Released: 9/28/10           208 pages

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffith

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 978-0312376888

Volume three is the first book of Night Embrace. It is Talon’s book, but it also introduces Zarek, one  of my favorites, and Valarius. Talon is an ancient Celtic warrior turned Dark Hunter, and Sunshine is a quirky artist who happens to possess the reincarnated soul of his long dead wife. Luckily, unlike some of the other Dark Hunters, he loved his wife very much, and she did not betray him, causing him to take up Artemis’s dark deal for revenge.

In his former life, Talon was killed when his cousin wanted to take over his tribe, slaughtering him but also his sister before his eyes. And if that weren't bad enough, Bacchus cursed Talon, making anyone he loves doomed to die. For centuries he's had a very satisfied life, slaughtering daimons until he comes across his soulmate, who'd he lost long ago in danger.

This current edition stays true to the book, illustrating well Talon’s fears, and Sunshine’s determination. Talon is just as tortured as previous hero Kyrian, and the story is just as action paced, however some of the chemistry and tenderness is lost in translation, but there is still enough emotion to make the story work.

The characters aren’t how I envisioned them, Talon looks younger, a lot younger, than I really thought he should. At times he looked no more than a child. But overall the artwork was consistent. This is the first of two for this story, so it is left in a large cliffhanger, bottomline it is a solid adaptation of a wonderful story.

Supernatural is back! But it’s not the same, after all we don’t even get a road so far.

But, Dean’s now Mr. Respectable, doing the whole 9 to 5 routine, not knowing that his brother is out there somewhere. He’s a family man, with Lisa and son Ben, he does construction. He barbeques on the weekends, and he double checks that the house is safe before heading to bed. Everything he thought he always wanted, but during it all he looks bored out of his mind. Heck he's not even giving his baby some much needed attention, his poor Impala sits alone in the garage undriven.

At one of those barbeque's Dean runs Azazel, but lucky for him, it isn't real, just a little djinn poisioning, and  Sam comes to his rescue. Sam has followed in his father’s and brother’s footsteps and is the latest Winchester to come out of hell. He’s a little stoic, a little stiff, but then again he did come out of hell, and maybe that’s the way he copes. We know he went to hell, we just don’t know how long he stayed, or how he got out.
Sam forced to tell his brother that he’s back. And its perfect timing too, Dean keeps having hallucinations of the Yellow-Eyed Demon. At first Dean doesn’t believe his eyes, but after a little awkward hug, they’re reunited. It’s not the same. Sam now, is very much how Dean was. He’s take charge, kill first ask later, and I’m not really feeling it. There’s a big disconnect between them, more than a whole you went to hell thing, because that’s more common than it should be in this family.

But not only has Sam been back for a year, he’s been hunting with some members of his maternal family, the Campbells. And although Dean is a little angered that Sam didn’t tell him that he made it out of hell, he understands that his intentions on giving him a normal life were good. And do the boys are off, but first they have to get Lisa and Ben to safety.

They stop by Bobby’s, depositing Lisa and Ben, and Dean learns that Bobby knew of Sam’s return from the start, dealing another crushing blow to Dean. Two people Dean trusted kept this very big secret from him, all in the name of protecting him, how quaint. But Lisa takes the whole dean retuning to hunting pretty well.

And then there’s Grandddaddy Campbell, whose also been resurrected alongside Sam. There’s no clue as to why this has happened, but it has, and it not like this is the first time Dean has met his grandfather. He also meets some of his cousins, but something seems off about the whole lot of them, like they have a hidden agenda or something. The Campbells are a long line of hunter, extending back generations, which leads to the question of why.


Dean returns to be with Lisa and Ben, but you can't help but to wonder how long it will truly last.

Off to the hunting of the actual evil that brought Dean out of Suburbia. The Djinns have been messing with Dean, because the boys killed their father, way back in season 2. They want revenge, and horrific imagery and poisionings is definitely doing the trick. But the Djinn aren’t in their normal hiding places, they’re passing for humans until it’s time to inflict their poison on their victim. They’re acting in ways they never have in the past, the boys still manage to defeat them, but that opens more questions on what’s changed.

Released: 5/5/10 304 pages

Publisher: Image Comics

Format: Hardcover

ISBN: 978-1607061717

It's been 5 books in the making or 49 comics before we finally find out what caused this huge undead mess in the first place. Does that revelation make you fear the future of the series? Don't fret, because this baby is picking up steam with issues 49-60.

Here We Remain and What We Become are the story arcs contained in this book. The prison is no longer safe, Lori and their new baby are gone, home and safety are just distant memories.

The zombie horde isn't the worst thing in the apocalyptic world, its the mental effect its having on the surviors. Kirkman is a master of depicting this. The writing along with the artwork continues to be amazing. And although I give Kirkman much of the praise, equal amounts should be given to Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn who breath life into the characters with their vivid graphics.

Released: 8/1/07                     332 pages                          

Publisher: Aphrodisia

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 978-0758220394

The three Satyr brothers, who are human except during certain moonlight moments, receive a letter from the king of faery with a dying request. Find his illegitimate half human daughters and protect and marry them. And so one goes out to do just that, as the other two stay home and tend their vineyard which hides the gateway between Elseworld and Earthworld.

Eldest brother Nicholas is up first to search for his bride, and he finds Jane in nearby Tivoli.  She’s a ball of determination and duty, which Nicholas himself is very familiar with, and the connection between the two is pretty magnetic.

Nicholas is a conflicted hero, between conforming with the social norms of the period, and his heart’s desire. Jane is straightforward and honest, but she possess a tender heart. The hot, erotic scenes could have easily taken over the plot, but there was a great balance between the two making for a very good read.

Russell and Eric lay burning in the sun. Godric comes to Eric, telling him to end this, to forgive.

Sookie runs in a flowing gown, a chandelier lowers. She awakens with Bill over him. Bill tells her, he lied to save her. Sookie will not let Eric die for her. She uses her lightning fingers to break the cuffs with Russell’s goading to help her. She drags Eric inside. Eric needs blood, and Sookie tells Bill to bite her so that she can feed Eric, whose too weak to drop fang.

Nan and Rev Newlin banter back and forth on TV. Sam cooks breakfast for Tara. She says that he barks in his sleep, and he tells her that he’s a shapeshifter. Tara freaks out a little, angered.

Once recovered, Eric tells Sookie that they need to bring Russell inside, because Godric came to him . Sookie, against her better judgment, and to prevent Eric from doing it himself, goes out and gets Russell.

Tara wishes she didn’t know all that she recently found out. Sam tells Tara she can start over if she wants. She just has to keep on running.

Everyone wants Russell to die, but Eric does not. They go down for a nap, and leave Sookie to watch Russell.

The DEA is there with Andy, when Jason comes in because there are innocents in Hotshot. He wants Andy to stop the raid, but its too late for that.

Tara thinks about all the death that she’s seen recently.

Hoyt heads to work, where his mother, Summer, and his high school guidance counselor await to stage an intervention because he’s chosen Jessica, and therefore death. Hoyt wishes Summer well, but he’s happy with his decision.

Lafayette is early, Sam goes to let him in, and he hallucinates blood all over his hands.

Russell wants to make a deal with Sookie. He won’t hurt anyone she loves, plus give her 5 million dollars, and he’ll kill one or both Bill and Eric, and give her in his house in Mississippi if she frees him, but she will not. He taunts her, and she silvers him. As he spews more threats at her, she brings his jar of Talbot before him, and dumps the whole thing down the drain happily.

Jason and Crystal head to Hotshot. The place appears empty. Crystal calls everyone out, and Calvin still holds a grudge against Jason. Felton doesn’t want Calvin to get rid of the V, and he shoots him.

Sam drives over to Terry’s house, Terry is crying. Sam apologizes for the way he acted, but Terry cannot stop crying because everything is going so well. He goes over to Tommy’s, the house is a mess, and Tommy is gone.

Andy tries to go to Hotshot, with the DEA, but he’s injured, and a liability.

Felton goes to take the V, and tells Jason to say goodbye to Crystal. Crystal tells Jason to take care of the people of Hotshot. Jason vows to find her.

Tara goes to her mother’s house, who’s busy with Reverend Daniels. Tara walks out, sad for her mother. She tells her good luck, and hugs her goodbye.

Sam goes straight to Merlotte’s, to his safe, and he see’s its been taken. Lafayette sees Renee with Arlene, he knows its Renee’s. Sam gets his gun, and Lafayette calls Jesus about his hallucinations.

Alcide comes, he’s the one Eric called earlier, and Sookie is disappointed that he didn’t come for her on his own. Alcide admits that he’s been thinking about her, and Sookie tells him not to be such a good guy right now. The king laughs about him turning to a wolf once a month. Bill urges Sookie to stay with Pam, but she will not, and she rescinds her invitation to her home. Bill and Alcide have a stare down, Eric tells them “If you two are finished eye fucking eachother, can we go?” And out they file with Eric dragging Russell by a silver chain.

Andy sits as his desk contemplating a vial of V, when a DEA officer brings in Jason. The entire place was cleaned out, Jason maintains that Felton did it all. Andy’s upset feeling screwed over, but Jason tells him its bigger than them.

Jesus comes to help Lafayette, who thinks he’s going crazy. Lafayette doesn’t want to be sensitive to things that people are trying to hide. Jesus said the same thing happened to him when he was younger, he’s a brujo, but he said he got use to it, it went away.

Tara cuts away all her hair, healing herself. Sookie comes home seeing the new Tara. They sit together having dinner, and Tara leaves, lingering as she hugs her goodbye.

Alcide and Eric are now equal, Eric seals Russell in concrete, still wrapped in silver. Godric urges Eric off this path, but he will not. Russell taunts, that Eric is the mad one, talking to phantoms. Russell laughs, telling them they will regret this. And they cover him completely. With Eric distracted, Bill uses that moment, and silvers Eric throwing him in the pit next to Russell, and buries him in cement as well. As he does he calls an assassin to kill Pam, mimicking Eric’s voice.

Hoyt brings Jessica to an empty house that he plans to make their own. He wants to marry her.

Hoyt’s mama shops for a shot gun.

Bill goes to Sookie’s to talk. He tells her that both Russell and Eric are gone, that he ended Eric. Sookie is sadden by that. Bill claimed that he did it to protect her, and he intends to kill all who know what she is, even if he is not with her. He says that he has never loved, nor will he ever love as he loves her. As he goes to leave, Eric is there. He asks Bill if he told Sookie, that he was sent by the Queen to procure Sookie because of what she might be. Bill admits that he didn’t know why she wanted her, but once he knew her, he did all he could to keep Sophie Anne away. Eric brings up how Bill let the Rattrays beat Sookie so that he could feed her his blood the night he met her. Bill tried to silence Eric to prevent him from telling Sookie all of this. Sookie throws Bill out. Bill claims that he loves who she is, not what she is, but she rescinds the invitation anyways. Eric tells her that he would have never given her to Russell.

Tara stops by Merlotte’s, but never gets out of the car, she smiles as she drives away.

Pam tells Eric she killed his assassin.

Sam tracks down Tommy, shooting at him. He wants his money, but Tommy is upset because Sam turned him away. Sam doesn’t care, he just wants his money. Tommy goes to walk away, and Sam shots him

Sookie sits alone crying. She runs.

Sophie Ann shows up at Bill’s house, dressed in her widow best. She wants Sookie, but Bill has other plans. He’s called her in under false pretenses, tells him that only one of them will leave this house, and they take to the air, fangs drawn.

Sookie arrives at Gran’s grave. She communes with her, sadden and lonely. Claudine and the other fae appear to take her away.

Released: 9/7/10             352 pages

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Format: Hardcover

ISBN: 0312546564

The latest in Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter/Were Hunter series is a very fast read, almost too fast of a read. The focus of No Mercy is Dev and Sammia or Sam as she prefers. Dev is a Were-bear, we’ve seen him throughout the series, and many his wit and dark humor is the same. Sam is a newer character, the Amazon Dark-Hunter mentioned briefly in past books, but never actually introduced. The Amazons are a fierce bunch and Sam as their former queen is no exception.

Much of the usual sexual tension and innuendo are present but the entire story seems rushed, and the margins too big. Bottom line the story is a bit short. The back story is seriously lacking, which is okay in Dev’s case for readers who have read the series. However, there is enough explained of the overall arcs that it can be a stand alone book, most of the series is, making it easy for anyone to come in the middle of the series and still enjoy the story.

The story wasn’t as seamless and interesting as previous novels, though Dev’s humor was refreshing. The plot was not nearly as well drawn out as I’ve come to expect from Ms. Kenyon. Acheron comes in for a second, which is usually my favorite part I’m a sucker for him, but since he’s had his book I’ve found him very lacking. He lacks presence. Urian has a larger role, perhaps that’s a sign of greater things to come.

The bevy of characters, mostly loved, making appearances does improve the story without making the appearance seem gimmicky. The story is also less cluttered than Bad Moon Rising was. There was almost too much going on in that story, whereas this one could have used a little more. And some of the big changes that were hinted at in previous stories are confirmed, Daimons in sunlight, Acheron free but his freedom comes with huge limitations.

Even though it’s a short read, its definitely not one to be missed, if for nothing more than the small reveals. And even with its flaws it is an enjoyable read.

Released: 10/29/08 304 pages
Publisher: Image Comics
Format: Hardcover

ISBN: 978-1607060000

Book 4, which covers issues 37-48 of the series, opens with the calm before the storm. Our little band of survivors are preparing for not only the arrival of a new member, but also war. It's only a matter of time and they all know it.

Complacency has set in, and a sense of happiness and normalcy, until tragedy strikes and we're reminded that although the dead are slow, and stupid, they're still dangerous. Each new affliction adds a little more darkness, as pride and envy rear their ugly heads among the group. They need eachother to continue to survive, but in the end without trust they have nothing.

The second arc is made to suffer, and in it no one is left unscathed. The governor and his men return, the survivors are devestated by their losses. The writing is at its most brilliant here, as I couldn't put this one down, and cannot wait for the next one.