Belinda gives us a sneak peek at what the Angel Arias is about:

And April Mary Hobson sent us her school newsletter piece after Marianne’s visit to her school in Newcastle.

In a place where magic means execution, a child with extraordinary powers and the key to the fulfilment of a legend is hidden among peasants. Taken in and trained as an apprentice by a candle maker, Tallow has learnt to hide in plain sight. Silently in the shadows, three separate groups of enemies are searching and waiting: the foreign Queen, whose motives are cold and calculating; the aristocrat who dreams of his fortune returned; and the horrifying Morte Whisperers—creatures of the Limen (a mystical boundary land), no one seems to know just what they are. They all want Tallow’s ancient magic for their own means and will stop at nothing to get it. Not even murder. Only one group, The Bond Riders, stand between Tallow and the others’ malevolent plans; but are they truly allies, or do they just want control of Tallow’s powers for themselves?

Opening the cover of this amazing novel is like gazing at a master tapestry. It is visually rich and entrancing with interwoven threads of deceit, long-buried secrets and magic. From the imagery of the candle-making process to the sight, sound and smells of Tallow’s home, Brooks has created a world that is both familiar and fantastically unreal at the same time.

Set in  a richly woven Venetian setting with canals and gondolas and a fascinating dialect of both English and Italian/Venetian, you will feel instantly transported reading chair and all. Your imagination will fly picturing the magical border land and the creatures that inhabit it. Tallow is also a story that will bring a tear to your eye. It is a poignant and unique tale of self-discovery and self-acceptance, interlaced with the need to hide who and what you truly are.

Brooks has a gift for character development as well. The main characters have been given such depth that you expect to see them standing in front of you every time you manage to tear your eyes back up from the action. The lives of the secondaries will also linger with you and you will find yourself wondering about their fate. All in all, Tallow is one of those magical stories that grab hold and don’t let go, even after the last page is read. It is suitable for both sexes and a wide age range. If there is one book you seek out and read this year, Tallow is well deserving of that honor.

Tallow is the first in “The Curse of the Bond Riders” series and I, for one, will be getting my hot little hands on its sequel, Votive, as soon as possible. If it’s anything like Tallow it will be one hell of a read.

Tallow: The Curse of the Bond Riders 1-Karen Brooks

Paperback, 411 Pages

Published 2009-10-01 by Random House

ISBN:978-1-74166-435-5

The world is not a perfect place; there’s war, disease, famine and all kinds of flaws that make life not so fun.

But what if you could live in a world where everything was perfect? What would you do to live in a city where everything went the way you wanted? What would you give up?

The Utopia verses Dystopia debate has been a subject of literary speculation for many generations – The philosopher Plato wrote the first proposal for a Utopia around 300BC – and it is still a hot topic today.

The problem with the idea of a Utopia is that it is one group’s idea of a perfect society, not everyone’s. What works for one person may not work for everyone. This is when we need to add Dys (ill, bad – Greek) to our Topia (landscape, place – Greek again) to create a Dystopia, a not very nice place to be.

But how do we decide what is a Utopia or a Dystopia? Some are easy to recognise, like Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell; a civilization under ruthless control by the ruling power. This is perhaps the most dramatic representation of a Dystopia: media and language control, propaganda, kidnappings and torture.

Many people in the media over the last couple of generations have used this novel to protest decisions made by their government, most without really understanding that most Western governments are nowhere near as bad as the novel illustrates and will probably never even get close.

Sometimes, though, it’s harder to discern whether where you live is a Utopia or not. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is, in its way, a wonderful place to live – although most people see it as a Dystopia: You’re born into a job that seems perfect for you (actually, you are genetically designed to do the job); you get prescription medication that makes you happy; and all your wants are immediately satisfied. What could be wrong with that?

Simple: you have no control. None at all. You are created to fulfil a role – from a mentally disabled menial worker to a genius ruler; and instead of thinking for yourself, you are given every kind of entertainment (e.g. movies, food, sex, drugs) to stop you from questioning what the government may be doing.

But would you give up thought like in Brave New World? Would you give up the ability to feel emotion in exchange for peace like they do in the film Equilibrium? Do you fear that your government will make you “disappear”? Then you’re in Nineteen Eighty-Four. Does being born the natural way make you less of a person? You’re in the film Gattaca.

Some genres of fiction focus on the concept of the Utopia/Dystopia better than others. CyberPunk is a good example of this as the tools that government uses to control are often advanced technology. Fantasy often has elements of the UvD debate, usually with the use of magic or iron-fisted kings.

A perfect world may not exist; it may never. But would you really want to live in someone else’s idea of a Utopia?

Other examples of either a Utopia or a Dystopia are: The film & animated series of Aeon Flux, the video game Bioshock, and the graphic novel & film V for Vendetta.

CLIP: Aeon Flux – Pilot

Continuing my Blasts from the Past, I would like to introduce you to a series that was shot in 1992. (Yes, that was the last millennium!)

Clowning Around httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWwG7bW5wpM&feature=related a drama that was made all the more poignant because the lead role was a boy, rather than a girl. It was directed by George Whaley and writing credits go to Shane Brennan, Tom Cavanaugh and David Martain. It was shot in both Western Australia and Paris.

IMDB is a great resource, here’s their synopsis of Clowning Around… In and out of foster homes for most of his life, 14-year old Sim wants nothing more than to be a professional circus clown. His new foster parents, however, have other plans for him. But Sim won’t let go of his dream and sets off on a series of exciting adventures taking him from Australia to Paris. With the support of friends collected on the way, Sim learns the art of clowning is more than just clowning around.

The names run thick and fast in this series. Practically TV royalty. Ernie Dingo from the great outdoors, Noni Hazlehurst, and Steve Jodrell from City Homicide. We also see the partnership from Elly and Jools of Rebecca Smart and Clayton Williamson again, but their chemistry is totally different in this series. As an added little gem in their crown was an uncredited appearance by one Heath Ledger.

Issues of abandonment and being shuffled around like you belong in the ‘too hard basket’ gave kids in similar situations something to identify with. There were such amazing moments of heartbreaking drama and old fashioned comedy that was innocent without treating the audience like they were stupid. It was really the first series that had us accepting that families came in many forms, and not every mother wants to be a mother.

I’ll continue with my nostalgia in future instalments. Hope you don’t mind.

‘The first rule of Evernight is that any vampire who seeks sanctuary must be given a place.’

The Evernight series by Claudia Gray is one of the most recent young adult vampire series to hit our shelves. The fourth and final book, Afterlife was released earlier this year, winding up a series that’s been full of twists, turns and heart-stopping cliff-hangers.

In book one – Evernight – we meet Bianca, the star of the show. She’s not exactly thrilled to be starting at her new school, the creepy and deliciously gothic Evernight Academy. She figures she’ll never fit in with the other students. To make things worse, her parents are both teachers at the strange boarding school. Bianca hates it; the other students are strange, aloof and not at all friendly. She wishes she was back home with her old friends and even contemplates running away. It’s then she literally runs into Lucas, and suddenly, Evernight isn’t looking so bad after all.

I was warned when I started reading Evernight that there’s a twist in the middle of book one that will take your breath away. Still, I didn’t see it coming. I’ll just say OMG and move on… but seriously… OMG. It’s then that you realise this series isn’t the usual vampire / school / heartache / sappy romance kinda book. Evernight is different.

Book two – Stargazer – brings heartache and betrayal into the lives of Bianca and Lucas. They’re separated by (note, I’m being oh-so-evasive here…) forces beyond their control. With the help of friends Vic and Balthazar, the loved-up twosome find ways of being together, even if it means they risk running into enemies who seem to be hiding around every corner, and lying to those who are trying to protect them. Soon, everything is turned upside down when Evernight Academy is invaded by wraiths – and they seem to be targeting Bianca. Everyone is hiding something – the teachers, even Bianca’s parents. Why won’t they tell her what’s going on? Why are the wraiths after her in particular?

Book three – Hourglass – takes place away from Evernight Academy. Bianca and Lucas are on the run, and take refuge with a band of elite vampire hunters, The Black Cross. In this instalment, things between Lucas and Bianca definitely heat up, their relationship taking the next step. This is where things got a little strange for me – Bianca can be a bit of a Mary Sue character – that is, she’s a bit too perfect, a bit beige and boring. Lucas on the other hand, is a refreshing change in the world of Young Adult paranormal romances. He has strong convictions, is willing to actually get some (or a lot of) blood on his hands, and doesn’t turn into a soppy mess once the love thing comes along.

This one ends on a huge cliff-hanger – make sure you have book four ready and waiting to pick up the minute you’ve read the last page of Hourglass. Drama! Death! Yet more betrayal, and a very, very evil vampire named Charity.

Book four – Afterlife – not only tidies up all the loose ends from earlier books, but has some more twists and turns that keep the reader guessing right till the end. Now back at Evernight, Bianca and the gang have some seriously annoyed wraiths to contend with, along with some totally whacked-out vampires. Evernight is no longer the safe haven it once was (particularly for Bianca), and chances are, the love birds might become separated forever.

Evernight is a great series for anyone looking for a Vampire story with a twist. It’s funny, light and romantic (but not in the yikky sort of way). Claudia Gray has done a fantastic job of picking up vampire folklore and rewriting it for her own means. It’s what I’d call ‘modern’ vampire fiction – these vamps can tolerate a bit of sunshine, but travelling over moving water doesn’t bode so well for them. They assimilate with humans, but the gnawing hunger of true vampire nature never goes away… blood is blood, and when you’re a starving vamp, well, it doesn’t matter whose neck it comes from. The inclusion of the Black Cross – kind of a renegade bunch of Slayer-types – is refreshing, as is the legend behind the wraiths. It shows that even on the side of evil there is good, and in the darkest places hope can always be found.

I’d recommend Evernight to Vampire fans aged 13 or 14 upwards. Make sure you keep an eye out for BALTHAZAR – a spin off with one of the stand-out characters from Evernight, due out March 2012.

Evernight Series by author Amy Vincent, writing as Claudia Gray.

Published by Harper Collins.

Evernight – paperback, 327 pages. ISBN – 978 0 7322 8967 6

Stargazer – paperback, 332 pages. ISBN – 978 0 7322 8968 3

Hourglass – paperback, 339 pages. ISBN – 978 0 7322 8969 0

Afterlife – paperback, 360 pages. ISBN – 978 0 7322 8970 6