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Monday, November 5, 2012

Post-apocalyptic worlds and vampires.... what's not to love?


Dark Storm (Dark Series #23) by Christine Feehan

From the Publisher –

A DARK STORM IS ON THE HORIZON…Return to Christine Feehan’s “steamy and dreamy” (Publishers Weekly) world of her New York Times bestselling Carpathian novels as roiling passions collide in a perfect storm of dangerous desire that only a precious few can hope to outrun…

Awakening after all this time in a world of absolute darkness and oppressive heat, Dax wonders in how many ways the world above must have changed. But it is how he has changed that fills him with dread and loathing. Buried alive for hundreds of years in a volcano in the Carpathian Mountains, Dax fears that he has become the full-fledged abomination that every Carpathian male fears, a victim of the insidious evil that has crept relentlessly into his mind and body over the centuries.


But there are some things that never change.

His name is Mitro, the vampire Dax had hunted all these long centuries. Second in command to the prince of the Carpathian people he is the epitome of everything malevolent, and perpetrator of one of the most shocking killing sprees known to man—and beast. Even his friends and family weren’t safe from Mitro’s bloodlust. Neither was Mitro’s lifemate, Arabejila, an extraordinary woman with extraordinary gifts.

But now that Dax has re-emerged, so too has Mitro. The ultimate battle between good and evil has been re-engaged. Between Dax and Mitro, a violent game has begun—one that has marked Riley Parker, the last descendent of Arabejila, as the reward.





Lord of Mountains (Emberverse Series #9) by S. M. Stirling

Kirkus Reviews –

Stirling (The Tears of the Sun, 2011, etc.) offers up the latest book in his long-running Change series, set in a post-apocalyptic yet distinctly feudal America. In Stirling's version of alternate history, a 1998 catastrophe known as the Change rendered electricity, explosives and other power sources useless all over the world. The chaos that followed caused much of the United States to devolve into a sword-and-arrow-wielding medieval society, with numerous independent small republics dotting the continent. In this latest installment, which takes place in 2023, 25 years after the Change, many peoples are at war with the Montana-based Church Universal and Triumphant. The high king of Montival, Artos (also known as Rudi Mackenzie), leads armies in violent skirmishes on the battlefield while wielding the powerful Sword of the Lady. Meanwhile, he also wields diplomacy as he aims to unite the disparate republics. Stirling has created a truly original combination of post-apocalyptic sci-fi and military-oriented medieval fantasy with this series and in the process, has built up a highly complex fictional universe with loads of characters and political intrigue. Unfortunately, although his battle scenes occasionally come across with a certain grandeur, Stirling's prose is more often flat, lifeless and full of stilted dialogue. His incredibly leisurely pacing, though perhaps in some ways appropriate to such a low-tech setting, will be frustrating to some readers. That said, many of those dedicated fans who have followed the series thus far will likely be satisfied with this latest. A slow-moving chapter in the Change saga.

Midst Toil and Tribulation (Safehold Series #6) by David Weber

From the Publisher –

After centuries of stasis, the island kingdom of Charis began to defy the edicts of the Church of God Awaiting — egged on, some say, by the mysterious warrior-monk Merlin Athawes. Now, in the wars and intrigues that have cascaded from Charis's declaration of independence, the populous Republic of Siddermark is sliding into chaos. King Cayleb of Charis, his queen Sharleyan, and Merlin will have their hands full trying to stave off wholesale starvation in Siddermark while at the same time shipping in enough land combat units to fend off the "volunteers" from the Church's Temple Lands. And there are those who remember how dependent Church power is on money from Siddermark... and who wonder what will happen if Siddermark starves.

Bursting with vivid invention and the sweep of lived history, Midst Toil and Tribulation will build this series' audience to a new level.


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