Bram Stoker may have been the first to perfect the literary vampire, but he was certainly not the first to creep people out with a good monster. Carmilla was here first (by over 20 years), and she is perfectly frightening herself. After a carriage crashes near their remote forest estate, our narrator Laura and her father agree to take in a young woman as their guest while her mother travels on and promises to return for her. Not too surprisingly, young girls in the nearby village […]
A bit too much of the wrong brother
This is the fourth book in the Johannes Cabal series, and the only one that uses its main character sparingly. I loved the first three Cabal novels, particularly Johannes Cabal the Detective, which is the second one. I also love the handful of Cabal short stories, particularly Johannes Cabal and the Blustery Day, the first Cabal story and a brilliant introduction to a brilliant character. Johannes Cabal is a German-born man who was raised from middle childhood in England. He is a necromancer ‘of some little infamy’, […]
The more I read these books, the more I like to think it’s an adult Harry Potter.
I hope it goes without saying that, if you haven’t read these books, beware the spoilers that follow. I’ve tried to not give away major plot points for each book, but if you’re on book three, you may not want to read the following reviews. Harry Potter was one of those foundational stories, for me. It laid the groundwork for what I deem good in this world. To some degree, everything I’ve read since has been weighed against the mark left on my soul by […]
A triple-dip in which I admit my lust for an Austen villain
Even with audiobook during travels and a major cleaning expedition, this *STILL* took an entire summer to read. Whew. I didn’t realize that when I casually decided to read Dracula, that it was quite an undertaking. This book was a lot different than I expected it to be, but that didn’t turn out to be a bad thing. Until the second half disappointed me quite a bit. If you have ever heard anything about vampires, vampire lore, or the unfortunate Twilight saga, you’ll know that […]