumsy, and who also happens to have some nearly magical qualities (not even known to herself) which, in turn, attract a consummately handsome, devoted, rich, strong, elegant, vampire; a vampire, who, although insistently male (at least he insists he’s male), loves her for her essence, not her body; a body which he adores,  but which he heroically resists (sigh), both to protect her soul and safety.

Sookie is harder to identify with.  She is very much not Every Girl, but a cocktail waitress specifically based in Northern Louisiana.    She introduces herself in the first book Dead Until Dark as someone suffering from a deformity.   She’s also super-attractive.     (The way her mental abilities cause human suitors to lose interest in her well-built body is a bit like the pre-feminist tales of women who were told to hide their smarts if they wanted to hold onto a man.)

Sookie’s vampires, unlike Edward Cullen, have little high-minded hesitancy about sex (or about manipulation and violence.)   Moreover, Sookie’s vampires (i) don’t just lust after her blood but frequently bite her, and (ii) spend about half of every day actually dead.  (These qualities may well be confusing to a young adult reader.)

So maybe here’s the distinction:  Twilight characters are good.  Good.  GOOD.   Except when they are bad.  Bad.  BAD.

Hmm…  Is it possible that the qualities which  seem to make Twilight so popular are the same qualities that make it adaptable to graphic novel form?

Teenage girls, it seems, are idealists after all.  Idealists and Every Girl, at once.

I absolutely love these books! The series that HBO’s Tru Blood is based off, these books are like “Twilight”, but for adults. You can’t go wrong when you combine violence, sex and the supernatural. There are currently 10 books in the series, with the 11th coming out May 4th of this year. This type of quick moving series is perfect for mother’s who often have to sit down a book for days at a time when things get busy, yet will still feel the need to return to it when things settle down.

I found my paperbacks in the romance section of my local walmart. Don’t be discouraged, its definately not romance. It can be found in other stores under the sections Mystery or Fantasy.

Oh, BTW, I am like, so totally team Eric!!!!!

It’s that time of week again for Should Be Reading’s fun meme Teaser Tuesdays.

So how does this work:

• Grab your current book
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I am teasing you again this week with Ms. Sookie and Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris. But this week, I am teasing you with three sentences.

“Sam grinned, which knocked about ten years off his age. He looked over my shoulder as we heard the sound of gravel crunching under yet another vehicle. ‘Look who’s coming,’ he said.” Pg. 132

QUESTION OF THE DAY
What’s your tease for this Tuesday?

Apple’s newest announcement, the new iPad, has captured the attention of the comic book world. Is it the future of comics, a stepping stone to that future, or much ado about nothing? This week, Blake and Heather talk comics, computers, digital content, webcomics, creator response, and for some reason, Sookie Stackhouse. In the picks this week, Blake serves up a two-fer: Astro City: The Dark Age Book Four #1, and for the graphic novel review, Star Comics All-Stars Vol. 1. Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@comixtreme.com!

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 157: The iPad and the Digital Comic
Inside This Episode:

I made a sort of plan for 2010. I was going to try and find some balance in my life, some more time doing things I enjoy. Me time is important to my mental health and things have been getting a little strained in the head space over the last 12 months.

To that end I’ve been making sure to borrow books for me as well as the girls during our frequent library visits.  Must say I really like the library holds system.  It means I can browse the books in their online catalogue, then put the books I would like on hold. When we visit the library it takes me less than a minute to collect my books from the holds area and then I can spend the rest of our visit with my girls helping them find the books they’d like.

So what have I been reading? This is the list of books read since 1st Jan 2010 And if you are wondering why I’m not online so often any longer this might be the reason

1. Source of Magic by Piers Anthony
2. No tattoos before you’re thirty by Sam de Brito
3. Castle Roogna by Piers Anthony
4. Aussie Pilgrims Progress – this book combined to make me feel guilty for not being Christian enough and angry at its pro-fundamentalist sentiment. Also felt like the Aussie slang was really shoe horned in there.
5. How They Made Things Work! In The Middle Ages – okay this is technically a childrens book but I was fascinated by it. Finally got an answer as to why there are so many windmills in Holland, I’d vaguely wondered but never really bothered to research it. Turns out it is not because people in Holland really really love bread. The windmills are to remove water from waterlogged land to make more room for farms.
6. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
7. Sabriel by Garth Nix
8. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
9. Lirael by Garth Nix
10. Abhorsen by Garth Nix
11. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
12. All Together Dead by Charlain Harris
13. From Dead to Worse by Charlain Harris
14. Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
15. Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay
16. Dexter by Design by Jeff Lindsay
17. Ogre, Ogre by Piers Anthony
18. Night Mare by Piers Anthony
19. Dragon on a Pedestal by Piers Anthony
20. Shaman’s Crossing by Robin Hobb – I feel like I’ve read this before, parts of the story were very familiar and I knew what was going to happen but some parts I just couldn’t remember at all. Possibly I read it while I was ill a while ago and don’t remember doing so because of the painkillers.

Publisher’s Description:

Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her coworkers checks out….

Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn’t such a bright idea.

My Review:

I have to be honest…I would not have picked up these books without watching True Blood first. Vampires have never really been my thing. I hated Twilight until really recently and I mean really recently. Like this week type of recently. But, all of a sudden, I watch True Blood, read these books and watched the Twilight movie and every single book I buy has some sort of supernatural creature in it. Is that the way the obsession starts?

Sookie was such a treasure of a character. She was smart, spunky and an active heroine when she really could have just played the damsel. For some reason, this translated so much better in the books than in the show. I can definitely see myself following this series for 10 or more books. That’s strange for me because I tend to putter out interest wise after the 3rd book. I think that is purely because I really, really like Sookie. Her voice is strong throughout the book and she never descends into whiny, weak behavior like some heroines.

Now, I must mention that I am firmly an Eric/Sookie shipper. I like to think of Bill as just a bridge to get to the good stuff. However, he wasn’t so bad. He is no Eric but he was an adequate hero for now. He was tall, dark, handsome and, most importantly, broody. Usually that’s exactly my type and he kinda is. Eric plays a minimal role but I still love him. The latter books where he plays a much larger role will definitely be more appealing to me. I also really liked Sam. It is going to kill me to say this but I really hope Sookie ends up with Sam when the series is done. He is the most loyal and genuine out of all of her potential suitors and it his the most squishy. For some reason, I just can’t help cheering for the good guy and Sam is the best guy out of the bunch.

I am so glad that I picked this series up despite my avoidance of all things vampire. It was the perfect mix of action, romance, mystery and drama. It was one of those books that I couldn’t wait to get back to when I had to put it down.

Grade: A

Challenges-Read’n’Review Challenge, 100+ Reading Challenge, Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge, Vampire Series Challenge

*A copy of this book was provided to me by me for my own reading pleasure. My opinion is my own and has not been influenced in any way.

So, yesterday I finished Book 3 of Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series,  Club Dead. This was much better than Book 2, Living Dead in Dallas, which I also read this year.

Book 2 was loosely used as inspiration for Season 2 of the HBO series, and I actually thought the TV season was better. Maybe I just expected more from the book since I’d already watched the season and knew what it was about, only to be let down when I discovered it was much different.

Harris is a very simplistic writer, and I often stopped reading to admire the fact that someone actually published what I was reading.  I kept telling myself, “I could write this and write it better.”  Harris’s timing at jumping on the Vampire Popularity Train paid off.  In the end, the books aren’t very complex.  They are extremely repetitive. And contain numerous errors in the plots that a good editor should have caught.

However, as I said, Book 3 was much better since there was an element of suspense that hasn’t been ruined by television yet.  I also enjoyed seeing Sookie spend much of the story away from Bill.  Their relationship is even becoming stressed. Yes, I already know that they don’t stay together, so no need to tell me!  Book 3 also spends a lot of time visiting characters that are werewolves. But what vampire love story doesn’t?

Despite the humor I find in the poor writing and holes in the plot, yes, I am going to continue to read the series.  I may even give Mrs. Harris’s other series a try.  It’s easy to see why they are so addicting though.  They don’t require a lot of thought.

Harris’s characters aren’t very complex either. I like them though because I can relate to their southern disposition, being from the south myself.  And they aren’t pretty.  Harris celebrates their flaws and handicaps which actually makes them feel more real on the page, despite there not really being a lot on the page.

It’s definitely fluffy beach reading, although that sounds so cliché.  But then again, the vampire genre itself has become cliché too, right?

“Definitely Dead”
Book Six of The Southern Vampire Mysteries
by Charlaine Harris
Published 2006 by Penguin Group (USA)

You know, I still can’t figure out what it is about these books that have me eager to read the next book in the series, but that is the case in Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Mysteries based on the life of Sookie Stackhouse.  I was intrigued when I read a short story from the Sookie Stackhouse world, and then when HBO made the series “True Blood,” I just had to read the first book. Now here I am finished with book 6 and eager to get into book 7.  Normally I’m not one to go for romance stories featuring vampires, I would rather stake the undead than kiss one, but Ms. Harris has thrown in enough other creatures from the supernatural world that keeps the books lively and entertaining.  In this book we have vampires (of course), werewolves, were-panthers, were-tigers, demons, fairies and witches.  Let me warn you now before you read too much further into this review that if you haven’t read any of the books in the series, this book has some spoilers you may want to wait to read about.  In this book a lot is found out about Sookie and her bloodline, Vampire Bill and his relationship with Sookie and a few other surprises.

If you have read the books up to this point you will realize that Sookie doesn’t have the greatest luck with suitors.  So far she’s been with two vampires, Bill & Eric, and a werewolf, Alcide Herveaux.  She has also been “hit on” by a were-panther.  But here in “Definitely Dead,” Bill is dating another woman, Eric is trying to stay away and Alcide is dating another woman.  She finally tells Calvin, the were-panther, that she’s not interested.  So with all the bad luck with men, can Sookie find someone?  That answer seems to be yes and he’s in the form of a were-tiger, Quinn.  Quinn and Sookie met when Quinn was moderating the battle for pack leader in the Shreveport werewolf pack.  As we begin book six Quinn asks Sookie for a date and she accepts.  If you’re wondering why she doesn’t just date a regular human, well that’s where her “disability” slips in.  You see, Sookie is telepathic, she can read the thoughts of all humans, and that really puts a damper on human relations.  With the supernatural folk, Sookie seems to draw a blank, but every once in a while she can pick something up from the supes.

Some background info you should know is that Sookie once killed Alcide’s former girlfriend, a were-fox, by the name of Debbie Pelt.  But no one knows this and everyone thinks that after Alcide abjured her she just took off.  Not only did Sookie kill her but Eric hid the body, the bad thing is that this was when Eric was an amnesiac, now he doesn’t know where he hid the body.  This is probably for the good but Debbie’s family is eagerly searching for her.  Also, in Sookie’s background (told in the short story “One Word Answer” in the compilation “Bite” {2005}) Sookie’s cousin, Hadley, has crossed over to being a vamp, and the lover of the Louisiana Vampire Queen.

So with that in mind, Quinn and Sookie are attacked by two freshly bitten young weres as they are leaving the theatre from their date.  Quinn then warns the Shreveport pack that since Sookie was a friend of the pack they should not allow this to happen.  Sookie then has to go to New Orleans to attend the party celebrating the marriage of the Queen of Louisiana and the King of Arkansas.  This marriage is purely a political thing, but Sookie soon discovers there is something more going on.

Sookie and Quinn are captured and make their escape through a Louisiana swamp.  Sookie and the witch landlady for Hadley’s apartment, Amelia are attacked by a freshly made vampire and a major war begins between two vampire factions.  All this action and Sookie manages to out wit the bad guys and manage to maintain that level of humor that is Sookie Stackhouse in the Southern Vampire Mysteries.  These books are really fun to read.

You all know about Sookie, the telepathic cocktail waitress and her vampire boyfriend. But you may not be aware of all the other ghosts, witches, and angels who moonlight as sleuths.

In Casey Daniels’ Dead Man Talking, heiress-turned-cemetery-tour-guide Pepper Martin is not happy to discover that a local reality TV show will be filmed at Cleveland’s Monroe Street Cemetery. To make matters worse, the ghost of a wrongly convicted killer needs Pepper’s help to clear his name. But digging for the truth could put her in grave danger.

Heather Webber’s Truly, Madly features psychic Lucy Valentine - smart, single, and so not qualified to run a matchmaking service. But when her parents step down from the family business, Valentine, Inc., it’s Lucy’s turn to step up and help out. Soon she locates a missing wedding ring—on a dead body.

For a list of other diverse detectives, click here.

By Charlaine Harris

Place: Publisher & Year: New York: Ace Books, c2005, 2006

Genres: Mystery, fantasy, dark fantasy, contemporary fantasy, paranormal, romance, paranormal romance, vampire

Series: Southern Vampire Mysteries (Sookie Stackhouse); 5

ISBN: 9780441013333

Intended audience: Adult

Number of pages: 295 (310 including an excerpt from the next book – Definitely Dead)

Setting: Bon Temps, Louisiana

Time period: Contemporary

Plot summary: Someone has been shooting at shape shifters in the Bon Temps vicinity and Sookie is determined to discover who it is, especially before anyone can gun down the only living family member she has left.  Sookie also needs to prove that her brother is not the shooter, since many in the shifter community think that he is the most likely suspect.

Appeal factors:

Pacing: Lots of action and dialog make this a very fast paced book and a quick read.

Characterization: The story is told in first person through Sookie.  Some new characters are introduced and many familiar characters from previous books reappear in this story.

Frame: The story begins with Sookie worrying for her brother; this worry quickly expands to include others as people she cares for are shot.  Like previous stories, the dark elements are tempered by Sookie’s attitude.

Story line: Lots of unexpected twists and turns appear in this story which complicate Sookie’s investigation and life.

Subject headings:

From PCPL:

Brothers and sisters — Fiction.

Metamorphosis — Fiction.

Stackhouse, Sookie (Fictitious character) — Fiction.

Mystery fiction.

Occult fiction.

From NoveList:

Women psychics

Snipers

Shapeshifters

Vampires

Brothers and sisters

Werewolves

Telepathy in women

Metamorphosis

Waitresses

Men/women relations

Small town life — Louisiana

Stackhouse, Sookie

Louisiana

Mystery stories, American

Fantasy fiction, American

Occult fiction

Similar authors: Charlie Huston, Laurell K. Hamilton, Marjorie Lui, Kim Harrison, Patricia Briggs, Jeaniene Frost, Sherrilyn Kenyon, MaryJanice Davidson, Katie MacAlister

Personal notes: I am still loving this series and wondering where the story will go from here.  I’ve seen the cover of the next book, so I’m sure Quinn will reappear.  I found it fascinating that Lily Bard (from The Lily Bard Mysteries by Harris) showed up in this book.  I wonder how often Harris mixes her characters and series.  I wasn’t happy with the outcome of the werewolf competition, but I’m sure that is just adding fuel to the series fire.

Other (diversity, themes, websites): Diversity – telepath, vampires, werewolves, shape shifters, fairies

Since the series has grown quite long and complex, the author recommends reading the series in order.

Charlaine Harris’ website.

The Southern Vampire Mysteries are better known as the Sookie Stackhouse novels or by the popular HBO series True Blood. Protagonist Sookie has many rescues, adventures, and several sexy bedfellows. Sookie’s special telepathy power makes her attractive to an interesting number of characters. Some of Sookie’s escapades include shape-shifter bar boss Sam, werewolf leader Alcide, and the intimidating were-tiger Quinn. The most infamous notches on Sookie’s bedpost would be the vampires, Bill and Eric, and so the debate begins.

Are you on Team Bill or Team Eric?
Team Bill: Bill Compton is the epitome of vampire lust. He is dark, mysterious, handsome, a little bit dangerous, and is a whole lot of infatuated with Sookie. The undying devotion and loyalty Bill oozes is intoxicating. Sensitive Bill dislikes the danger, evil, manipulation and simple morbidity of vampires. At the same time, his devotion to Sookie is a little off-putting, and he always seems to do the wrong thing (while trying to do the right thing). Not to mention, Bill seems to make up situations to rescue Sookie, and overwhelmingly dominates the relationship.

Team Eric: The beautiful Viking Eric Northam starts on the outs with Sookie. Eric is arrogant, controlling, and manipulative. Eric puts himself first, money second, and his “clan” third. It is not until Eric looses his memory through a witch’s curse that Sookie gets to see his softer side. Here she learns that Eric knows right from wrong, but blurs the lines intentionally with intelligent motives. Eric is honest in a refreshing way. Often times people deny the bad in them to attract another, but for Sookie Eric admits and shows his flaws.

Sookie and Eric’s steamy erotic sessions in the shower make him my clear winner. Eric is the real deal. While both have their benefits and of course negatives, Eric is just hot. Bill would give his life for Sookie (which is lovely), but Eric knows that Sookie can take of herself. She doesn’t need a companion or a protector. Time and time again, Sookie saves the day. Since the “fairy gods” let us know a vampire will win Sookie’s heart, know we must decide which one!

What team are you on?!

Since there is nothing – absolutely NOTHING – going on in the Sookieverse to post about today, I thought we could talk about how Sookie’s mortality might play into who she ends up paired with at the end of the books.

You can vote for up to two options.

Tell us what you think, and leave your reasons and rants in the comments!

It’s that time of week again for Should Be Reading’s fun meme Teaser Tuesdays.

So how does this work:

• Grab your current book
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today’s teaser comes from the Sookie Stackhouse book Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris.

“He hunched inside his bulky camo jacket, looking straight ahead. His face was tense with the need to control his fear and his excitement.” Pg. 1

QUESTION OF THE DAY
What’s your tease for this Tuesday?

A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris

• Fairy Dust – Here, Sookie learns that fairies Claude and Claudette are actually the two surviving members of triplets, and they want her help in tracking down their sister’s killer.
• Dracula Night- Here, Eric is getting Fangtasia ready for the celebration of Dracula’s birth, in hopes that his idol will actually appear. Of course, Sookie is invited to the party, and of course there is some trouble.
• One Word Answer – This is the most important story in that you need to read this to understand the happenings of Definitely Dead. In it, we finally get the scene where Sookie finds out her cousin Hadley is a dead vampire. In this book, Sookie meets the Queen of Louisiana for the first time.
• Lucky – Here, Sookie and her witch roommate, Amelia, team up to figure out who has been rifling through the files of their local insurance agent.
• Gift Wrap – Here, Sookie is feeling lonely at Christmas time until she finds a pleasant surprise in store for her.

Although I enjoyed all the stories, I somehow liked Lucky the most. It features my favorite character Amelia, and I am beginning to enjoy reading about her as much if not more than Sookie. In fact, Charlaine Harris could spin off Amelia into her own series of books and that would be just fine with me . Dracula Night was my least favorite one.

I do have an ambivalent attitude towards these short stories. I remember feeling the same way about The Tales of Beedle the Bard. These kind of books seem to be written just to cash in on an existing audience (fans of Sookie/Harry Potter). These stories just do not stand on their own.

Therefore, I will be recommending this book only for hard-core Sookie lovers only. Others are better off reading the actual novels.

With the help from the site that lit a fire under my Fantasy book series collection, Epic-Fantasy.com and “Explore the Different Types of Fantasy Literature” , an Amazon post by Write to the Bone we have a nice little introduction of the various genres within Fantasy. Many series can be categorized within more than one genre since they combine an Epic Fantasy plot with hints of some Dark Fantasy or an Urban Fantasy series can contains some Science Fantasy elements. This is just a basic ‘catch the drift” overview of the wonderful world of Fantasy’s many different genres.

Epic / High Fantasy

In an elaborately developed world, the good guys—usually a common member of a Medieval-type society—must face off against a sorcerer of sorts who personifies evil. The world is at stake and the hero must do something to return it back to normal. Epic / High Fantasy is an all encompassing sub genre that covers any work that has a fantasy setting and a protagonist that undertakes a quest of epic proportions. J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings is a popular series that embodies the Epic and High Fantasy genre.

High Fantasy examples:

• J.R.R. Tolkien Boxed Set (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings), by J. R. R. Tolkien
• The Sword of Shannara (Shannara Series), by Terry Brooks
• The Belgariad, Vol. 1 (Books 1-3): Pawn of Prophecy, Queen of Sorcery, Magician’s Gambit, by David Eddings

Heroic Fantasy

The protagonist is a youth–such as a commoner, a prince, or a sorcerer—who must fulfill their duty to save the world. The commoner could be an heir to the throne must go on a journey to gain what is rightfully theirs. The prince must defend his kingdom. The sorcerer must choose whether or not to use his power for good or evil. This type of fantasy often places a strong emphasis on good versus evil and the protagonist of the story is often reluctant to take up the challenge. Heroic Fantasy is closely related to High Fantasy.

Heroic Fantasy examples:

• A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1), by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Legend (Drenai and Rigante Series), by David Gemmell
• The Deed of Paksenarrion, by Elizabeth Moon

Sword and Sorcery

In these tales, the protagonist roams an ancient, barbaric land, using a sword to fight evil. This genre tends to be described as full of swashbuckling action. It focuses heavily on the hand-to-hand combat and the sorcery part of it is usually assigned to the antagonist of the story. Typically the hero lives and dies by the sword and has to overcome the black magic of his foe. High Fantasy is another sub-genre of High Fantasy.

Sword and Sorcery examples:

• The Broken Lands (Ardneh Sequence), by Fred Saberhagen
• The Gilded Chain:: A Tale of the King’s Blades, by Dave Duncan
• Bloodstone (Kane Series), by Karl Edward Wagner

Urban Fantasy / Modern Fantasy / Contemporary Fantasy

This sub-genre features a modern society in which magical elements are normal. Elves may coexist with humans in an urban setting. Dragons may wander freely in the alleys of a city. The contemporary time period may slowly be reverting to magical ways.

Urban Fantasy examples:

• Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 1), by Charlaine Harris
• Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1), by Patricia Briggs
• Storm Front (The Dresden Files), by Jim Butcher

Historical Fantasy

A historical setting with magical elements dominate the backdrop of these fantasy novels. Sometimes the setting is an alternate timeline in which magic has changed events in history.

Historical Fantasy Examples

• Seventh Son (Tales of Alvin Maker, Book 1), by Orson Scott Card
• Across the Nightingale Floor (Tales of Otori Series), by Lian Hearn
• Queen of the Amazons (Alexander the Great), by Judith Tarr

Science Fantasy

Elements of both science fiction and fantasy blur together in these books.

Science Fantasy examples:

• Dragonflight (Dragonriders of Pern – Volume 1), by Anne McCaffrey
• The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book 1), by Philip Pullman
• A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle

Dark Fantasy

These are horror stories, full of vampires and demons. Dark Fantasy tends to be a blending of the horror and the fantasy genres where the setting is typically very much like the traditional fantasy setting complete with castles wizards and dragons but the incidents that occur have the tone and feel of horror. Vampires often play a major role in dark fantasy.

Dark Fantasy examples:

• The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1), by Stephen King
• The Thief of Always, by Clive Barker

Humorous Fantasy

Parody teaches us not to take things so seriously. Fantasy novels can be violent and dark, but relief is sight with humorous and lighter fantasy. Many Urban/Modern Fantasy series have taken the humorous side of fantasy with the vampire world, dating and romance.

Humorous Fantasy examples:

• The Color of Magic, by Terry Pratchett
• Myth Adventures One, by Robert Asprin
• Undead and Unwed, (Betsy Taylor Series), by MaryJanice Davidson

Preparing for Stitches West is overwhelming, but fun and a break from the daily grind. This week is being spent on taking care of all of the Cupcake sock (the cashmere blend). I’m excited, but tired. Everything will be worth it in a few weeks.

I’ve all but finished the cowl neck pullover I blogged about 2 weeksish ago. I need to re-knit the cuff of the left arm, it’s a little too loose for my taste. Then? All that’s left is soaking that sucker, and blocking it. I’ve ended up with 2.5 or 3 skeins left over, which is both wonderful and maddening. Casting on the Briewick Beret is helping knock out one leftover skein, but what do I do about the others? Mittens?

The pullover was the beginning of an addiction to Madelinetosh’s yarn. I ordered two skeins of Madeline Tosh Prairie, in “Oxblood” for my next garment, as well as a skein of her dk weight (same as what I used on the sweater) in “Tart” for another hat. I’m hoping to knit Tart up into Ysolda’s Ripley, but I might go the brainless route and knit a sockhead hat instead.

The next “big” knit will be the Geodesic Cardigan, fresh from Connie Chang Chinchio in the latest edition of Knitscene. At first this cardigan really bothered me, it’s similar to the Featherweight cardigan by Hannah Fettig, which I love, but I wasn’t sure about how it would hang. LSG is having a laid back knitalong, so I decided I’d give it a shot. I’ll probably love it.

*****

Outside of Stitches West prep (booth 1138 with Femme Fatale Fibers!) and knitting, a new semester has begun. Each class is somehow related to sex and oppression, which suits me just fine. I’m looking forward to the research papers.

While my academic reading is slowly starting, I’ve been trying to finish the rest of the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris. I’m almost done with the fourth book, Dead to the World, which is shamefully my  favorite so far. Once I finish these books I’ll move on to some fun works by Mykle Hansen, and then to Carlton Mellick III. If I have time, which I’m trying to make room for in an already overflowing schedule.

]]> http://fantasyseries.wordpress.com/2010/01/29/the-urban-fantasy-list/ Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:49:12 +0000 Katey http://fantasyseries.wordpress.com/2010/01/29/the-urban-fantasy-list/

Here is my Urban Fantasy List in its entirety. You will be able to find descriptions about each series on this blog, but incase you want to view the whole list or if you would like to print it off for your own collection.

URBAN FANTASY SERIES

List in Alphabetical Order by Authors Last Name

Ilona Andrews

Kate Daniels Series

1)      Magic Bites

2)      Magic Burns

3)      Magic Strikes

4)      Magic Bleeds (May 2010)

On The Edge Series

1)      On the Edge

Kelley Armstrong

The Women of the Otherworld Series

01)    Bitten

02)    Stolen

03)    Dime Store Magic

04)    Industrial Magic

05)    Haunted

06)    Broken

07)    No Humans Involved

08)    Personal Demon

09)    Living with the Dead

10)    Frostbitten

11)    Walking the Witch (2010)

Patricia Briggs

Mercedes Thompson Series

1)      Moon Called

2)      Blood Bound

3)      Iron Kissed

4)      Bone Crossed

5)      Silver Borne

Alpha and Omega Series

-On the Prowl (On the Prowl)

1) Cry Wolf

2) Hunting Ground

Jim Butcher

The Dresden Files

1)      Storm Front

2)      Fool Moon

3)      Grave Peril

4)      Summer Knight

5)      Death Masks

6)      Blood Rites

7)      Dead Beat

8)      Proven Guilty

9)      White Night

10)  Small Favor

11)  Turn Coat

Rachel Caine

Weather Warden Series

1)      Ill Wind

2)      Heat Stroke

3)      Chill Factor

4)      Windfall

5)      Firestorm

6)      Thin Air

7)      Gale Force

8)      Cape Storm

Karen Chance

Cassandra Palmer Series

1)      Touch the Dark

2)      Claimed by Shadow

3)      Embrace the Night

4)      Curse the Dawn

Elaine Cunningham

Songs and Swords

1)      Elfshadow

2)      Elfsong

3)      Silver Shadows

4)      Thornhold

5)      The Dream Spheres

Starlight and Shadows

1)      Daughter of the Drow

2)      Tangled Webs

3)      Windwalker

The Changeling Detective Agency

1)      Shadows in the Darkness

2)      Shadows in the Starlight

MaryJanice Davidson

The Undead Series/ Betsy Taylor

1)      Undead and Unwed

2)      Undead and Unemployed

3)      Undead and Unappreciated

4)      Undead and Unreturnable

5)      Undead and Unpopular

6)      Undead and Uneasy

7)      Undead and Unworthy

8)      Undead and Unwelcome

9)      Undead and Unfinished (July 6^th, 2010)

Betsy Meets the Wyndham Weres

1) Dead Over Heels (Short Stories)

Wyndham Werewolves Series

1)      Love’s Prisoner (Secrets 6, 2000)

2)      Jared’s Wolf (Secrets 8, 2002)

3)      Derik’s Bane (Book)

4)      Santa Claws (My Omnibus, p.475)

Fred the Mermaid Trilogy

1)      Sleeping with the Fishes

2)      Swimming Without a Net

3)      Fish Out of Water

Jennifer Scales- Written with her Husband

1)      Jennifer Scales& the Ancient Furnace

2)      Jennifer Scales& the Messenger of Light

3)      The Silver Moon Elm

4)      Jennifer Scales& the Seraph of Sorrow

The Gorgeous Series

1)      Hello Gorgeous

2)      Drop Dead, Gorgeous

Jocelynn Drake

The Dark Days Series

00)  Unbound (Prequel)

01)  Nightwalker

Jasper Fforde

The Thursday Next Series

1)      The Eyre Affair

2)      Lost in a Good Book

3)      The Well of Lost Plots

4)      Something Rotten

5)      First Among Sequels

Laurel K Hamilton

The Merry Gentry Series

1)      A Kiss of Shadows

2)      A Caress of Twilight

3)      Seduced by Midnight

4)      A Stroke of Midnight

5)      Mistral’s Kiss

6)      A Lick of Frost

7)      Swallowing Darkness

8)      Divine Misdemeanors

Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter

00)The First Death (Prequel)

01)  Guilty Pleasures

02)  The Laughing Corpse

03)  Circus of the Damned

04)  The Lunatic Café

05)  Bloody Bones

06)  The Killing Dance

07)  Burnt Offerings

08)  Blue Moon

09)  Obsidian Butterfly

10)  Narcissus in Chains

11)  Cerulean Sins

12)  Incubus Dreams

13)  Micah (Novella)

14)  Danse Macabre

15)  The Harlequin

16)  Blood Noir

17)  Skin Trade

18)  Flirt (February 2, 2010)

19)  Bullet (June, 2010)

Charlaine Harris

Sookie Stackhouse Series

01)    Dead Until Dark

02)    Living Dead in Dallas

03)    Club Dead

04)    Dead to the World

05)    Definitely Dead

06)    All Together Dead

07)    From Dead to Worse

08)    Dead and Gone

09)    Dead in the Family (May 8^th. 2010)

Harper Connelly Series

1)      Grave Sight

2)      Grave Surprise

3)      An Ice Cold Grave

4)      Grave Secret

Aurora Teagarden Series

1)      Real Murders

2)      A Bone to Pick

3)      Three Bedrooms, One Corpse

4)      The Julius House

5)      Dead Over Heels

6)      A Fool and His Honey

7)      Last Scene Alive

8)      Poppy Done to Death

Lily Bard Series

1)      Shakespeare’s Landlord

2)      Shakespeare’s Champion

3)      Shakespeare’s Christmas

4)      Shakespeare’s Trollop

5)      Shakespeare’s Counselor

Kim Harrison

Rachel Morgan/Hallows Series

1)      Dead Witch Walking

2)      The Good, The Bad, The Undead

3)      Every Witch Way But Dead

4)      A Fistful of Charms

5)      For a Few Demons More

6)      The Outlaw Demon Wails

7)      White Witch, Black Curse

8)      Black Magic Sanction (Feb 23^rd 2010)

Maria Lima

Blood Lines

1)      Matters of the Blood

2)      Blood Bargain

3)      Blood Kin

Vicki Pettersson

The Zodiac Series

1)      The Scent of Shadows

2)      The Taste of Night

3)      The Touch of Twilight

4)      City of Souls

5)      Cheat the Grave (June 8^th, 2010)

L. J. Smith

The Vampire Diaries

1)      The Awakening

2)      The Struggle

3)      The Fury

4)      Dark Reunion

5)      The Return: Nightfall

6)      The Return: Shadow Souls

7)      The Return: Midnight

Nightworld

1)      Secret Vampire

2)      Daughter of Darkness

3)      Spellbinder

4)      Dark Angel

5)      The Chosen

6)      Soulmate

7)      Huntress

8)      Black Dawn

9)      Witchlight

10)  Strange Fate (Spring 2010)

Wen Spencer

The Tinker Series

1)      Tinker

2)      Wold Who Rules

3)      Omnibus of Books 1&2, Steel City Magic

Rachel Vincent

Faythe Sanders Shifter Series

1)      Stray

2)      Rogue

3)      Pride

4)      Prey

5)      Shift

6)      Alpha (Aug. 2010)

Anthologies

Short Stories

Cravings

Features: Laurel K. Hamilton, Mary J. Davidson

-Beyond the Ardeur

-Dead Girls Don’t Dance

Bite

Features: Laurel K. Hamilton, Mary J. Davidson, Charlaine Harris

-The Girl Who Was Infatuated with Death

-One Word Answer

-Biting in Plain Sight

Night’s Edge

Features: Charlaine Harris

-Dancers in the Dark

My Big, Fat Supernatural Wedding

Features: Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Charlaine Harris

-Something Borrowed

-Dead Man’s Chest

-Tacky

Strange Brew

Features: Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Karen Chance, Charlaine Harris

-Seeing Eye

-Magic Mourns (b/w books 3&4)

-Last Call

-Daeth Warmed Over

-Vegas Odds

-Bacon

Must Love Hellhounds

Features: Charlaine Harris, Ilona Andrews

-The Britlingens Go to Hell

-Magic Mourns

Wolfsbane and Mistletoe

Features: Patricia Briggs, Karen Chance

-The Star of David

-Rogue Elements

On the Prowl

Features: Patricia Briggs, Karen Chance

Alpha and Omega

Buying Trouble

I bought the first of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse books (aka The Southern Vampire Series) in the airport on my way out (boo LAX red eye) and I read it all in one sitting. Since most of the weekend was a bunch of sitting around and being confused and depressed en masse, I went through a lot of books. I went through books 1 – 6, buying a new one each day and finishing it by that night. I’m now finished with all the published books (#9 Dead and Gone was scrumptious) and I can’t wait for #10 Dead in the Family to comeout in May. If you haven’t read them yet, you simply MUST!

Which brings me to last weekend, which I spent doing a data analysis for work. I mean all weekend. I worked in excess of 30 hours in two days with my boss hounding me by phone, text, and email via blackberry every second. Sans over time pay. The joys of being a independent contractor just keep on coming. I started my taxes a couple days ago… Pardon my lolspeak, but FML.

Since inputting data doesn’t really use all of my brain and bored brains make mistakes, I finally got around to watching True Blood Season 1, which I borrowed from my friend KristinV over Christmukkah vacation and hadn’t gotten around to watching yet.

I have to say I’m deeply ambivalent.

Before you think I’m biased by the books, I want say that there are some major differences from the books that I am not only okay with, but actually prefer. I love TV Tara. She is so much better than book Tara, who is white and a somewhat peripheral character. I LOVE that from the looks of IMDB Lafayette is going to be sticking around longer than he did in the books. Jessica is a totally new character and I find her beyond awesome (“You suck… ha ha that’s funny, because you really do suck ha ha”). The opening credits are a thing of beauty.

I love that the show has a life of its own. I stumble through a few scenes that are excitingly familiar, but then I’m left guessing like everyone else.

That said, I HATE all the super nasty sex. I mean, I know – it’s HBO. And I know, there’s some pretty sexy sex in the books. I know. And I don’t object to there being sex. Even fairly dark, sexy sex. It’s a sexy vampire show. I get it. But a lot of it is really violent and what’s more, characters are sort of getting off on the violence.

Violent sex is just something I have trouble dealing with on screen. There were some parts in the book that mixed sex with violence, but they were moments of horror and treated as such.

I also think in print I’m more able to tune things out. I can sort of pan away in my head and imagine only what I can handle. On the screen it’s so much harder. The scene where Jason pretends to attack Dawn was too hard to watch, even though I kind of thought I knew who it was and it turned out to be okay(ish) in the end, since she ended up being turned on and consenting to sex afterward.

Interestingly, I had less of a problem with violence-as-a-turn-on-leading-to-sex situation in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Possibly because neither of the characters was entirely victim or attacker. Both were trained, badass spies. Jane was giving as good as she was getting, not cowering in fear and submitting to a stronger opponent. John wasn’t covering his head and wishing it would all stop. Violence was the medium by which they came to the conclusion that though they weren’t compatible as their alter egos, they were amazingly compatible as their authentic selves.

I also feel like the violent and abusive relationship between Spike and Buffy in Season 6 had elements of this going for it. Both characters were equal attackers, victims, and willing participants. The audience was also supposed to be disgusted. Buffy felt like a lesser version of herself and so she punished herself by giving in to her lust for Spike, wallowing in the degradation. This goes on until Episode 6.19 “Seeing Red,” when Buffy decides to put a stop to her self-destructive habits, including boinking Spike on the sly, and he attempts to rape her. Spike is horrified and ultimately leaves Sunnydale to seek out his redemption through the recovery of his soul. For me the attempted rape is one of the most disturbing scenes of the entire series. Again, I think equal footing and consent is ultimately the issue. Once consent is revoked and terror is used as a tool to coerce carnal access, it’s harder to hold on to elements of the erotic.

I think an integral element of True Blood is supposed to  be the examination of how closely mingled sex and violence can be. So it toes the line between disturbing and erotic, but for me some of it is too far over that line to be enjoyable. I guess in some ways my brain rating is PG-13.

A lighter criticism: Why is Bill being stalked by a depressed cellist? That man needs a more subtle leitmotif STAT!

On balance, there are some bits I’m really in love with. So, I’m still going to watch Season 2 when it comes out on DVD and maybe Season 3, if Season 2 isn’t so rape-fetishy.

With the increase of vampire related media in an already saturated world, one begins to wonder if the idea of the vampire has been overused. Has the vampire been overdone? This is a question that I constantly ask myself with each new vampire book and movie that appears in the mainstream. Why is this saturation of vampire paraphernalia so astronomical?

I believe that it deals with the appeal of being a vampire. In most modern vampire stories, the characters of the vampires are romanticised to a point that makes them seem like less of what they are. I mean come on people they drink the blood of living, breathing creatures to survive (whether they be animal or human). If you look at the Twilight series, I feel that you get a good representation of this. In the books/movies, you have a vampire “family” trying to be normal. They live in a place with cloud cover (Washington State) to prevent their “sparkling” in the sun (pretty dumb if you ask me) and feed off animals to survive…The Cullen family is seen as a group of “good” vampires because they don’t feed on humans…However, this idea of a “good” vampire is problematic. Stephanie Meyer who wrote the books seems to want to purely humanize the creatures and fails as a result because vampires are as much humans as a chair is a refrigerator. I believe she sacrificed the ideas behind the vampire folklore/mythos to try to create a Romeo and Juliet story between species….and doing so, her story becomes weird. It seems to lose sight of the creatures that vampires are which really irks me.

I like the stance that Anne Rice takes with writing her vampire chronicles. She seems to take the stance that she is writing about a supernatural creature in a real world. She also portrays her characters very well-roundedly by making each of them sympathetic in their own right but keeping us aware all the time that these are creatures that are monsters…they are not human and thereby are not bound by the rules that humanity sets. Anne wonderfully develops her characters and sets them into actual places…she also seems to have a great deal of respect for the folkloric creature the vampire is (instead of flippantly using them).

Charlaine Harris also does this same thing (to a lesser degree but still intriguingly so) in her Sookie Stackhouse novels. Harris creates a world where vampires and other supernatural creatures exist side by side. She develops nuances and continually keeps up with her mythology that she creates which keeps the coherent flow of her novels (given that in later books things do get a little crazy when fairies, werewolves, witches and other supernaturals come into play).

I think my main point that I have been rambling on about is this: vampires (while they may be visually appealing creatures) are not beautiful creatures to be admired or admonished. Meyer and others have set them up to almost be angels in their own right. In my opinion, this glazing over of their true nature isn’t being true to the original concept of vampirism. I like the models of Rice and Harris better because they allow us to see these vampires as beautiful creatures, but through scenes of violence and heartlessness, they allow us to see the true creature at heart. Afterall, who says that you can’t have sympathy for the devil?

Awesome fan art of Sookie and all her gentleman callers. By aeon66flux.

Well, yesterday was the husband’s 29th birthday, so Kim & I went to work on preparing a wonder dinner in celebration of his day. We made oven barbecued beef brisket with oven roasted potatoes, corn, baked beans, and corn bread. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to take pictures of everything to share with you all – but I can assure you by the fact that there were no leftovers – it was delicious. For his birthday cake I made a cookies & cream cake – he really enjoyed the cookies & cream cupcakes I made for his bosses birthday, so I decided to go ahead and make it in cake form. It was also fantastic.

Tomorrow I have two exams – one in each of my psychology classes – so I am going to be studying for the remainder of the day in preparation. I hope to receive all A’s this semester – or at least a repeat of my all A’s & B’s from last semester – so I’m hoping for a good start when it comes to exams.

I didn’t get around to reading Liza Palmer’s book this past weekend – however – I did finish another Sookie Stackhouse novel via audio book. Book 4. I am really enjoying them – and I love, love, love Eric Northman so much more in the books than I already did in the TV show! Also, Kim has let me borrow one Nicolas Spark’s books – which I’m sure I’ll be able to get through pretty quickly. His books are typically major page turners!

All right, I’m off to study now! Just wanted to make sure I gave an update!

A

I have to admit, Charlaine Harris’ silly vampire novels and murder mysteries got me through freshman year of college. Embarrassing? Maybe if I had, you know, dignity. Fortunately, I do not. And hey, at least it’s not Twilight, right?

On that note, I’m really excited that she’s publishing a new book in May. Just in time to help me survive finals. Yay!

(For those of you not in the know, the Sookie Stackhouse books are the novels that HBO’s True Blood is based on)

On a more serious note, Harris is a rape/assault survivor, and writes very strong, interesting female characters. If you need a quick read, a good mystery, or a silly romance to keep you occupied, check it out!

-Lucy

P.S. What are your guilty pleasure books?