|
|
Description: Cassel Sharpe knows he’s been used as an assassin, but he’s trying to put all that behind him. He’s trying to be good, even though he grew up in a family of con artists and cheating comes as easily as breathing to him. He’s trying to do the right thing, even though the girl he loves is inextricably connected with crime. And he’s trying to convince himself that working for the Feds is smart, even though he’s been raised to believe the government is the enemy.
|
|
|
| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| This run of covers is much less cinematic than the ones with real models, a much more fantasy feel. Given the edgy feel of the series, I think the live action covers fit the series better. This one is rather generically YA. | This has to be the UK cover…it looks nothing like the US versions, but I still think the purple almost disco vibe is a wrong fit for this series in any country. |
|
|
 | Title: The Urban Fantasy Anthology
 Sexual Content: No explicit sex scenes, but references to sex, rape, and incest are made. Rating:
Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying. |
Star-studded and comprehensive, this imaginative anthology brings a myriad of modern fantasy voices under one roof. Previously difficult for readers to discover in its new modes, urban fantasy is represented here in all three of its distinct styles—playful new mythologies, sexy paranormal romances, and gritty urban noir. Whether they feature tattooed demon-hunters, angst-ridden vampires, supernatural gumshoes, or pixelated pixies, these authors—including Patricia Briggs, Neil Gaiman, and Charles de Lint—mash-up traditional fare with pop culture, creating iconic characters, conflicted moralities, and complex settings. The result is starkly original fiction that has broad-based appeal and is immensely entertaining.
This is my first experience with this type of broad, category driven anthology, and I find myself as enamored with the physical organization of the book as I was with it’s contents. Opening with Charles de Lint’s exploration of Urban Fantasy and it’s more precise sub-categories, the book itself is divided into “Mythic Fiction”, “Paranormal Romance”, and “Noir Fantasy”. Each section begins with an essay that explores the origins and characterizations of this genre so much of us enjoy, and while the stories in each section don’t actually match the content from de Lint, Guran, or Lansdale’s essays, they do have an interesting relationship to one another that makes this anthology as thought provoking as it was enjoyable.
De Lint’s essay opens the Mythic Fiction section and sets the stage for stories with a mood of wonder and uncertainty. The magical threads in this section dip and weave underneath reality and bring to life the myths of older worlds, gods and unicorns and Fae. My favorite stories of the mythic fantasy section were Neil Gaiman’s The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories and Peter S. Beagle’s Julie’s Unicorn. Gaiman mixes the gilt of Hollywood with the everyday magic of reverence in a way that creates a quiet pool of the extraordinary that I know I will return to. Julie’s Unicorn explores the real world consequences of magic, but without letting camp overcome a sense of infinite possibilities. My least favorite story in this section, Jeffrey Ford’s On the Road to New Egypt, reminded me of FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS with magic in place of either as the drug of choice. Chaotic and arbitrary, if this story was reaching for greater significant or religious meaning, it missed the target with me.
While the stories in Mythic Fiction completely fit my concept of that sub-genre, the Paranormal Romance selections seem out of sync with their heading. Rather than the highly sexual, magic driven Happily-Ever-Afters that I associate with this sub-genre (and that Guran references in her essay), the Paranormal Romance section of this anthology serves only as a bridge between the wonder of Mythic Fiction to the less upfront portrayals of common paranormal creatures in the Noir Fantasy section. For the purpose of this anthology, “Paranormal Romance” means stories where both readers and characters recognize the magic they’re dealing with: vampires and zombies, ghosts and werewolves. There is little more than references to sex and other than Patricia Brigg’s Seeing Eye and Bruce McAllister’s Hit, none of these stories have anything close to a romantic happily ever after. However, once I adjusted my expectations, I found some things to enjoy. This was my second experience with Seeing Eye, previously published in STRANGE BREW, and it was my stand out favorite for the section. Briggs is adept at setting her characters into place quickly, without ever resorting to caricature, and I can never finish one of her short stories without hungering for more. I also enjoyed Suzy McKee Charnas’s Boobs for her new take on an empowered adolescent heroine and the werewolf mythology, and Norman Partridge’s She’s My Witch, which brought a crazy Bonnie and Clyde vibe to the paranormal table, with a tone that manages to engage, concern, and creep out, all at once. Francesca Lia Block’s Farewell, My Zombie seemed out of place for this section, more in line with the borderline realities and questions of the noir fantasy section, but despite this mismatch, the heroine was so bleak and compelling that the story left me shattered.
As I mentioned above, the third and final section in this anthology, Noir Fantasy, takes the vampires and werewolves we urban fantasy fans are so familiar with and turns the mythologies on their head. Either through the addition of mundane details, as in Susan Palwick’s heartbreaking Gestella, or through a questionable narrator, as in Thomas M. Disch’s The White Man, the stories in this last section marry the tone of Mythic Fantasy with the headliner paranormal phenomenon established in Paranormal Romance. I adored Holly Black’s The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, which managed to create both a stellar heroine and an interesting world in the short space allotted (and is one of the few stories in this anthology that was deep enough to introduce characters I would want to read more about), and found Tim Powers's world building and characterization in The Bible Repairman haunting and gritty. Joe R. Lansdale’s own On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert with Dead Folks didn’t contain a single woman who wasn’t a prostitute, a zombie prostitute or a cultist, and reaffirmed why few post-apocalyptic stories ever get any reaction out of me other than rage and/or a personal intention to bury myself in a bunker should society ever collapse. My reaction is meant more as a affirmation of my preference for pleasant, escapist reading material than any indictment of Lansdale’s well entertaining, if utterly bleak, story.
Upon finishing all three Urban Fantasy sub-genres, I realized that despite essays that discuss the commercially prevalent brand of Urban Fantasy that is fueled by “kickassitude” and happy endings, THE URBAN FANTASY ANTHOLOGY is composed of an older and darker strain of selections than I would have expected from the title. The stories I’ve mentioned above are only a few of the offerings, but overall, this book’s tone brings home the sense that magic doesn’t guarantee happiness (and sometimes can’t even save your life), but it is always, and inevitably, fascinating to poor humans and preternatural creatures alike. Unerringly provoking (both in a good and bad sense), while I sometimes found myself wishing for something different, I never could have asked for anything more out of these stories. This is one book I will be sure to keep on my shelf so I can revisit these varied moods and conundrums in the future, but while the essayists themselves point out that these stories aren’t meant to capture all aspects of the Urban Fantasy genre, it feels Beagle and Lansdale only focused on the bleaker side.
|
|
RT Booklovers Convention start on April 6th and if you’re going to be in Los Angeles, you won’t want to miss it. Yesterday, Anne Elizabeth introduced us to the GRAPHIC NOVELS: The Female Creators Workshop and today Holly Black, author of the The Good Neighbors graphic novel series, picks up where she left off. Click HERE to see where else Holly will be at this years convention.
ATUF: Why do you think graphic novels have exploded in popularity recently, especially in the paranormal market?
HB: I think the expansion of the paranormal market has reached into lots of genres -- mysteries, YA, romance and fantasy, so it's no surprise that paranormal graphic novels have experienced a rise in popularity too. But I also think more and more mainstream readers are buying comics and more female readers, which expands the market as well.
HB: The representation of women in comics has changed immeasurably over the course of my lifetime. When I was first reading comics, women had one uniform body type and a penchant for very revealing spandex. Now there is a much wider range of representations, from the women of Love and Rockets, to Charles' Vess's art for Stardust, to Jill Thompson's Wonder Woman, not to mention manga. Alongside that, the kind of stories about women changed too. There is a much wider range -- and I think women have noticed and responded by being more interested in reading comics.
ATUF: What are some of the unique challenges and benefits when it comes to writing a graphic novel as opposed to a traditional book?
HB: For one thing, unless you're an artist yourself (and I'm not), you are working with someone else who is doing at least fifty percent (and maybe more) of the work in telling the story. As a novelist, I am used to creating the mood with language, but in a graphic novel, so much of the mood is actually created through the art -- not to mention the character's expressions and their body language.
The other thing is that when writing a script, you have to consider the physical book -- whether you're writing a left hand side page or a right hand side page. You can't start a double-page spread with a right-hand page, for example. And at the bottom of the right page, that last panel has to have some narrative tension. It's the page-flipper, the panel that makes the reader flip the page to know what happens next, so there can't be any filler.
Also, characters can't stay in one place and just talk, the way they would in a novel. They have to change locations and keep moving. But the hardest thing for me to remember is that when I change locations, I can't just start in the middle of the scene. There has to be a panel showing us where we are now before we can jump back into the action.
One of the most interesting things about working on Good Neighbors was learning new skills.
ATUF: How involved do authors get to be with the artists?
HB: It depends on the partnership, but in terms of working with Ted, we had periods where we had a lot of communication and periods where we went off and did our own thing. I made one huge change in the structure of the series because -- when I explained to him what the villain's plan was, he said that I had to let the villain manage to succeed, because he wanted to draw it. I think it made for a much better series.
HB: I think, like with any adaptation, the challenge is to reconceive the original in a new way. Just like some film adaptations enhance the original and some don't quite work, I think it depends on the graphic novel.
ATUF: Can you tell us about your The Good Neighbors graphic novel series?
HB: The Good Neighbors is a graphic novel trilogy composed of three books: Kith, Kin and Kind. They're about a girl named Rue whose mother has gone missing. Her father is a suspect, not just in his wife's disappearance, but in the murder of one of his students. Additionally, while Rue has always seen things, she can't seem to ignore what she's seeing any more.
The series was partially inspired by the story of Bridget Cleary, a woman who was burned to death by her husband and family because they thought she was a faery changeling. I was fascinated by the idea of what might drive a family to something like that.
Over the course of the series, Rue has to decide who she is and who she loves. I worked with Ted Naifeh, who is a fantastic illustrator, and who really brought the book to lush, chilling, gorgeous life.
ATUF: What would you say to someone who has never read comics, manga or graphic novels to persuade them to try one?
HB: I would say that I think artwork enhances a story in ways that make it into an entirely new thing. There is an almost cinematic pleasure to reading comics that combines with the literary pleasure. I know for some people, it's unfamiliar to read the caption and then look at the picture -- but I think that once they get used to it, they really enjoy the medium. There are stories that can be told in comic form that I think wouldn't be as successful in any other medium.
ATUF: Where do you suggest graphic novel newbies start?
ATUF: Can you explain the differences between comics, manga, and graphic novels and why and if you prefer one over the other?
HB: My understanding is that comics are serial, often monthly. Graphic novels are either longer original stories or a collection of individual comics. And manga are Japanese comics or comics that follow the Japanese comic traditions.
ATUF: What are you most looking forward to at the RT Conference this year?
HB: I'm a reader as well as a writer, so what I'm most excited about are meeting writers I admire and hearing about new books that I might like to read.
ATUF: Which panel other than your own are you most excited about?
HB: There's a panel called "The Science of Crime" that looks really interesting. I am definitely going to that one. I am really curious about the various film panels. Having been through the whole process of having a book adapted into a movie with The Spiderwick Chronicles, I am curious to see how my experience align with other people's.
ATUF: Thanks so much for stopping by Holly. Come back anytime!
-------------------------------------------------
| Holly Black is the author of bestselling dark contemporary fantasy for kids and teens. Her books include Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale, two related novels, Valiant and the New York Times bestseller Ironside, the Spiderwick Chronicles (with artist Tony DiTerlizzi), the short story collection, The Poison Eaters and Other Stories, and a graphic novel series, The Good Neighbors (with artist Ted Naifeh). Holly has co-edited three anthologies: Geektastic (with Cecil Castellucci), Zombies vs. Unicorns (with Justine Larbalestier), and Welcome to Bordertown (with Ellen Kushner). Her latest novel, White Cat is the first of a new series. Red Glove is the second book. She and her husband, Theo, live in Amherst, Massachusetts. Visit Holly at www.blackholly.com. |
| Visit Holly online: |
Interested in being interviewed on All Things Urban Fantasy? CONTACT ME
 | Title: Red Glove
 References to sex.
Near Perfect - Buy two copies: one for you and one for a friend. |
Curses and cons. Magic and the mob. In Cassel Sharpe's world, they go together. Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth—he’s the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hand can transform anything—or anyone—into something else.
That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Cassel was tricked into thinking he killed her, when actually he tried to save her. Now that she's human again, he should be overjoyed. Trouble is, Lila's been cursed to love him, a little gift from his emotion worker mom. And if Lila's love is as phony as Cassel's made-up memories, then he can't believe anything she says or does.
When Cassel's oldest brother is murdered, the Feds recruit Cassel to help make sense of the only clue—crime-scene images of a woman in red gloves. But the mob is after Cassel too—they know how valuable he could be to them. Cassel is going to have to stay one step ahead of both sides just to survive. But where can he turn when he can't trust anyone—least of all, himself?
Love is a curse and the con is the only answer in a game too dangerous to lose.
My only complaint at the end of RED GLOVE was just that, it had ended. In just two books this series has developed such an intricate world and consistent voice that for both WHITE CAT and RED GLOVE I had no more put down one book when I was ready for the next. I’m in love with the mix of magic and mafia and noir that is the Curse Workers universe, and the characters Holly Black has created within it.
After an emotionally wrenching events of WHITE CAT, one might hope Cassel Sharpe could expect a break in RED GLOVE. Though his wry, worldly voice can make even the most heart wrenching situations seem smooth and effortless, Cassel again faces a shell game of bad, bad, and worse choices. Amidst his dysfunctional family and pressures from both criminals and law enforcement, it is plain that Cassel is in over his head and determined not to give up without a fight.
I would definitely recommend that a new reader start with WHITE CAT to fully appreciate all that Cassel and his friends have experienced and overcome. The entire Curse Workers series is darker and more nuanced than the usual paranormal YA fare, and much of that drama hinges upon the magical world Black establishes in WHITE CAT. RED GLOVE is a more straight forward who-done-it mystery than the previous book in the series, and the story was all the more powerful for that fact. Watching Cassel navigate the fallout of his damaged family and precarious future with full knowledge of the betrayals and dangers around him was riveting.
RED GLOVE ended with my heart in my throat, dying to find out what will happen next. While April 2012 cannot come soon enough, most of me hopes that book 3 of the Curse Workers series, BLACK HEART, won’t be my visit this fascinating world.
|
*Disclosure: I received this book courtesy of Simon and Schuster
This title will be released on May 4, 2010
Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.
Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.
Holly Black has created a gripping tale of mobsters and dark magic where a single touch can bring love -- or death -- and your dreams might be more real than your memories.
Book 1 in The Curse Workers Series
Review:
What's a guy to do when he's the only member of a rare family of curse workers who can't work a curse to save his life? Take after his incarcerated mother of course: block out the past and learn to con everyone he meets, even himself.
"I wake up barefoot, standing on cold slate tiles. Looking dizzily down. I suck in a breath of icy air."-Opening line from WHITE CAT
WHITE CAT is written from the perspective of seventeen year old Cassel, a compelling protagonist, full of doubt, self-loathing, and lots of bravado--not to mention a wicked skill set when it comes to working a con. Whether running a gambling pool at school, or contriving elaborate false personas to rescue a friend, Cassel is more comfortable creating artful lies than he is with reality.
In addition to a strong lead voice, the present tense of the writing is extremely effective and creates a nice contrast to the past tense passages when Cassel is remembering pieces from his life. The mystery of what exactly happened to Cassel is sometimes predictable, but there are enough surprises that I was thoroughly entertained by WHITE CAT.
The world building in WHITE CAT is subtle, but no less strong. A very, very few people ( like 1/100 of 1%) are born with the ability to work magic, but at a steep price. For every curse worked, there is a blowback on the Worker. Death workers will loss fingers-or worse-when they touch a person with death. Memory workers loose chunks of their own memories when they remove the memories of someone else. There are also workers of emotions, luck, and even dreams.The best way I can think to describe WHITE CAT is that it’s like the movie Momento meets Maggie Stiefvater's Ballad. And that's high praise in my book. Red Glove (Curse Workers, book 2) does not yet have a release date, but I’ll be keeping an ear out. This looks to be the start of an excellent new series—don’t miss it.
Sexual Content: (YA titles receive a more thorough breakdown)Kissing. A sense of mild sensuality. References to sex. Ritualistic body mutilation.
My Rating (out of 5):
Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & pre-order the sequel.
Click HERE to read an excerpt of WHITE CAT
Reading level: Young Adult Disagree with my review? Contact me your review for this or any other book I’ve reviewed and I might use it for 2nd Opinion Review
|
 |
