I originally read this about 5 years ago, and loved it then just as much as I do now!  I rarely revisit books, but this was well worth it!  This book gave the Zombie genre a much needed boost which started a huge tidal wave of new books and movies that have not slowed down yet! 

Keene steps outside of the typical mindless flesh eating zombie shtick, and takes it beyond! I love his Lovecraftian influence in his work, and it is very much present in this book. Scientists are experimenting with anti-matter and end up opening a portal to another world, one inhabited by demonic beings who were expelled from our world long ago, and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to return. They inhabit the bodies of the dead, be it human or animal, and are working together under the leadership of Ob, to take over the planet! Our central story revolves around Jim, who is on a mission to reach his son Danny several states away. With a great B+ movie feel and a cliffhanger that will make you rush out to buy the sequel, The Rising is a treat for horror fans the world over!

BOOK REVIEW: The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

This classic was amazing!  We take for granted the all too familiar doomsday scenario of every zombie story, novel, movie, and tv show out there today:  Chaos ensues, survivors band together and hunker down, taking refuge in abandoned homes, stores, farms, eventually fortifying their surroundings from the enemies.  Common theme right?  How common was this when Wyndham wrote Triffids in 1951?  Not very.  This was definitely a trailblazer, aside from the fact that it was a great story of survival, surviving a plant species with a killer instinct!  Not sure why it took me so long to finally read this book, but I'm sure glad I spent the time I did with it!

BOOK REVIEW: Chainfire by Terry Goodkind

I have started to struggle with this series. Mostly with Goodkind's heavy handed Tea Party like rhetoric. It has been getting increasingly heavier throughout the series, to the point that I have wondered if I can continue. So I was pleasantly surprised with Chainfire in that there was a lot more storytelling than rhetoric. My hope is that we get back to the storytelling as the series goes on. This was a great story, and of course, gave us one hell of a cliffhanger!

BOOK REVIEW: Upon A Midnight Clear: Queer Christmas Tales, edited by Greg Herren

This was a fun collection of gay themed Christmas stories. The cover is misleading in that it brings to mind a collection of erotic stories, but these are not erotica. It is a typical short story collection in that some stories are far better than others. Overall, I enjoyed everything and am glad to have spent time with the stories.

BOOK REVIEW: Dark Screams, Volume 1edited by Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar

Dark Dreams: Volume 1 edited by Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar

This is one top notch collection of horror shorts! There are only 5 stories in this collection, but the editors definitely chose quality over quantity here. We start off with "Weeds" by Stephen King, a story which I had never actually read, but LOVED the short in the movie Creepshow! Next up was Kelly Armstrong's "The Price You Pay", a spooky tale about vengeance and the price you pay for having it enacted. Bill Pronzi's "Magic Eyes" was a fun, although a bit predictable tale about madness (or is it). My favorite in the bunch was "Murder in Chains" by Simon Clark, a gruesome little story that felt like an homage to Saw and perhaps a little bit of Hostel thrown in for good measure! The collection is rounded off by "The Watched" by Ramsey Campbell, which was a typical Campbell tale full of atmosphere and just the right amount of chills! I'm glad to have read this, and can't wait to read the next volume!

"This book.. I was chosen by it."

Got a GREAT journal entry yesterday for The Year of Living Biblically that was just too cool not to share here!  Released the book last week at a grocery store, and turns out this person got it yesterday!  Yet again, BC serendipity in action!

*** Note to self, be careful when releasing at this particular store, note the journal comment about how the store was going to throw the book away!

 

Viva la Bookcrossing!

2014 releases to date: 4

Total Books Released: 3256
Total Releases Journaled: 207
Catch rate:  6.38%

 

Pridefest Book Checks In

Five years ago, I led a project with the Albuquerque Bookcrossers where we ran a Bookcrossing table at Albuquerque Pridefest. We saved up books, and had some donated from Bookcrossers around the world for this event, many of which were LGBT themed.  It was a smashing success!  We gave away 173 books that day.  It was so much fun talking to book lovers all day, as well as watching the reactions of those who simply couldn't grasp the concept of us giving books away for free!

Today I had a little bit of BC serendipity (something that honestly happens to us BCers so much that, while always cool, it is not all so shocking).  I started reading a David Sedaris book that was a leftover from that very same Pridefest.  As I started reading it, I was reminiscing about all of the books we gave away, and the amazingly fun time we had that day.  Tonight, after dinner, I got an email alerting me of a journal entry on a book.  The book, A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines, was one that was given away that day!  Great to have a book check in, as always.  Great also to have one related to this project that I had just been thinking about this morning.  Also great that it was one given to me by my dear friend Firegirl! 

Viva la Bookcrossing!
2013 Releases To Date: 82

Total Books Released: 3233
Total Releases Journaled: 206
Catch rate:  6.37%