Kalayna Price posted the cover for Twice Dead the follow up to Once Bitten. And while I didn’t love Once Bitten, I’m kinda digging moody colors of this new cover. What do you guys think?
I'm thrilled to say that I have received permission to release the cover art for TWICE DEAD, book two in the Haven Series. I think my publisher did an amazing job with this cover, so I hope you like it just as much.
TWICE DEAD will be released in late February, so look for more updates soon! -Kalayna
Thank you all who entered and bumped my followers up to 147 (not to mention 29 subscribers by email) I’m truly thankful for each of you and I plan on holding lots more giveaways in the coming months (one of which starts tomorrow).
The 3 winners (chosen by Randomizer.org) of My 100 Followers Mega Giveaway are…Kris, Patti, and Kristen who said:
Kris will receive...
Dead Over Heels by MaryJanice Davidson
Once Bitten by Kalayna Price
Well I love the book blogs for a couple of reasons...I enjoy the reviews for one...I kinda decide not to buy a book and just get it from the library if it gets crap for reviews.
I love the contests to. As much as I would want to buy EVEry book that catches my eye I can't. So it's a great opportunity to win some :)
Patti will receive...
Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
Dead and Loving It by MaryJanice Davidson
I like book blogs mainly for the reviews - I'm always looking for something new to read. I also like giveaways as I buy (or try to win) all my books. I'd love to win Ink Exchange and Once Bitten (the Two MJD books would be my alternates).
Kristen will receive...
Blue Diablo by Ann Aguirre
Strange Brew Edited by P. N. Elrod
I love the community of the blog world - the contests do help. But you get to connect with other book lovers and hear what they think about a book.
Thanks to Patti, Kris, and Kristen! I’ll be sending you each an email.
And thanks to all of you who entered. Please check back tomorrow for the beginning of the Urban Fantasy Cover Art Awards and my first international giveaway!
Review:
Like Faith Hunter’s story, Caitlin Kittredge’s Ginger (41 pages) takes the main character from her Nocturne City series, werewolf detective Luna Wilder, and relegates her to the sidelines. Instead, Ginger focuses on Luna’s self-proclaimed wus witch cousin Sunny who agrees to go undercover investigating a blood magic coven. The world building was good here, but Sunny was a bit too prone to crying for my taste. The ‘villain’ in the story is pretty comic book evil too which added a level of corniness that I hope doesn’t extend to the whole Nocturne City series because for the world building alone I plan on picking up Night Life to see what Luna does in her own story.
Sexual Content: None
*Ginger is part of Strange Brew: An anthology of stories edited by P N Elrod. I will be reviewing the other stories in this anthology in separate posts.
Product Details
Paperback: 384 pages
Click HERE to enter
GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES
Make sure you read carefully so your entry counts!
EXTRA ENTRIES:
+2 Comment on a previous post with no comments and leave link
+3 If you already were a follower or subscriber
+4 Post this contest on your blog (provide link)
Book Description: Today's hottest urban fantasy authors come together in this delicious brew that crackles and boils over with tales of powerful witches and dark magic! In Charlaine Harris' 'Bacon,' a beautiful vampire joins forces with a witch from an ancient line to find out who killed her beloved husband. In 'Seeing Eye' by Patricia Briggs, a blind witch helps sexy werewolf Tom Franklin find his missing brother - and helps him in more ways than either of them ever suspected. And in Jim Butcher's 'Last Call,' wizard Harry Dresden takes on the darkest of dark powers - the ones who dare to mess with this favorite beer. For anyone who's ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who's imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection!
Review:
Faith Hunter kicked off her Jane Yellowrock series in July ‘09 with Skinwalker (book two, Blood Cross is due out in Jan ‘10) , but we get an earlier peak at this shapeshifting vampire hunter in Signature of the Dead. Earth witch Molly is the main character who Jane helps track down a feral pack of new vampires. I didn’t even realize that Jane was the main character in Skinwalker (which I’m now adding to the top of my wishlist), but I’m thrilled we’ll get to read more about her. She reminded me of a cross between Mercy Thompson and Kate Daniels which means I may have just found a favorite new series.
Sexual Content: The rape of a woman and her two little girls is referenced but not described.
*Signature of the Dead is part of Strange Brew: An anthology of stories edited by P N Elrod. I will be reviewing the other stories in this anthology in separate posts.
Paperback: 384 pages It’s Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year! Why not save yourself from the crowds and sold out signs and do your shopping online. Each year I do more and more of my Christmas shopping online. I still get great deals and I don’t have to change out of my PJ’s. Oh and make sure you visit these sites first to enter for your chance to win some great Urban Fantasy books:
Tynga’s Reviews: a SIGNED COPY of ANY of Mari Mancusi (Blood Coven series) books and a Vampire in Training Kit. Enter by December 10th
Jocelynn Drake: Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready. Enter by November 27th.
Nicole Peeler: a signed copy of Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding. Enter by November 29th
Suburban Vampire: How to Date a Vampire by Sophie Collins. Enter by December 4th.
Book Blather: ARC of both Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl. Enter by December 8th.
Cherry Mischievous: Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler. Enter by December 18th.
Nancy Holzner: signed copies of Deadtown, with a grand prize of a Flip Mino HD video camera. Enter by December 28th.
Jocelynn Drake: Signed: Nightwalker, Dayhunter, Dawnbreaker and Unbound anthology along with a pair of Nightwalker and Dayhunter mugs, and a set of Dark Days magnets. Enter by November 28th.
A Good Addiction: 5 copies for Fallen by Lauren Kate. Enter by December 6.
Pure Imagination: five copies of Night World No. 1: Secret Vampire; Daughters of Darkness; Spellbinder by L.J. Smith AND five copies of Night World: The Ultimate Fan Guide by L.J. Smith. Enter by December 7th
The Book Lush: ARC of Fallen by Lauren Kate. Enter by December 1st.
Number One Novels: Signed copy of Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding. Enter by November 29th.
Fantasy Literature: Nancy Holzner’s forthcoming Deadtown. Enter by November 30th
From Rambling to Interviews: My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent plus lots more. Enter by December 20th
Amberkatze's Book Blog: Two autographed copies of Bite Marks, One autographed copy each of Once Bitten, Twice Shy (book #1), Another One Bites the Dust (book #2) and Biting the Bullet (book #3) for newcomers to the series. Enter by November 29th.
My Blog 2.0: Immortal: Love Stories With Bite Anthology edited by P.C. Cast. Enter by November 30th.
The Story Siren: Five copies of Night World No. 1: Secret Vampire; Daughters of Darkness; Spellbinder and five copies of Night World: The Ultimate Fan Guide. Enter by December 1stScifiGuy: Dragonfire series Deborah Cooke (Kiss of Fire, Kiss of Fury, Kiss of Fate and Winter Kiss) plus swag. Enter by November 30th
The Book Resort: Nice Girls Don't Live Forever by Molly Harper. Enter by December 31st
Reading Coma: Fallen by Lauren Kate. Enter by December 2nd
A Passion for Books: ARC of Fallen by Lauren Kate. Enter by November 29
Shut Up I'm Reading: ARC of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Enter by December 2nd.
Page Turners: signed copy of Fade Out by Rachel Caine and some swag. Enter by November 30th
Ellz Readz: Fallen by Lauren Kate. Enter by December 4th
LoveVampires: Blue Bloods, Masquerade, Revelations and The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa De La Cruz. Enter by December 9th.
/- LA FEMME READERS -/: two winners pick any book on Amazon.com, up to a $25 value per book. December 20th.
Book Blather: Immortals: Love Stories with a Bite Edited by P. C. Cast. Enter by November 27th
Dark Faerie Tales: Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler. By December 7th
The Book Butterfly: My Soul to Take Rachel Vincent. December 8th.
Ellz Readz: Evermore by Alyson Noel. Enter by November 27th
Chris Marie Green: Product Details Signed copies of Amber Benson’s DEATH’S DAUGHTER, Jeanne C. Stein’s THE BECOMING, Ann Aguirre’s GRIMSPACE, and Chris Marie Green’s A DROP OF RED, Vampire Babylon, Book Four. Also included is a cute snowflake necklace and pierced earring set. Enter by January 15, 2010
LiyanaLand!: a signed copy of Betrayals by Lili St Crow. November 30th.
Mindful Musings: ARC of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Enter by November 30th
Fantasy Dreamer’s Rambling: five books by Nancy Holder and a tin of Wicked green apple mints. Enter by November 27th
Confessions of a Wandering Heart: Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay - Enter by December 1st
Bites: 2 ARCs of Lament and 2 ARCs of Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater. Enter by December 3rd.
Tynga’s Reviews: Pick from a list of Urban Fantasy books. Enter by December 15th.
Book Reviews by Jess: the first four books of the Blue Bloods series by Melissa De La Cruz! Enter by November 29th
Dark Faery Tales: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain and SWAG. Enter by December 14th.
The Book Resort: Shadowland by Alyson Noël. Enter by December 1st
Faith Hunter: a signed, personalized ARC Blood Cross, Jane Yellow book 2. Enter by December 1
Lori Handeland: an autographed backlist book of your choice along with a moon and stars bookmark. Send your mailing address (NOT your e-mail address) to lhandel120[at]aol[dot]com Enter by December 1st.
The Story Siren: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick & Fallen by Lauren Kate. Enter by December 8th
Dakota Banks is holding a contest for an IPod Touch, 32GB Second Generation, and a signed copy of her book Dark Times. (Dakota is giving away 20 copies of her book.) -enter by 11/30
J.K. Beck's Shadow Keepers is giving away an ARC of WHEN BLOOD CALLS by J.K. Beck aka Julie Kenner, and a free KINDLE, onto which the ARC will be loaded-no enter by date
Throwdown Thursday is a weekly thing [hosted by The Neverending Shelf] where we tackle books with similar characters, covers, themes, etc. to determine which one rocks more. And it is up to YOU to determine the winner!
Last weeks Throwdown asked: Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob? The debate is hardly over, but the winner by split decision was: Team Jacob
There are a lot of good urban fantasy books coming out soon, but two that I’ve been especially looking forward to came out this past Tuesday: The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay and Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding. Both Kellys have wisely teamed up in promoting their books, and we’re all planning on getting both right? But I had a limited budget this month and was only able to afford one (I’ll be posting my review of the one I choose soon). But I gotta know:
Which Kelly’s Urban Fantasy are you most psyched for?
The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay
Atlanta: it's the promised city for the off-worlders, foreigners from the alternate dimensions of heaven-like Elysia and hell-like Charbydon. Some bring good works and miracles. And some bring unimaginable evil....Charlie Madigan is a divorced mother of one, and a kick-ass cop trained to take down the toughest human and off-world criminals. She's recently returned from the dead after a brutal attack, an unexplained revival that has left her plagued by ruthless nightmares and random outbursts of strength that make doing her job for Atlanta P.D.'s Integration Task Force even harder. Since the Revelation, the criminal element in Underground Atlanta has grown, leaving Charlie and her partner Hank to keep the chaos to a dull roar. But now an insidious new danger is descending on her city with terrifying speed, threatening innocent lives: a deadly, off-world narcotic known as ash. Charlie is determined to uncover the source of ash before it targets another victim -- but can she protect those she loves from a force more powerful than heaven and hell combined?
Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding
They’ll never see her coming. . . . When Evangeline Stone wakes up naked and bruised on a cold slab at the morgue—in a stranger’s body, with no memory of who she is and how she got there—her troubles are only just beginning. Before that night she and the two other members of her Triad were the city’s star bounty hunters, mercilessly cleansing the city of the murderous creatures living in the shadows, from vampires to shape-shifters to trolls. Then something terrible happened that not only cost all three of them their lives but also convinced the city’s other Hunters that Evy was a traitor—and she can’t even remember what it was. Now she’s a fugitive, piecing together her memory, trying to deal some serious justice—and discovering that she has only three days to solve her own murder before the reincarnation spell wears off. Because in three days Evy will die again—but this time there’s no second chance. . . .
| Amber | |
| Angela | |
| Brooke | |
| Donna | |
| Doug | |
| Elie | |
| Emily | |
| Liyana | |
| Mandi | |
| Michelle | |
| Michelle | |
| Roxanne | |
| Sara | |
| Terry Spear | |
| Stephen | |
| Tynga |
Review:
If I hadn’t been sent this book for review, I would not have finished it and that was before reaching the first of two horribly disturbing and graphic rape scenes. I don’t know why there is a trend in urban fantasy to have main characters suffer through rape, but I can think of three other series that have done so (some tastefully, others less so), but this was by far the worst in terms of sheer vileness.
Livia Belane was only a little girl when her grandmother informed her that she was a Soul Catcher who can see demons, draw/paint them, and then burn the pictures to vanquish them. After her loving mother, possessed by a demon, killed her brother and Livia was forced to draw/burn her mother, she spends the next several years in an insane asylum. When she is released as a ridiculously foulmouthed adult (she manages to use the f-word in almost every sentence she speaks) she is befriended by a group of ‘good’ souls whom she has known, but forgotten about, in her many past lives. This is about the time when Livia dreams about an uber ugly demon whom she calls Pig Face. When Pig Face escapes from her drawing, possesses a human, and viciously beats and rapes her, she recovers only to learn that Ian, her true love through all her lives, has now possessed the body of her rapist. Livia has forgotten, but she, Pig Face, and Ian have all faced each other in previous lives with similar outcomes: savage rape, torture, and then death (we get to relive these past lives with Livia).
The only aspect of Soul Catcher that I found remotely compelling was how Livia struggled throughout the book to see past the physical appearance of the demon/man who raped her to the soul of Ian inside. The rest was a convoluted mess. The premise was intriguing and the prologue featuring Lavia and Ian more so. But from page 1 and on it was every bit as tortuous as an encounter with the ridiculously named Pig Face. I never understood why any one of the many characters did anything; Lavia, while a sad character given her life experiences, was supremely unlikable; her true love Ian a jerk for being offended by that fact that Lavia didn’t want to ‘feck’ as he called it soon after his body raped her (she still had stitches down under); and the whole endless cycle of life, fight, torture, rape, die was never justified: the villain was just evil, that’s it.
Wow, I really didn’t like this book. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I disliked a book so much.
Sexual Content: Graphic rape scene followed by graphic sex scene, then a demon orgy, followed by another graphic rape scene and another graphic sex scene.
Author Comments:
I love the urban fantasy genre, I love folk art (see samples at my website, deborah-smith) and I love Asheville, North Carolina. So putting all three together in a fast-paced, sexy, and some might say way-violent novel was great fun. SOUL CATCHER is not for the faint of heart, and it's not the same tone or style as my women's fiction, so that's why I picked a pen name. I also write the Solomon's Seal ebooks under the Bridger name. They're softer, paranormal romance. Anyhoo, let's talk about demons. I know demons are all the sexy new thing in fiction, not drooling monsters and such in many cases; often quite attractive, likable, and, like vampires, just another fun OTHER to mix with we mortals. But I wanted to write about down-and-dirty, drooling, vicious devil-kind. Old School Demons. And angels. And other critters I made up for my own mix of modern and mythological, Biblical and Cherokee spirituality. So I've got banes, boons, pogs, lesser demons, greater demons, angels and, in Book Two, SOUL HUNTER, there'll be vampire-like folks and probably shapeshifters, too. All with what I hope is a special twist to bring my unique, some might say odd, perspective to this very haunted, very involved, very southern Appalachian world. On another note: Why is Asheville one of my fave places? The food, the scenery, the bohemian ambience, the arts crowd, the film festival, Bele Cher, the Biltmore, Pack Square on a warm summer night when the musicians are strolling; the drum circle at Pritchard Park, the Grove Park Inn, and much more. -Leigh Bridger
Click HERE to read an excerpt of Soul Catcher
Disclosure: I received this book for review courtesy of Bell Bridge Books
Paperback: 284 pages Disagree with my review? Email me your review and I might use it for 2nd Opinion Review
Review:
Bacon takes place in the same Sookie Stackhouse world from the Southern Vampire series but minus Sookie. If you read Harris’ story Tacky in the anthology My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding then these characters will already be familiar to you. If your planning on reading both, start with Tacky and STOP READING THIS REVIEW because it will spoil aspects of that story. In Bacon, newly widowed vampire Dahlia seeks out the aid of a witch descendent of Circe to get revenge on the werewolf pack that killed her were husband. So far, this is my least favorite story in this anthology: It’s predictable, feels small because it fails to take advantage of the Sookieverse, and lacks even one likable character. At only 32 pages, it went on way too long.
Sexual Content: None
*Bacon is part of Strange Brew: An anthology of stories edited by P N Elrod. I will be reviewing the other stories in this anthology in separate posts.
Paperback: 384 pages If you missed Evy Stone’s (aka Kelly Meding’s paranormal bounty hunter from the upcoming Three Days to Dead) visit and her extremely entertaining Vampires 101 primer and Q&A, be sure to check it out. If, like me, you’re ready for more Evy, Kelly has taken pity on us and is offering up:
Dead on Suvudu: The Dreg Files!
Two original short stories both set in the same world as THREE DAYS TO DEAD.
A Note from Suvudu:
To celebrate the coming publication of Kelly Meding’s Three Days to Dead, which represents both an awesome addition to Urban Fantasy fiction and a stellar new voice in the genre, we’ll be running a few original stories by Kelly over the coming weeks.
We’re excited to feature her work here on Suvudu, as we believe that Kelly’s is an exciting voice that will be around for quite some time.
Enjoy the ride!
—Team Suvudu
Purchase a copy of Kelly Meding's breakout novel, Three Days to Dead,
available on November 24:
Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble
Borders.com
IndieBound.com
Random House.com
Book Description: Today's hottest urban fantasy authors come together in this delicious brew that crackles and boils over with tales of powerful witches and dark magic! In Charlaine Harris' 'Bacon,' a beautiful vampire joins forces with a witch from an ancient line to find out who killed her beloved husband. In 'Seeing Eye' by Patricia Briggs, a blind witch helps sexy werewolf Tom Franklin find his missing brother - and helps him in more ways than either of them ever suspected. And in Jim Butcher's 'Last Call,' wizard Harry Dresden takes on the darkest of dark powers - the ones who dare to mess with this favorite beer. For anyone who's ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who's imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection!Synopsis: Jack Fleming and his partner Escott are asked to recover a stolen heirloom--a rare yellow diamond with a curse. Any man who touches it DIES. Of course, since Jack's already dead he should be immune, right? Um, well...Mix in some con artists and a homicidally violent mad Irishman and see what happens! –Vampwriter.com
Review:
P. N. Elrod is a new author for me. This story continues her Vampire Files series with vampire P.I. Jack Fleming and his partner Escott in 1930’s Chicago. I would categorize this story as a noir mystery that just happens to have an undead lead. Not a lot of paranormal. Jack is described as a vampire much in the same way another character is described as being tall. Not a bad story, just not what I look for in urban fantasy. But if you like Raymond Charles with a dash of Tanya Huff…
Sexual Content: None
*Hecate’s Golden Eye is part of Strange Brew: An anthology of stories edited by P N Elrod. I will be reviewing the other stories in this anthology in separate posts.
Paperback: 384 pages “…With werewolves this time!” My favorite quote about the New Moon movie by a non-Twilight fan. He’s probably less than thrilled by the impressive box office take New Moon made in it’s opening weekend (scroll down to see the two records it already broke). I, on the other hand, am thrilled. You can weigh in your opinion and read my comparison of the movie & book HERE and check out the poster mash up below.
“New Moon box office records break all those set before. New Moon broke the midnight showing box office record set by Harry Potter… New Moon box office sales for the midnight showing totaled a whopping $26.3 million…” -Associated Content
“The Twilight Saga: New Moon grossed $72.7 million on Friday, according to estimates from Summit Entertainment, shattering The Dark Knight’s previous opening-day record of $67.2 million. The astronomic figure puts Bella, Edward, and Jacob on a clear path to possibly the biggest opening weekend ever, all the more impressive considering New Moon is opening in 342 fewer theaters than The Dark Knight did last year.”-EW.com
NEW MOON
Domestic Total to date: $72,700,000 (Estimate)
Distributor: Summit Entertainment
Release Date: November 20, 2009
Genre: Romance
Running Time: 2 hrs. 10 min.
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Here are some of the best and worst fan made movie posters. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which is which:
Genre Swap Saturday is a regular post (not necessarily every week) hosted by All Things Urban Fantasy, that will highlight books outside of our focused genre that I think will appeal to you. Feel free to use this on your site, just link me please.
Every Genre Swap Saturday book suggestion will include:
My Take:
I picked up The Host the same day that Breaking Dawn came out, but after being somewhat disappointed by the latter I wasn't exactly eager to read the former. The description of The Host sounded like a very hardcore science fiction effort, one that I was afraid would not be able to support a credible love story. I am more delighted than I can say that I was wrong. This book has one of the most gut wrenching love stories ever put to paper. I read someone describe The Host as science fiction for people who don’t like science fiction. The sci-fi elements (despite being among my least favorite genres) didn't bother me in the slightest . On the contrary, I found them to be provocative and deeply emotional. I found myself fully invested in all the characters (even the non-human ones) and even cried at the end. *SPECIAL NOTE TO TWILIGHT FANS* ~ Meyer really seems to enjoy the dynamic of two men in love with different aspects of the same woman.
Why you, an urban fantasy lover, might like this book:
Why you, an urban fantasy lover, might not like this book:
Click here to order The Host.
Melissa Marr got permission to share the cover for her fourth Wicked Lovely book. I’m kind of disappointed. The three previous covers were among my favorites of the genre, but this one is fairly lackluster. Can’t wait to read it though. What do you think?
Yep. I was one of those people who went to the midnight opening of The Twilight Saga: New Moon on last night (or technically this morning) and I even took my teenage sister and a carload of her friends (all clad in T-shirts and other Twilight paraphernalia plastered with Robert Pattinson’s face and one lone Jacob holdout) with me. Yes, there was a lot of screaming.
I finished re-reading the book the night before(I wanted all the details as fresh as possible prior to seeing the movie. The basic story is the same in both the movie and the book:
The Twilight Saga: New Moon Book "Shoot," I muttered when the paper sliced my finger; I pulled it out to examine the damage. A single drop of blood oozed from the tiny cut. It all happened very quickly then. Edward threw himself at me, flinging me back across the table... I tumbled down to the floor by the piano, with my arms thrown out instinctively to catch my fall, into the jagged shards of glass. I felt the searing, stinging pain that ran from my wrist to the crease inside my elbow. Dazed and disoriented, I looked up from the bright red blood pulsing out of my arm-into the fevered eyes of the six suddenly ravenous vampires. Legions of readers entranced by Twilight are hungry for more and they won't be disappointed. In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as Bella and Edward find themselves facing new obstacles, including a devastating separation, the mysterious appearance of dangerous wolves roaming the forest in Forks, a terrifying threat of revenge from a female vampire and a deliciously sinister encounter with Italy's reigning royal family of vampires, the Volturi. Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon Film PG-13 some violence and action
The supernatural tale of star-crossed lovers continues as the Cullen family flees Forks in order to protect Bella (Kristen Stewart), and the heartbroken high-school senior discovers that vampires aren't the only creatures in town. Realizing that Bella will never be safe as long as he's around, Edward (Robert Pattinson) makes the difficult decision to leave his beloved behind shortly after her 18th birthday. Reeling from her loss, Bella embraces self-destruction after being comforted by Edward's image during a moment of mortal peril. But as heavy-hearted as Bella may be, her old friend Jacob (Taylor Lautner) distracts her from her sorrows by helping her renovate a weather-beaten motorbike. When Bella encounters a former adversary with a sizable grudge, she's rescued from harm at the last second by pack of enormous, ferocious wolves. Subsequently delving into the history of the Quileutes, Bella discovers the secrets of Jacob's tribe while looking forward to a reunion with Edward that may have deadly consequences. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
I was late in jumping on the Twilight phenomenon, I read Twilight only after seeing the trailer for the movie version. But I made short work of the series and have been eagerly awaiting New Moon ever since. And overall, I think director Chris Weitz did a wonderful job. The effects are beautiful without screaming, ‘hey look at me I’m a special effect!’ I’m a huge werewolf snob when it comes to movies (the weres from Dog Soldiers are my favorite from recent years, whereas the Van Helising were was horrendous), so I’m relieved to report that the wolves in New Moon look particularly stunning in a way the previews didn’t quite capture. Another bonus: There isn’t the sweat/glitter this time out either. When the vampires are in the sun they look much more like I imagined they would from reading the books: like their skin was diamonds.
The actors have all settled into their roles (specifically Michael Sheen who plays the Volturi vamp Aro with a delightful abandon). Even Taylor Lautner who I had misgivings about has grown-not just physically- into a more than credible Jacob Black. He doesn’t quite portray the simmering anger that Jacob battles throughout the book, but he does bring the humor and devotion that is so vital to his character to the big screen.
The differences between book and movie are for the most part minor; a compressed scene here and there, some liberty taken with dialogue etc. Certain characters are given smaller/larger roles than in the book (Charlie has some great not-in-the-book scenes). All of which serve to tell the story better given the film medium. The biggest difference is Edward. He is absent for most of the book, but in the movie Bella’s hallucinations are not just audible, they are visible too. Again, I think this was a good decision that worked to better communicate the story on screen.
If the consensus between the teenagers I brought with me is any indication (not to mention the applauding audience when the credits rolled), you won’t be disappointed. Our whole pack agreed that New Moon was a better movie than Twilight. As for me, I got home at 3 am and had to start re-reading the beginning of Eclipse before I could go to sleep. So, yeah, I’m tired today, but really, really happy.
|
 |
