I spent longer than normal reading these books, mainly because it was
the busy season, but also because I didn’t want to just fly through
them, missing bits along the way. The webs were woven very well.

We’re introduced to a world where being in a family with special
abilities means you have a chance of being inducted into a ‘guild’. If
chosen, you’re disowned by your family and inducted into training with
whichever guild is harvesting in that year. Whether you are good at
telepathically communicating to animals or foreseeing the
future, there’s a guild for each chosen child.

Unluckily, or maybe not so unluckily, Aron Brailing is harvested by
the Stone Guild, the guild responsible for assassinations and mercy
killings alike.

In book 1, we follow Aron’s journey to the Triune, the stone guild
house, and his struggle with his abilities, which seem to be the
strongest of their kind in many a generation.

Aron’s early days in training to become a Stone brother take up most
of book 1. He’s building muscles and, perhaps, romance. He finds
friendship with some of the most unlikely characters and, as a whole,
the book lays a solid foundation for the treasures to come in A Prince
Among Killers.

We’re brought back into book 2 when Aron is making his first trip to
the Ruined Keep. It is a quest he and his Stone brother nemesis are
sent on to hopefully end the turmoil between the two, and forge an
unbreakable bond.

Aron embraces his ability and moves beyond his own expectations to
save lives, tip the balance of power between warring royals, and
become more than just a stone brother.

I do recommend reading these two beautifully written books in order,
as the foundations are extremely important to understanding each
character and the purpose behind decisions they make. I grew to really
enjoy the bond between Aron and his mentor, Stormbreaker.

I was a little disappointed with the lack of female characters, but at
least the few who star in the saga are extremely strong, and don’t
take their positions in society lightly. They have purpose and a
spine. The character growth is believable and intriguing, and you’ll
find yourself wanting to jump into the battles and kick some butt.

There was an added pleasant surprise when I got to the end of Book 1,
in the short author bios. You’ll have to read them for yourself. On so
many levels, these books were uplifting and inspiring.

Assassin’s Apprentice and A Prince Among Killers will be great for
adding pace to those lagging last weeks of the school holidays.

XBelindaX

Oathbreaker (Books I & II): Assassin’s Apprentice and A Prince Among Killers – SR Vaught & JB Redmond

Published by Random House, Australia

Assassin’s Apprentice: Januray 1, 2010 – 384 pages ISBN: 9781864719819

A Prince Among Killers: June 1, 2010 – 374 pages ISBN: 9781864719864

*Wants*!!!!!!!

Well, happy gnu year and welcome to the 2nd instalment of my monthly goodie bag. Each month, I’ll be giving you the low-down on what’s new in the merchiverse, from collectible cards and cool comics, to terrific toys and saucy statuettes. January’s treasure hunt unearthed new releases from the Dark Horse stable, tasty t-shirts, fractured fairy tale biz, and, as always, awe-inspiring art. So, without further ado, heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere’s January!!!!!!!!!………..

Felicia Day is back with her comic and web series smash, The Guild. Day penned the upcoming Dark Horse release,Tink, which centres on the mysterious guild member, Tinkerballa (she of the video game addiction and natty purple get-up). Find out what happens when the Knights of Good snoop a liiiittle too far into Tink’s closely-guarded private life.

Another lovely lookin’ thang from Dark Horse is The Art of Alice: Madness Returns (on sale May, ’11). Legendary game designer, American McGee developed the original, gorgeous game that was released back in 2000. This year marks the release of this amazing-looking, 184-page hardback. According to the promos, The Art of Alice promises ‘an intimate look into the stunning and terrifying artwork behind this blockbuster reinterpretation of Lewis Carroll’s enduring masterpiece’.

I know it’s a while away, but here’s something to look forward to: FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. This is the 10th year of Free Comic Book Day, ‘the first Saturday in May each year – when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely FREE* to anyone who comes into their stores. You can check out FAQs here.

In the mood for an acclaimed anime romance? Summer Wars is just what you need. To give you an idea of how popular this full-length anime feature is, it pipped the mighty Evangelion in 1st week sales figs. Described as a light-hearted, science-fiction romance, Summer Wars follows teen misfit/maths whiz, Kenji, and the girl of his dreams, Natsuki, on an ultra-modern, world-saving, doomsday quest. Phew. Cover enough ground for you?

Something else I think you’re gonna want is the OMG-inspiring range of Tragic Toys (for girls and boys) by the utterly, insanely, fabulous Tim Burton.  Millionaire Playboy showcases the PVC deskmates, including Oyster Boy, Mummy Boy, Stain Boy, and The Girl With Many Eyes. The collection also includes fabulicious heat-sensitive mugs, pull-tab & light-up journals, playing cards and vinyl figurines. Burton-y goodness for every room of the house, practically!!

Offical Vampire Hunter D t-shirts are available and they are frickin’ fantastic.

Manga-lovin’ kiddies rejoice! Vol. 4 of the New York Times bestseller, Dengeki Daisy, is set for release on April 5.

You can pre-order this the latest tale in this shōjo rom com (by celebrated author/artist, Kyousuke Motomi) over at Amazon now.

Go-go gadget geek: ‘Finally, a USB drive ready to store your data AND defend the universe’ (thinkgeek.com). Yes. YES. YES! (Who comes up with these ideas?).

Pop over to toybeast.com and have a squiz at the Nightmare Before Christmas Jack and Sally Be@rbrick dolls. Weird, creepy, kinda cute. Very limited edition.

Are you a fan of fairy tales? If so, there are 2 new releases that might interest you. The first is this luscious Grimm Fairy Tales boxed set (droolamundo), published by Zenescope and available on January 9. The other is the latest volume (#15) in the Fables series: Rose Red… (From Amazon: ‘Rose Red, sister of Snow White, has finally hit rock bottom. Does she stay there, or is it time to start the long, tortuous climb back up? The Farm is in chaos, as many factions compete to fill the void of her missing leadership. And there’s a big magical fight brewing down in the town square, right under her window.’)

New Music: Mark Ronson has produced a brand-spankin’ new Duran Duran album, All You Need is Now. Who’da thunk? Here’s the first release:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7Er5TsQrGg

Amy Says

Just in case you’re coming to this review without having read the previous two books in the Midnighters series, this is going to be pretty heavy on the spoilers for The Secret Hour and Touching Darkness. You have been warned!

This is the fast-paced finale to the Midnighters trilogy, and it lives up to the first two books. The whole story arc takes place within a few months, but by book three, there’s a marked difference in every one of the characters compared to book one. By Blue Noon, the stakes are a lot higher than they were in The Secret Hour.

So what’s the premise of this final chapter? Toward the start, the ‘blue time’ that marks the twenty-fifth hour descends… during first period at the high school. The whole school is frozen, and only Jessica, Jonathan, Dess, Melissa and Rex are able to move.

Needless to say, this is a little unprecedented. The blue time doesn’t last a full hour, but during that brief period, the usual midnighter laws of physics apply – everything else stops moving, the darklings wake up, and Jonathan is no longer subject to normal gravity.

Once the world goes back to normal, the midnighters realise that a regular human was sucked into the blue time… and their problems are only just beginning.

Blue Noon turns the established laws of Westerfeld’s universe upside down. We as readers have no idea what’s going on, because neither do the midnighters. It’s also hard to predict the way some of them will behave.

Jonathan almost seems to welcome the changes – he relishes his ability to fly, and any extra flying time is worth the extra darkling risk. This puts a strain on his relationship with Jessica, who has her own problems to deal with – her little sister, Beth, is close to finding out the truth about the twenty-fifth hour.

Melissa is working on her mindcasting skills with Madeleine, the midnighter who’s been hiding in Bixby for her entire life, discovered by Dess during Touching Darkness. She’s arguably the most sane and stable midnighter now, a sharp reversal of her role in The Secret Hour.

Rex, on the other hand, is having trouble with his darkling side. Now that he has an aversion to the number thirteen, modern technology and alloys, life as a midnighter is a little difficult. He also has trouble keeping his dark, predatory instincts in check – but in certain ways, he’s still Rex.

As for Dess, her polymath powers really kick into gear in this instalment, and it’s down to her calculations that the midnighters come up with a plan to save the innocent citizens of Bixby. Jessica’s power as the light-bringer is also instrumental… with devastating consequences.

I found myself skipping paragraphs during the final race against time – not because I was bored, because I was impatient to see what was going to happen. Maybe that makes me a book-nerd, but mostly I just think it makes Westerfeld an amazing writer. Once I knew that the world wasn’t going to end, then I went back and read the parts I’d skipped again… and they were great.

I can’t recommend this series strongly enough. YA fiction is alive and well, thanks to some much-needed Westerfeld CPR. I have no idea what his other YA books are like, but I’m going to give them a shot!

Blue Noon – Scott Westerfeld

28 February, 2006 by HarperTeen

Paperback, 384 pages

Bel Says:

Which Idiot is on your Idiot Box??
Has anyone else noticed that the start of TV silly season started a little later than normal this year? I have always found it strange that we were missing out on Summer Bay the whole way through summer.
Could it be the integration of all the new HD channels that delayed the inevitable demise of all the decent programs for yet another year?

While we were buffeted by reruns of Two and a Half Men all freakin’ year by those whiz kids at Channel Nine, the newb channels found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow by back tracking beyond the Soup Nazi and Ross and Rachel’s off again/on again romance.

Who knew ALF really was funny, the Olsen Twins were once sweet, Leonardo Di Caprio has ALWAYS been that sexy, and Murphy wasn’t actually Brown at all We’re also learning that the shows we watch now aren’t always the first attempt at their moral heartbeat. Big Bang Theory wasn’t the first show highlighting the fact that smart people having feelings too. Just look at Head of the Class to find one of the earlier versions of trying to make smart look good (we’ll ignore their fashion sense, or lack thereof).

We’ve gone WAAAAY back to when racism and sexism wasn’t politically incorrect. Love Thy Neighbour, where the ‘black’ couple who move in next door are unashamedly the butt of many an ignorant comment and joke by their racist ‘white’ neighbour is one example.

There’s Man About the House, about the two busty broads and their male housemate, who live in the same building as the childless, middle-aged couple, George and Mildred (who just happen to also have a show all of their own).
One of my Mum’s favourite shows has just started being shown on 7Two. I can’t remember too much about All Creatures Great and Small, but I can remember Mum telling me most shows started with the country vet shoulder deep in a cow’s… well you get the idea.

For those of you who want to go back even further, there’s The Flintstones, Here’s Lucy, I dream of Jeannie and Bewitched. (These poor women, being stuck in the late 60s, with all the horrid expectations of the 1950s housewife. Yick!) Lucy was probably the most progressive of these 4 shows; it featured a leading lady who wasn’t actually at the beck and call of a husband, whose children were all grown up and not living at home anymore and who had a day job.

But back to the era of bad fashion and crime fighters. We’ve got Knight Rider, with the Hoff, Miami Vice, with Don Johnson, Magnum P.I, with Tom Selleck, and The A-Team. If you don’t know who Mr T is, think of  those Snickers adverts with the crazy guy wearing way too much bling, driving a tank, and throwing chocolate bars at guys who aren’t doing so well on the sporting field. That guy (the one hurling chocolate bars) was arguably the star of The A-Team.
If a blast from the past isn’t your thing and retro is just making you gag, you could always check out the couple of shows that aren’t undergoing rerun mania: The Amazing Race, Fringe, Raising Hope, The Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars.

Whatever your poison when watching the idiot box, I hope you all have an amazing start to the school holidays. In the words of Porky Pig: “That’s all folks!”

Andrea Cremer spent her childhood daydreaming while roaming the forests and lakeshores of Northern Wisconsin. She now lives in Minnesota, but she thinks of her homeland as the “Canadian Shield” rather than the Midwest.

Andrea has always loved writing and has never stopped writing, but she only recently plunged into the deep end of the pool that is professional writing. When she’s not writing, Andrea teaches history at a very nice liberal arts college in St. Paul.

In the little spare time she can find, Andrea stares up at trees, rescues infant rabbits from predatory cats, and invents names for pug puppies with her husband. She has an unfortunate tendency to spill things – white carpets beware!

Q. 1 You’ve said that you were a daydreamer as a child. How important is daydreaming to your writing process now?

Absolutely essential. I’m often asked what the most difficult part of writing is for me, and, honestly, it’s not the writing – it’s getting my head out of the story. Especially when I’m in the middle of creating the first draft, I struggle with stepping out of the world I’m writing and doing every day things. So, I’ll end up pouring orange juice on my cereal, stepping in the shower and out again without having washed my hair – it’s wonderful to be that caught up in the story, but also a pain, because I don’t function like a normal person. In many ways a part of me is always daydreaming, but I think that’s pivotal to the way I write.

Q. 2 Nightshade made the New York Times bestseller list. Congratulations! How did you first hear the news and what was your reaction? What did you do to celebrate?

Thank you! I was, and am still over the moon about hitting the New York Times list. My publicist at Penguin called at the same moment that my editor did and so I was on the phone with call waiting beeping in. I screamed and laughed and cried and danced around. I called my mom and cried some more. It was wonderful! A friend of mine was visiting and she, my husband, and I went to dinner a fabulous restaurant to celebrate.

Q. 3 The Nightshade werewolves exercise self-control, yet still obviously delight in their animalism. Did you add that element of ‘civility’ to challenge the traditional werewolf stereotype of the unpredictable beast?

I’ve never been a fan of traditional werewolves, so when Calla jumped into my head and I knew she was both young woman and a wolf I thought I was in serious trouble. How could I write a werewolf tale when I don’t like werewolves? I had to do some soul-searching about the source of my ambivalence and realized that it was tied in to my childhood. I grew up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin (go any further north and you’d be in Canada!) and spent my days out in the forests with my brother and best friend, building forts and inventing imaginary worlds. The wilderness was beautiful and magical and all the animals in it – including wolves – were fascinating to me. I couldn’t come to terms with the way werewolves were portrayed as savage, slavery beasts, when I saw wolves as beautiful, graceful, and intelligent, with complex social relationships – not unlike human relationships. I created the wolf mythology of Nightshade to reflect my admiration of wolves.

Q. 4 Which of your fictional characters Burns Brightest in your mind and why?

It’s hard to choose because each member of the pack is so important – they rely on and learn from each other constantly. However, because Calla was the inspiration for Nightshade, I’d have to say its her. Nightshade is about her struggle to find her own path through life, battling between her own desires and the expectations of others. Despite everything that’s happening around her, ultimately her success or failure will depend on her ability to learn who she truly is and live her life accordingly.

You can get the scoop on upcoming releases by Andrea @ the Atom Books site

Visit the gorgeous Nightshade web page here.