Saturday, April 28, 2012

Review of Double Dead by Chuck Wending


Overview
Coburn’s been dead now for close to a century, but seeing as how he’s a vampire and all, it doesn’t much bother him. Or at least it didn’t, not until he awoke from a forced five-year slumber to discover that most of human civilization was now dead—but not dead like him, oh no.
See, Coburn likes blood. The rest of the walking dead, they like brains. He’s smart. Them, not so much. But they outnumber him by about a million to one. And the clotted blood of the walking dead cannot sustain him. Now he’s starving. And nocturnal. And more pissed-off than a bee-stung rattlesnake. The vampire not only has to find human survivors (with their sweet, sweet blood), but now he has to transition from predator to protector—after all, a man has to look after his food supply.

Recommended: OF COURSE, AWESOME STUFF!



                     About Double Dead
                                                        Recommended Ages: 15 and Up
Paperback: 320 pgs
Published: November 15th 2011 by Abaddon (first published November 10th 2011)

For This Review: *Bought a paperback book copy!*

Friday, April 27, 2012

The Taker Fan Pack Winner well actually 2 Winners!


Lisa Richards/alterlisa and Maegan Morin both won The Taker fan pack. 
Congratulations! 

Thursday, April 26, 2012

T.V. Casual Talk: The Legend of Korra on Nickelodeon "No Bender is Safe"

In "The Revelation" (Episode 3) - Book One: Air
On April 21, 2012 a new episode of The Legend of Korra. Another great episode full of adventure and danger.

Korra, Bolin, and Mako are hard at work on their probending training when the proprietor of the probending sport informs them that they need to gather a whole lot of money that they obviously don't have. Bolin and Mako revealing to Korra that as orphans they have to worry most of the time life about surviving Bloin wanting to help bring in money tries to come up with a plan but he ends up involving himself with the Triple Threat Triad.



Review of The Pearl Wars (Skyship Academy #1) by Nick James


Overview
A devastated Earth's last hope is found in Pearls: small, mysterious orbs that fall from space and are capable of supplying enough energy to power entire cities. Battling to control the Pearls are the Skyship dwellers—political dissidents who live in massive ships in the Earth's stratosphere—and the corrupt Surface government.

Jesse Fisher, a Skyship slacker, and Cassius Stevenson, a young Surface operative, cross paths when they both venture into forbidden territory in pursuit of Pearls. Their chance encounter triggers an unexpected reaction, endowing each boy with remarkable—and dangerous—abilities that their respective governments would stop at nothing to possess.

Enemies thrust together with a common goal, Jesse and Cassius make their way to the ruins of Seattle to uncover the truth about their new powers, the past they didn't know they shared, and a shocking secret about the Pearls.
 Add this to Your Goodreads.com Shelf   

Recommended: Yes, you need to check it out!



                     About The Pearl Wars
Available as: Paperback $9.95 from Amazon.com ,  E-book $7.69 from Amazon.com Kindle's Edition 
                                                        Recommended Ages: 15 and Up
Paperback: 376 pgs
Published: September 8th 2011 by Flux

For This Review: *Bought a paperback book copy!*

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Review of The Courtesan's Bed by Sandrine O' Shea


Overview
She vows to protect her heart...until love burns away her resistance.
Regine Laflamme rules as the Queen of Fire, the Paris demimonde's most notorious and accomplished courtesan. Wealthy men shower her with riches and vie to become her next conquest. Respectable women shun her. Other courtesans envy her.
No one knows she was once an innocent young governess, ruined and turned out by a cruel lord. And now, years later, she spies her seducer's son-a man who never answered her frantic pleas for help.
Darius, Earl of Clarridge, has never stopped searching for the woman who haunts him. He doesn't expect her to believe that her letters never reached him. No, he will regain her trust in a way she understands-by promising to give her more pleasure than she's ever known.
In spite of her misgivings, Regine is intrigued and takes Darius up on his boast. To her surprise, he conquers not only her body, but captures her very heart.
Yet beyond the haven of her boudoir, two men scheme to possess her for their own. When one of them kidnaps and enslaves her, she clings desperately to a new hope-that this time Darius will find her before it's too late.

Recommended: Yes, you need to check it out!



             About The Courtesan's Bed
Available as: NEW Paperback $11.70 from Amazon.com, E-book $4.56 from Amazon.com Kindle's Edition 
                                                        Recommended Ages: 17 and Up
E-book: 284 pgs
Published: September 28th 2010 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd (first published September 13th 2010)

For This Review: *E-book Copy Provided by Author For Review Purposes*

Monday, April 23, 2012

Review of Verita (The Verita Series #1) by Tracy Rozzlynn


Overview
My parents died, my boyfriend cheated, and my best friend essentially dumped me. Truly alone in the world, I agree to help colonize the newly discovered planet, Verita. Now I’m on a strange new world. I have an overwhelming attraction to Brody, despite the fact that he's totally not my type. Another boy Ryan, utterly hates me for reasons out of my control. And there are creatures in the forest that would like nothing more than to eat us for dinner. My heart and mind are fighting with each other. I'm constantly fighting with Ryan. Concentrating on my job is becoming more and more difficult. Plus I can’t ignore how strange it is that all my friends are falling head-over-heal in love. But when I find myself stranded in the wilderness. The only thing that matters is survival.


Recommended: Yes, you need to check it out!



                         About Verita
Available as: Paperback $10.99 from Amazon.com ,  E-book $2.99 from Amazon.com Kindle's Edition
                                                        Recommended Ages: 15 and Up
E-book: 219 pgs
Published: May 16, 2012 by Smashwords

For This Review: *E-book Copy Provided by Library Thing's Reviewer's Program*

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Giveaway Book Winner of The Weeping Online Book Tour

Regan Walsh won the book of The Weeping by O' Dell Hutchison!

She has already responded to the message and gladly can say that her book is on the way. Everyone who didn't win don't feel discouraged there will be giveaways to come under the blog's tabs-  Giveaways on the Blog.


For those of you who missed the Online Book Tour for The Weeping by O' Dell Hutchison.
See the posts [below]:

Friday, April 20, 2012

An Anime Series Review: Kaze No Stigma (2007)





Director: Junichi Sakata

Anime Planet Overview: Years after having been exiled from the Kannagi household for being unable to utilize their fire magic, Kazuma returns to Japan, only to discover that the Kannagi family's very existence is threatened. Unknown to them, during his absence, he had become a Contractor and thus acquired a vast strength in wind magic. Not showing any remaining contempt for them, he offers to help solve the Kannagi household’s problems in return for large sums of money. Together with his younger brother Ren and the feisty heir to the Kannagi household, Ayano, he fights to protect those he cares about... for a price!

                                        



A  Kaze No Stigma Review
Kaze No Stigma Episode Count: 24 episodes
Tsui-Ling (Top right), Kazuma (Top middle), Ren (Bottom left), Kirika (Far left) and Ayano (Bottom right) 

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

T.V. Casual Talk: The Legend of Korra on Nickelodeon "Like The Cycle of the Seasons, The Cycle of the Avatar Began Anew"




The premiere of The Legend of Korra on April 14, 2012 at 11:00 am was fantastic! The Legend of Korra the sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender promises to continue the amazingly excting series of the Avatar world we all fell in love with (me included!). For this viewer the humor that is pure genius in making you laugh held sway much like in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Avatar: The Last Airbender which aired was an animated t.v. show that had this world that was obviously fantasy-like that managed to bring with every episode some incredible diverse adventures and life lessons to life by creators:  Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Avatar: The Last Airbender followed Aang a young boy with the ability to work the wind which is often referred to as airbend making him an airbender. Who also happend to be the last of his kind after the ruthless people of the Fire Nation who are people who can control fire wipe out his people. He also happened to be the Avatar who's master of all four elements of air, water, earth, and fire. His destiny involves keeping peace in the world and along the way he meets Katara a girl who's a waterbender and happens to believe he can save the world from the oppresive Fire nation.




Avatar: The Last Airbender, also known as Avatar: The Legend of Aang, is an Emmy award-winning American animated television series that aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon and the Nicktoons Network. The series was created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who served as executive producers along with Aaron EhaszAvatar's setting is in an Asian-influenced world of martial arts and elemental manipulation. The show drew on elements from East Asian, South Asian, and Western culture, making it a mixture of what were previously traditionally separate categories of Japanese anime and Western domestic cartoons.
The series follows the adventures of the main protagonist Aang and his friends, who must save the world by defeating the Fire Lord and ending the destructive war with the Fire Nation. The show first aired on February 21, 2005 and the series concluded with a widely-lauded two-hour television movie on July 19, 2008. The show is now available on DVD, the iTunes Store, the Xbox Live Marketplace, the PlayStation Network, and the Zune Marketplace, Netflix, as well as its home on Nickelodeon. - Avatar: The Last Airbender wikia.com



So you can imagine my surprise when heard on Nickelodeon as they previewed The Legend of Korra which promised to revisit the world we had so widely grown captivated with except now we see a generational jump (70 years have passed since the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender), much more modern surroundings, new enemies, and , of course, a new Avatar. The new Avatar proceeding Aang is Korra who just so happens to be a 17 year-old girl this time around in her teen years and in quite a few talks ,  Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko , mentioned they wanted Korra to be much older as in teen years unlike Aang to bring in a much more mature vibe where it shows a generational gap that is different from Aang's time. Aang's time was much more in the think " old days" while Korria's time is around  something that's more modern. A real difference which The Legend of Korra upon watching on April 14, 2012 at 11:00am noticed was pulled off but still felt that it was in the world of Avatar just has evolved from Aang's time.
Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko stressed that their vision with The Legend of Korra was to bring a much darker feel with even , yes, cheesy teen romance which should appeal to older audiences of girls around the ages of perhaps at a guess 9-18 or people who just love beautiful pictureque animated shows. The Legend of Korra had all of this from both instances of "Welcome To Republic City" and "A Leaf In the Wind" which appeared in Episode 1 and Episode 2 of The Legend of Korra which lasted an hour. The animated t.v. show was very, very anticipated by this blogger and if you want to know if it disappointed me as in in any way then the answer is no. It only increased an already huge passionate appreaciation for this franchise. Thank you Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko! You guys make viewers enjoy quite an animated show. The Legend of Korra had originally been auctioned for 12 episodes in total but was given even more episodes with a total of 24 episodes! Perhaps even proving that this is a show that many out there really enjoy watching it. I know when it was and since then saw the pilot episode where thought it was going to grow in to a big thing since it had so much creativity in its characters and world. It felt like a world you were lucky you could witness. In other talks ,  Konietzko , mentioned that also the reason for having more episodes was to better craft the episodes. 
The Legend of Korra wikia.com (Find info. on how The Legend of Korra is being planned and about the overall world)


 You can be sure The Legend of Korra is in good hands and it proved itself in its first worldwide premiere on April 14, 2012 (11:00 am, U.S. time) on Saturday.
The Legend of Korra began with its introduction actually of how Tenzin , the son of Aang, had always heard stories of how his father The Avatar and his friends were courageous and worked hard to together defeat Firelord thereby ending the 100 Years War restoring peace to all of the four nations. The water benders, earth ebndevs, fire benders, and even newly emerged metal benders could be joined together equally without oppresion and prejudice. Everything was changed from where we saw it in Avatar: The Last Airbender. The four nations are very intermixed even though individuals still where the clothes of their dominant country or where their bending comes from. 


In "Welcome To Republic City" (Episode 1) - Book One: Water
Tenzin in voice over also informs viewers that even though new things were accomplished by Avatar Aang. 
Slowly  the cycle of the seasons went by Avatar Aang (who's his father) where his life finally ended and so the cycle of the Avatar began anew. Meet Korra who is the Avatar of the current generation after Aang. She's from what you first see is hotheaded and impulsive. As a adventure seeker Korra looks to bring her bending training to completion not in a boring way but to supplement it with fun ways that often gets her in trouble. The comparisons to Aang are easy to make in a fun way considering her instructors often make note of how she excels in the physical side of bending but not in the spiritual. Aang was much more spiritual than heavily involved in the physical side of bending. What was different of Korra compared to Aang was while he was level-headed Korra isn't so much she's something of a hot-head although she is as goofy as Aang. Another thing of notice is she looks much like Katara when she would have been which was nice of to do as a character, who's the lead character design keeps you remembering the good times of Avatar: The Last Airbender while also embracing a new more modern take. Although Katara does appear in The Legend of Korra but she's very old now. She also seems to affectionately care for Korra. From the beginning noticed from the voice ove of who, yes, is in fact is Aang and Katara's son that the Avatar's spirit reincarnates and it seems that Katara sees a lot of Aang's personality in Korra. Korra is getting ready to learn airbending which she has never before even been able to do. (Aang and Katara's son) is going to be her airbending teacher but he can't since he's holding off since he's trying to keep control over Republic City the city that his father wanted along with Firelord Zuko to keep as a center of peace and unity for all people of all four nations. He's having problems with since the city is having major growing uprisings with Equalists a group of bending haters who believe benders-only opress. Korra though feels her training shouldn't be put on hold and that she should train with in Republic City and also help him with problems of the uprisings of Equalists. Tenzin only opposes for the reason that he doesn't want to put her in danger especially since Aang put him in charge of her protection. Korra with Katara's blessing though travels to Republic City to see for herself what is going on over there. Once there she she's the beauty of it which is gorgeous but also how very out of whack it is from Avatar Aang's original vision of it. With the the world changing now in Korra's time it would mean she's going to have take a different approach to find peace for the world that is now her responsiblity.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Free E-book Download until April 19, 2012 of Sela (Book Two of The Leland Dragon series) by Jackie Gamber!


Sela's premise
Peace was fleeting. Vorham Riddess, Venur of Esra Province, covets the crystal ore buried deep in Leland's mountains. His latest device to obtain it: land by marriage to a Leland maiden. But that's not all. 

Among Dragonkind, old threats haunt Mount Gore, and shadows loom in the thoughts of the Red who restored life to land and love. A dragon hunter, scarred from countless battles, discovers he can yet suffer more wounds. 

In the midst of it all, Sela Redheart is lost, driven from her home with only her old uncle to watch over her. As the dragon-born child of Kallon, the leader of Leland's Dragon Council, she is trapped in human form with no understanding of how she transformed, or how to turn back. 

Wanderers seek a home, schemes begin to unfurl, and all is at risk as magic and murder, marriage and mystery strangle the heart of Esra. A struggle for power far older and deeper than anyone realizes will leave no human or dragon unaffected. 

In a world where magic is born of feeling, where the love between a girl and a dragon was once transformative, what power dwells in the heart of young Sela?

Add this to Your Goodreads.com Shelf 

Download it now- Sela (Book Two of The Leland Dragon series) by Jackie Gamber in Amazon.com's Kindle Edition
The promotion will run from Wednesday, April 18th (beginning at midnight Pacific Time Zone in the USA), through Thursday, April the 19th, 2012.





And when you are done getting your free copy, visit the SSP eBook page to discover many more titles, from more Michael West such as Cinema of Shadows, to fantasy, urban fantasy, sword and sorcery, YA fantasy, epic fantasy, and other genres. Click here to visit the SSP eBook page with direct links to each title, none of which is over $2.99: 

Monday, April 16, 2012

Author Interview with Marie Harbon author of "Seven Point Eight" & 3 Day Free E-book Download



Marie Harbon's Bio:

Marie Harbon wrote her first novel length story at the age of twelve, which in retrospective was an early prototype of 'Lost', in that her secondary school class were shipwrecked on an island and had to contend with giant rabbits and aliens. Since then, she has written on and off, evolving her style and literary maturity.

'Seven Point Eight' began life as a short story in the early nineties but on realising the idea could be grown into something more substantial, it was later developed into a trilogy. When it became clear how vast an epic it was becoming, it was finally born as a full five part series of books. Work on 'The Second Chronicle' has already begun.

 Discussions have just begun to turn 'Seven Point Eight' into a movie or TV series.

Aside from writing, Marie has two children and lives with her son and four guitars in the town of Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, which is in England. She is a self-confessed fabric geek and purveyor of beautiful, often ostentatious clothing.



Author Interview
Questions and Answers


NEWS: The First Chronicle goes FREE in the Kindle store: Mon April 16, Tues 17th, Weds 18th and Thu 19th , 2012.

Learn About Seven Point Eight: The First Chronicle: Review of Seven Point Eight: The First Chronicle by Marie Harbon


1. How can you introduce your novel "Seven Point Eight" to readers?


Be prepared for a journey, an expedition that draws together fringe science, psychic powers, alternate dimensions, time travel, past lives, miracles, folklore, consciousness,
Seven Point Eight: The First Chronicle (Volume 1)
 conspiracy and nostalgia, in a soap opera for the soul.  Welcome to the new paranormal/science fiction series entitled  'Seven Point Eight'.


Written in the style of a TV series, 
'Seven Point Eight'   interweaves the human dramas of love, betrayal, bitterness and above all, courage in a world where everyone must face their own dark shadow. Plus, it asks some pretty existential questions regarding the meaning of our lives and destiny, our karma and dharma, and last but not least, God and the universe. 
'Seven Point Eight: The First Chronicle’ lays the groundwork, and sweeps through the 40s, 50s and 60s to modern day in a wild nostalgic, scientific, paranormal ride.  The physicist, Paul, begins a quest to measure the soul but soon founds himself swept into Max’s world, where research is sold to the military at the highest bid.  When the talented psychic, Tahra, walks into his life, they soon embark on a ground-breaking project designed to stretch the frontiers of exploration, only to make a reality shattering discovery….


2. What set you on the road to writing "Seven Point Eight"?


The original concept revolved around a group of extraordinary people, although the over-arcing story came together over the period of a few years. I wrote a short story in the 90s featuring the machine and consciousness travel, and I liked the idea so much that I developed it further.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Latest in Blog Visiting of the Week of April 9-15, 2012


Check Out!
The favorite blogs of the week and why their content made them the favorite of the week!


1.  Civilian Reader blog:  Stefan interviews Gini Koch an author some of you might know. She's the author of the Alien series, yes!
Contains a fantastic giveaway as well!

Post visited @ Civilian Reader-Interview with Gini Koch & Giveaway 

Not a lot as you can see happened this week for much of the reason was busy with a lot of things. Most of which wasn't too blogging related. 





Take a Look at the Week's Content @ Book & Movie Dimension a Blog


[For those of you that missed anything for the week of April 9-15, 2012. Only popular posts mentioned below though.]

Reviews


  • Fantasy 
Eoin Colfer's bestselling antihero is back in Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident--the superb sequel to the hyper-hyped Artemis Fowl, shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year. The Arctic Incident sees the slightly older, perhaps slightly more mellow arch-criminal Artemis recovered from his last adventure, richer now that he has his half of a hoard of fairy gold, and happier since the Clarice Starlingesque superfairy Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon returned his mother's ailing mind to full health. 

But there is still much unfinished business: Artemis Fowl Sr. disappeared when a daring escapade designed to free his family from their criminal--not to mention deeply lucrative--past and move the family's assets into legitimate enterprises went horribly wrong. Held captive by the Mafiya (the Russian organized crime syndicate) for over two years, he has been declared officially dead, but Artemis Jr. knows in his heart (yes, he does have one) that his beloved father is still alive, and he is determined to find him. Meanwhile Captain Short is temporarily on assignment to Customs and Excise as punishment for letting Fowl separate her and her People from their gold and is finding her stakeout duties a little dull. It soon becomes obvious that the pair have need of each other's considerable skills, and before long they are on track for an adventure that will ultimately have far-reaching consequences for both of them.
The second book in Colfer's fairy fantasy series is just as good and find out more in the review!

Shay could never do the things her friends could--never try out for sports, never go to parties, never fall in love. Because of the mysterious and incurable blood disorder she was born with, she can barely make it through three days of school a week. 

But now, her doctor-turned-stepfather has a brand-new treatment that he thinks will change everything. And it does. As soon as the new blood starts pumping into Shay's veins, she has visions of a different life...Gabriel's life. She sees an orphanage, loss, fangs, blood, and lust that she can't explain. 

Is Gabriel real? And if he is, could he really be what she thinks he is? 

This was a rather unique vampire book that you should read about if your a fan of vampires.

Online Book Tour
Sela Online Book Tour: From The Vantage Point of a Big Fan! Author Interview with Jackie Gamber author of " The Leland Dragon series "
Come read a very in-depth author interview with Jackie Gamber!

Sela Online Book Tour: Review of Sela (Book Two of The Leland Dragon series) by Jackie Gamber
Also read a review for Jackie Gamber's second book in The Leland Dragon series.

That was all everyone. What a busy blogging week I'll tell you.

Thanks to Stefan! at  Civilian Reader blog  for the idea to the post creation of Latest in Blog Visiting with his Week In Review posts. See his latest Week In Review (Mar.31-April .7).


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