"Fade to Black" by McBain and Vargus will be fading into book obscurity in no time.

The first task of any book is to make the reader invested in the protagonist.  We have to care enough about the person to want to see how their story plays out.  We have to sympathize with them when they’re hurting, rejoice with them when their happy, and we have to want them to succeed with whatever task is placed before them.  Unfortunately, none of that happened in this introduction to Jeff Grobnagger.  (By the way, authors, “Grobnagger” is a name for a drunken frat boy who is inappropriate with the freshman girls.  It’s not a good name for a protagonist.)

I find that the main reason I couldn’t like Jeff (I will not be using that horrid last name throughout the rest of this review) is that Jeff clearly doesn’t like himself.  When you add together his nonchalant attitude towards danger and death and utter disregard for his own health and well-being, his use of juvenile and sexist metaphors and unnecessary use of curse words, his constant avoidance of human interaction and dramatic proclamations that people use interaction to avoid reality, and his outright lies about his past (except the part where he admits he would get drunk every morning in high school), you find yourself wondering if he has a clinical form of depression, or if he’s just a downright jerk.

Jeff seems to blame his backstory for his attitude towards people and life in general.  However, it takes far too long for us to find out what that backstory is, and when we do get as much as he is willing to offer, it doesn’t seem adequate to excuse his behavior.  His story is unfortunate, yes – abandonment being the key component early is his childhood.  However, without any further explanation of how he was treated by the people who did raise him, it’s impossible to know of his depression was situationally induced or a genetic predisposition that latched onto his sad story and wouldn’t let go.  Jeff certainly thinks it’s a sad enough story to excuse his behavior, though why he then thinks he needs to lie about it is beyond me.  He sees himself as a victim and wonders why people can’t tell, just by looking at him, that he’s been shattered and broken, and is still vulnerable.  He wears shades when he’s out in public, and hates what he sees in the mirror, or even his reflection in a mud puddle.  But his impression of himself doesn’t match up with how people treat him.

Of course, how people treat him is often with a great deal of reverence, as he’s supposed to be some special, talented person, able to tap into some psychic whatever (not really well explained, as half the players think it’s all hooey anyway).  Jeff randomly (or so it seems) runs into a guy named Glenn, whose daughter has gone missing after getting involved with the people who are after Jeff.  It never makes sense that Glenn would just happen to be there at the right time, or just happen to start telling Jeff, a complete stranger, all about the world that his daughter had gotten hooked into.  But Jeff doesn’t seem to find it odd – probably because he doesn’t spend much time interacting with people and is unaware that you don’t just do stuff like that.  But it doesn’t come as any surprise to the readers when Glenn turns out, in the last few pages, to be more than he was passing himself off as.  Though I do wonder why Glenn held back so much information from the very beginning, when he could have at least clued Jeff into a few things that would have helped him early on.

A lot of Tarot symbolism is utilized in the book, but no one calls it that until Glenn explains it to Jeff (just before walking into a portal of white light that he cut into a concrete wall – don’t know what that was supposed to be about).  Glenn could have mentioned it when Jeff first told him about his recurring dream, which involved him hanging upside down from one foot.  That is the classic “Hanged Man” card utilized in most Tarot decks to symbolize a change in perspective, or an ending of one’s old way of doing things and the beginning of a new path.  To ignore the inspiration for the symbolism in the book until the very end seems a little rude.  Anyone who knows anything about Tarot would have to wonder if the symbols are being ripped off, rather than receiving their proper due.

The ending of the story was a clear cliffhanger meant to encourage readers to rush out and buy the next installment, but frankly, you couldn’t pay me to read the next book in this series.  With an unlikable leading man, poor use of metaphors and vernacular, and symbolism that is tossed about like it was dropped in a food processor, the story of Jeff BadLastName should quickly fade into obscurity.

Elliott James' "Charming" could well have been called "Sassy"

The first book in the Pax Arcana series introduces us to the sarcastic and lonely John Charming, a Knight Templar cursed with the bite of a werewolf before birth.  Hunted by the Knights, and unable to hide amongst humans for too long (due to the face that he doesn't age), John has been on the run for over 50 years.  He is moonlighting in a bar in Clayburg, Virginia, when a vampire and Valkyrie enter his life and throw him into the middle of a fight for his life. 


Sig, the Valkyrie of John's dreams, is on a personal mission to save humanity from the dangerous supernatural creatures that hunt them.  She has gathered a rag-tag team of mortals, along with her scary, psychic boyfriend, to hunt down the vampires that are plaguing the town.  John's werewolf senses and reflexes, and his knight training make him a great asset to the team, and the knight oath he was born under won't let him leave until he knows the threat is over.


The instant attraction between John and Sig spells trouble, as Sig's boyfriend proves to be, not only jealous, but dangerous.  But John isn't scared off by the oversized warrior, and uses his wit and determination to show Sig that his interest in her is important to him.  He hasn't had a girlfriend in over ten years, and had never been able to keep one safe, but he isn't afraid of putting himself out there again.  He shows he has true daring when it comes to matters of the heart, and watching him "court" Sig makes the reader fall for him, just as she falls for him, too.


The witty comebacks, smart-ass remarks, and flare for dramatics is reminiscent of Jim Butcher's character Harry Dresden, or perhaps TV's Dean Winchester, created by Eric Kripke.  But, instead of feeling like a repeat, John feels like a welcome addition to the family of the dysfunctional, damaged heroes.  His self assurance when it comes to his emotions, and his determination to set things right with the knights set John a little apart from the other members of this class of heroes.  He's not too jaded to believe that things can change for the better, and he has enough self-esteem to think it possible to find a lasting love in this crazy world.


We want to see John succeed.  We want to see John happy.  The twist at the end of the book, regarding his curse, make it seem doubtful that anything will go well in either of those regards in the next book, but we can't wait to read it and find out.

Once "Bitten", and twice mad, according to Kelley Armstrong

"Bitten" asks us what it would take to forgive a betrayal from the one you love.  Elena Michaels didn't start out as the most trusting person, having been bounced from one foster home to the next.  But she thought she knew enough about Clayton Danvers that she wouldn't have to worry about that.  She was all set to marry him when she found out he had been keeping a secret from her - the secret that he (along with the family he had introduced her to and asked her to join)  was a werewolf.  Of course, he didn't just come out and tell her about it over a good cup of coffee or anything.  No, he bites her instead, turning her into one of them.


This story actually begins years after the bite has taken place.  Elena wants nothing to do with Clayton or the pack of mostly biological werewolves in upstate New York.  She is living in Toronto, with a man she appreciates for his kindness, but does not love.  She knows that Clayton is still holding out hope that she will return to him, but she is still beyond furious at him for lying, and turning her without her permission.


A few non-pack werewolves, not too affectionately refereed to as mutts, begin a violent campaign against the pack and Elena is forced back to the pack's home for her own safety.  Once away from the big city where she has to hide what she is, and surrounded by good friends (who happen to be werewolves), the conflict Elena is trying to avoid comes back to her full force.  Because, though she's furious with Clayton for biting her, she actually loves the freedom that comes from being in wolf form.  She loves hunting down deer with her pack.  She loves the family that the pack welcomed her into, without reservation.  She loves the heightened senses and skills being a were gives her.  Most of all, and much to her distress, she truly does love Clayton Danvers, and it is when his life is put in danger that she finds she can't hide from her feelings any longer and must decide if she can put her hurt feelings aside long enough to save his life.


Elena's passionate nature makes it easy to understand how she can go from hating Clayton one second, to sleeping with him the next.  But it makes it difficult to understand how she managed to survive years of hiding who she was, and running from her own feelings.  True, as passionate as she is in her love for Clayton, she is just as passionate in her need to make him hurt as much as she felt she had been hurt.  So you could almost see her distance as a way of torturing him.  However, it seems rather difficult for a person to lead a passionless life built on the passionate anger she felt at the time she initially left the pack.  While this inconsistency doesn't detract too much from the flow of the story, it does make one question the motives of our protagonist, and it doesn't inspire much confidence for the series.

"Black Magic Sanction" - Kim Harrison

Rachel Morgan finds herself fighting for her life, again.  She finds herself forced to do the wrong things for the right reasons (or so she tells herself), again.  She puts her friends in danger, again.  And she falls for a bad boy...again.  "Black Magic Sanction" may be the 8th book in The Hallows series, but it might as well be the first, as it's no different than any before it.


The main reason all books in The Hallows series feel the same is because of the lack of personal growth on the part of the characters.  Rachel still makes rash decisions that put people in danger, and only work out because someone comes along and bails her out at the last second.  If she was forced to rely solely on the plan she concocted as written, Rachel wouldn't make it through the first 10 chapters in any of her books.  But, with the help of her friends (and sometimes her enemies), Rachel survives to run another day.  Though to what end is anyone's guess.  It's not like she has any great aspirations for her life.  All she wants to do is be a small time runner, occasionally helping people out of sticky situations for a fee.  She doesn't have the heartbreaking backstory that makes for a great hero.  Sure, there's some sad stuff in her past.  Sure, they say she's the only one who'll be able to save mankind from the demons.  But she doesn't seem all that interested in worrying about any of that.  She'd rather just hang out with her vampire ex-girlfriend and their pixy roommate.


The only redeeming aspect of this book is the changes that Jenks undergoes.  Though not by choice, he discovers his own strength and resilience, and finds that he has the personal fortitude to overcome the limits of his genetics.  (Apparently, pixies aren't supposed to live after the death of their spouse, nor more than 20 years, nor with all of their children still around them.  But Jenks keeps finding himself moving past the genetic pre-dispositions of his kind.)


Add to the story the complete absence of physical descriptions of places and you constantly feel like your floating along in a empty space, watching Rachel's actions, but never feeling what she's feeling, or even able to follow along with her train of thought, which jumps faster than a demon can ride a ley line, and can land just about anywhere.  Her thoughts about herself don't make the character any more likable, as she calls herself a whore for having 4 relationships in the span of 2 years.


Rachel Morgan is not the hero the world needs, hers or ours.

Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist" is a fantastical analogy of the struggle to follow one's dreams.

"Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is," King Melchizedek explains to Santiago.  "It is what you have always wanted to accomplish."  But achieving one's Personal Legend isn't just about finding the treasure, or becoming the best at something.  It is also about the journey, learning to trust yourself, learning to use your talents in new ways, learning when to trust others, and when not to.  This book is about Santiago's journey to achieve his Personal Legend, and it's kind of an instruction manual to the readers in how to achieve their own.


The journey Santiago makes is meant to be allegorical to the journeys we all take in striving for our dreams, but Paulo Coelho is sometimes quite literal with his story telling.  For example, while we colloquially use "dream" as a reference to an aspiration we've thought over, planned, and even day-dreamed about, Santiago has a dream in the middle of the night were he sees the great pyramids of Egypt (which he didn't know for certain of they did in fact exist), and a whispering voice telling him he will find great treasure there.  From what we know about Santiago thus far in the story, it seems like the adventure of traveling to Egypt would appeal to him, as he enjoys his time wandering from town to town with his flock of sheep, taking new paths each time and exploring the lands of his home in Andalusia, Spain. However, taking on a journey of that magnitude requires the promise of a reward greater than just getting to see a new place, especially if you're a humble shepherd, living from one trading center to the next, so the whispers of great treasure inspire him to act when he might have otherwise cast off the dream as pure fantasy.


King Melchizedek explains to Santiago that the Universe always conspires to help us achieve our Personal Legends.  However, Santiago finds that this does not happen in the way one might expect or hope for.  He rushes, fool-hearty, off to Morocco to begin his journey to the pyramids, and is instantly robbed.  He is forced to live in the coast town, working in a small crystal shop, in order to save up the money he would need to return home.  But just when he's ready to pack up, go home, and admit defeat, he hears of a caravan heading east, in the direction of the pyramids.  He thinks of all he's learned in over a year living in the coast town.  He's learned the local language, he's made contacts with the traveling merchants who go on the caravans, and he's learned that just because things go terribly wrong doesn't mean he can't find a way to make it work.  He had survived being robbed and stranded in a foreign country, and he could survive the next leg of the journey.


That is the true lesson of the book, learning to not give up.  Santiago is faced with multiple chances to give up on reaching the pyramids.  He could have stayed in an oasis town as advisor to the local magistrate, married to the woman he truly loved, Fatima.  But he knew he would not be happy if he had given up, and he knew that Fatima would not want to be the reason he gave up.  He could have turned back when he found himself caught between feuding tribes in the desert.  But he focused on why this journey was really so important to him (and it wasn't the promise of treasure) and pushed through.  He could have given up when he had actually reached the pyramids just to see that there was no treasure waiting for him to find.  But he waited and listened, and he was given a sign as to the final leg of his journey.


Patience, level-headedness, a slow tongue and a sharp mind were the true treasures Santiago gained from his journey (though there was a chest of gold in there as well).  The journey itself is the greatest treasure any of us will ever find.

"10 Things to Do Before I Die" by Daniel Ehrenhaft could have been more than what it was.

When you are a teenager, life seems endless.  There are a million possibilities that stretch out before you.  You can do anything you want, be anything you want.  There is nothing holding you back.  Unless you are Ted Burger.  His day started out so normal: going to school, playing guitar, avoiding the girl he's not sure why he's dating, and then hanging with his two best friends at their favorite burger joint.  That's when things start going downhill, for both Ted, and the reader.


Ted is finding it hard to breathe, and we, the readers, are finding it hard to believe that no one in this young man's life stops for five seconds to help him calm down.  Everyone is just running about their lives, telling him it's going to be okay, but not pausing to show him that he's not actually dying (oops, spoiler alert).  A quick conversation with a nurse, who wants him to stick around for more tests, has him more nervous than calmed.  A phone call to the doctor father of a friend has him more confused than mollified.  And the internet (a teenager's home away from home) gives him the answer he's looking for: he will be dead in 24 hours.


His best friends latch onto this announcement from Ted like it's gospel, and a crazy night ensues, doing all the things Ted has ever wanted to do before he dies.  Granted, he does get to do some amazing things, like jamming on stage with his favorite band.  But the audience is dragged through a series of short interactions with the people in Ted's life, all of whom he seems to be trying to run away from, and the only one who is able to hold his attention, and could have possibly calmed him down and made him see what was really going on, was so caught up in the night that she hardly even questioned the story, which culminates in a stand off with the TSA as Ted is trying to hop a plane to Africa.


It's not hard to like Ted in the beginning.  He seems level headed and observant.  He's smart and kind, and he's great at the guitar.  He's the kind of guy I would have liked to be friends with in High School.  But he's kind of an idiot about his own health and how to deal with stressful situations.  His reaction to his medical problem seems disconnected with the early calm and steady Ted we are introduced to, and the fact that so many people just accepted the internet's prediction that he was about to die is either unrealistic, or a sad commentary on modern reliance on the internet.


For such a promising opening chapter, this book was sadly disappointing.  But I would be willing to give the author another chance.

Jim Butcher's first published work, "Storm Front," is an invitation to enjoy all this author has to write.

Meet Harry Dresden, Wizard.  He is a sarcastic, snappy, angry, lonely, kind young man who honestly wants to help people.  Living in Chicago, a city known for its corruption (and not just of the human origin) means that there's always someone around for Harry to help.


In "Storm Front," Harry finds himself helping the Chicago police, and sassy Special Investigations Detective Karrin Murphy, on a murder case involving black magic.  But the detectives aren't the only ones who want this case solved.  Local mob boss, Gentleman Johnny Marcone, has a vested interest in the assailant as well, as the victims were on his payroll.  But Harry is really put under pressure to find the bad guy when the Wardens from the White Council of Wizards start thinking that Harry might be the one behind the attack.


You see, it turns out that Harry doesn't have the cleanest record with the Wardens.  In fact, he's under something known as the Doom of Damocles.  Meaning, if he slips up one time - breaks even the tiniest of Wizard laws - he'll be executed without trial, and Warden Morgan will be all too happy to carry out that sentence.


With the police, mob, and a crying damsel-in-distress begging for justice, and the Wardens sharpening their swords, Harry has to find the Black Mage quick, but he'll do it with a lot of sass and only causing damage to two buildings in the process.


Harry's level of sass is near astronomical, but we find we like that about him.  He has a way of putting people at ease when they are faced with gore and pain, and he does it by making them laugh.  He is often the butt of his own jokes, and we learn that his self-deprecating remarks stem from a painful (physically and emotionally) childhood, but that is also where his unending drive to help others was born as well.  He may sass at Warden Morgan, but he won't back down from a fight when there are lives on the line.


The introduction to Harry Dresden, Wizard, is a promising start to a new series.