Morgan Kingsley series books 1-5

Morgan Kingsley series books 1 -5 (Devil Inside, Devil You Know, Devil’s Due, Speak of the Devil, and Devil’s Playground) by Jenna Black, 1699 pages

In a world where people can host demons, legally and illegally, there is always a need for exorcists. They serve the public as paranormal executioners, casting out illegal demons, and those that have broken the law. Exorcists like demons come in different strengths, and Morgan Kingsley is one of the strongest exorcists around. But after an abnormally strong demon exorcism goes wrong, she is haunted by weird dreams, bouts of sleepwalking, and fears she may have a demon inside her.

I wasn’t sure which direction this science fiction series was going to take. Was I going to get a detective series, where Morgan has to research various demons, learn their names or history and then cast them out type series, which would get rather dull and repetitive. Or would Morgan discover something weird with the demons/herself and have to figure it out to save the world? It is definitely this. Frankly I think the “save the world” motif is a little overused in science fiction, but it is hard to come up with a better compelling threat. Luckily Black was able to keep this world ending threat both interesting and unique enough to make this series quite the read. I will also give her credit for staying away from the standard holy items kill demon motif. I enjoyed reading this series, and blew through it in under a week. I would recommend this to people looking for a twist on demon science fiction.

Note: I read these online, as the library only owns Speak of the Devil

Dante Valentine the Complete Series

Dante Valentine the Complete Series by Lilith Saintcrow, 1280 pages

Having never been disappointed with my choices in urban fantasy fiction, I decided to give the Dante Valentine series a try. In a somewhat dystopian future, where the gods not only exist but also communicate with their followers, a Necromancer named Dante gets a knock on her door. What follows is five books worth on magic, demons, violence and action.

So as I mentioned, the Dante Valentine series is in that same urban fantasy genre with greats like the Dresden files, Mercy Thompson and Kate Daniels. All of which I have enjoyed reading, and have blogged about. The key difference though is even with magic being real in all of these books, along with vampires, weres, etc. this book also has the addition of gods. I think in worlds where magic and monsters are common place, adding that third level really expands the fantasy world. It also adds a lot of questions about which faiths might survive and which would not, if all of the gods were proven to exist. That by itself would be an interesting book.

In terms of reading advice, if you liked the Mercy Thompson series I am pretty sure you will enjoy this as well. If you are more of a Dresden files person, you might want to give this a pass.

The Creeps

The Creeps by John Connolly, 321 pages

"In this clever and quirky follow-up to The Gates and The Infernals , Samuel Johnson's life seems to have finally settled down--after all, he's still got the company of his faithful dachshund Boswell and his bumbling demon friend Nurd; he has foiled the dreaded forces of darkness not once but twice; and he's now dating the lovely Lucy Highmore. But things in the little English town of Biddlecombe rarely run smoothly for long. Shadows are gathering in the skies; a black heart of pure evil is bubbling with reven≥ and it rather looks as if the Multiverse is about to come to an end, starting with Biddlecombe. When a new toy shop's opening goes terrifyingly awry, Samuel must gather a ragtag band of dwarfs, policemen, and very polite monsters to face down the greatest threat the Multiverse has ever known, not to mention assorted vampires, a girl with an unnatural fondness for spiders, and highly flammable unfriendly elves." The last book in the series is my favorite, I think.  This book made me laugh out loud and I really liked the final wrap-up of the story. This was a great, humorous fantasy series.

Claymore 16-20

Claymore Volumes 16 - 20 by Norihiro Yagi, (5 books, 943 pages)

It was just as I foretold! The circular leveling has happened! Repent now and flee! Wait, don't do that I got a little carried away... Anyways the one thing I hate about manga has now happened to a series I was just starting to really like, circular leveling. If you don't know what that is see my previous blog post about the Claymore series. Don't worry I will wait for you to come back. Back yet? good lets continue.

Everything happened just as I predicted, the Claymores and namely the ones who had already developed sketchy new powers came across a new bad guy, or in this case girl who they, even when fighting together cannot beat. This should be game over, end of story, everyone gets to die and have their closing cut scenes. I am thinking a nice monologue about saving yourself and forgiveness. But since no one really wants the series to end, except maybe me, the author had to find a way to allow good to have a fighting chance. I would almost rather see it as a hidden weak spot, sort of like the video games, but in manga we get the circular leveling. Since I have ranted about this enough for one year, I won't continue this rant, but Claymore got penciled in on my naughty list.


Despite all of my hatred for what Claymore has become, the series is quite good. Despite having a feeling of wandering in the first few volumes, everything has really come together in a nice streamlined story. There are of course some pieces missing that frankly seem slightly more interesting than the actual story, but it is not distracting and we do get glimpses to keep them fresh in our minds. Everything is headed for the final showdown, it will be interesting to see how they end it.
And yes, like nearly everything else I blog about, I will also continue to read the story. So sometime in the future you can look forward to reading another post about how right I was and my circular leveling hatred.

Higurashi when you cry Eye Opening Arc

Higurashi when you cry Eye Opening Arc volumes 1-4 by Ryukishi07, 752 pages (4 books)

In all reality this review should have gone in with the previous review of this series. It follows the same byline: retelling the same story, but with a different character going mad and trying to kill all of their friends. In all honesty I am getting tired of it. The only thing that keeps me reading this series is the fact that the story changes just enough with the different madnesses to keep it interesting, and for what I am hoping is going to be a big payoff when everything is explained at the end.


This arc was a little more gruesome than others, there was a lot of torture. It was made all the more horrifying as it is friends torturing other "friends".

Bloody Cross Manga

Bloody Cross Volumes 1-4, by Shiwo Komeyama (835 pages/4 books)

In a world that has angels and demons feuding  with each other, the half breeds get the short end of the stick. Which is exactly where Tsukimiya finds herself. As a half demon/half angel she is imbrued with a curse, one that will kill her is she doesn't drink the blood of a pure demon. But with every other half breed killing off demons, they are in short supply. Luckily she meets an angel named Hinata knows where to find a demon. But what happens next was neither of them could have predicted.

I am not entirely sure what to make of this series. One of the main characters is so trusting that they fall into near deadly traps every book. Luckily they are backed up by some seriously powerful allies, otherwise they would be history. But I cannot help but think that if the bad guys were serious about defeating anyone, they really should have killed this klutz a long time ago. Honestly if this keeps up I will only be able to read another ten to fifteen books in this series before I write it off.

On the other hand Bloody Cross is quite interesting with its blend of demons, angels, vampires and a couple demi-gods. It consistently gives you action, and besides from the aforementioned klutz has some well written characters. I would recommend this series to anyone that likes a good action manga.

Note: I know I have harped on it before but I really must say it again, it is very difficult to review a series without giving anything away, especially with manga. Sooooo much happens in each book.

Seraph of the End Manga

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign Volumes 1-5, by Takaya Kagami (914 pages/ 5 books)

This series starts off with vampires rising up to "save" humanity after a deadly plague kills anyone over the age of thirteen. Unfortunately for the humans being saved comes with a cost, as they are rounded up and brought beneath the Earth for their safety. There they are forced to make blood donations and are treated like livestock. Fed up with being constantly siphoned for blood two twelve year old boys plot their escape and revenge.

This manga is classified as horror and action, but seeing how the vampires are all neatly dressed and look like humans with pointy teeth, I am not sure what is so scary about it. I was initially unsure about reading this series, namely because the plot seemed so shaky. I mean who would think that a couple of kids would pose any threat to some super powerful vampires. But as it turns out, it actually quite good and has a nice twist to it. It also offers a multitude of side plots to help keep the human vampire struggle from getting stale.

My one dislike is the use of magically, or in this case demon enhanced weapons. I fear that this is an early indicator for the classic power leveling that ruins so many series. I will have to keep reading to see if I am right, but I predict that sometime in the next few books the hero will meet someone he cannot beat with his weapon so he will seek out an even stronger one. Then he will be victorious, but eventually the vampires will also have a stronger weapon, and this cycle will repeat. I very much hope I am wrong, but I have seen these loops before.

Legion

Legion by William Peter Blatty, 269 pages

Legion is Blatty's sequel to his best-known work, The Exorcist (Legion was eventually adapted into The Exorcist III, which Blatty directed himself, although the studio insisted on adding elements to justify the Exorcist title).  Detective Kinderman returns, investigating a series of murders that seem to be the work of a serial killer known to have been killed decades ago.  Father Dyer, Father Damien's best friend and fellow Jesuit, also returns, having forged a bond with the surly detective in the years since Damien's death.

Where The Exorcist held out the hope that the existence of supernatural evil implies the existence of supernatural good, Legion asks why natural evil seems to pervade the human world and whether there is any hope against it.

Unfortunately, the novel's problems run deep.  Kinderman, while initially charming in his endless, garrulous, rambling monologues, eventually becomes tiresome.  The Gemini killer is a silly Hollywood caricature of a serial killer.  The ending is absurdly anti-climactic, although it is thematically appropriate.  This is one of those instances where, against stereotypes, the movie is better than the book.

Instinct

Instinct by Sherrilyn Kenyon, 351 pages

This is the most current book in the Chronicles of Nick series.  Don't try to read these books out of order.  Even though I've read them in order, I didn't remember all of the details from the last book and I was a little confused in the beginning.  These stories are fairly simplistic and predictable but I like them anyway.  They're kind of light reads, despite the subject matter.  In this book, Nick, who is the Malachi demon, sees the world start to go wrong almost immediately.  For much of the book, no one seems to really have any idea what is happening, just that they seem to be under attack from several fronts.  Of course, everyone's survival depends on Nick learning something about his Malachi self, which he can never do easily.  Teens who like fantasy and horror stories will probably like the series.

The Bane Chronicles

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan & Maureen Johnson, 507 pages

This is a collection of short stories about Magnus Bane, featured warlock in The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series.  The stories are fun and really give us an inside look into Magnus’s life.  Clare wrote the stories, sometimes with just one of the other women and sometimes with both, but all of the stories sound mostly like Clare’s voice.  The stories start as early as the 1700’s and relate Magnus’s adventures in various countries, and come up to present day, as he is when we meet him in the series.  I almost liked this book better than any of the books in the series, actually, so I would definitely recommend that fantasy fans read it and any teens who have read the series will absolutely want to read this also.

Angels and Demons

The Mammoth book of Angels and Demons, 544 pages

This is another one of those collection of short stories novels based around a certain theme. As you might have been able to guess by the title every story is based on either angels, demons, or in some cases both. I am not sure what initially drew me to this book, maybe it was the cover art or the fact that it was edited by Puala Guran instead of the usual George R. R. Martin. Either way it was worth reading.

Like nearly every collective work I have posted on here, some stories were enjoyable, some were dull/boring, and others were just weird or interesting. While it did have stories by some of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman, George R.R. Martin, etc. none of the stories really stood out as exceptionally noteworthy. Though the TSA using the full body scanners to check for demon possession instead of weapons was close.

What was noticeable though was how often St Louis featured into this book. Of the twenty seven short stories I noticed that four and maybe a fifth(it was a little vaguer) either mentioned part of St Louis, took place here, or passed though the town. One of the stories even specifically mentions the bus half hanging off the roof of the City Museum! Getting even closer to the library one of the demons who was originally passing though St Louis ends up staying and residing in the Park Pacific Building, which is right across the street. When I was reading that story I just happened to be sitting out front of Central and could not help but glance at the building and give it a suspecting glare.

Having a book both talk about, or even mention areas that are familiar really help to immerse the reader and in this case make me like the book that much more. But I tend to find this only works when I don't know that St Louis is going to be mentioned, otherwise it loses the thrill.

Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits

John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits by Garth Ennis, 160 pages

Constantine is dying. He never thought that he would live long enough in this line of work that lung cancer from his constant smoking would have a chance to do him in. To make it work the demons of hell that he has thwarted are lining up to claim his soul. But all is not completely lost Constantine has a plan that is just crazy enough it might work.

There is a lot of reflecting upon past deeds and earlier parts of Constantine’s life throughout this volume.  I suppose that is the classic dying storyline but since I have read what was several years’ worth of Constantine comics in the past two months I didn’t really need the recap. What I did find interesting was despite Constantine’s badass persona we get glimpses that that is not who he always is. This is obvious in his concern and friendship with another person dying of cancer and in how he tells this friends goodbye. 

For those that have seen the Constantine movie. This book seems to have been its inspiration. From here though it is a whole new Constantine world and I have no idea what comes next, but I am sure I will enjoy reading about it.

Unbreakable

Unbreakable by Kami Garcia, 305 pages

Kennedy’s mother dies of a heart attack one night while Kennedy is out with friends.  The plan is for her to go to boarding school, because she doesn’t want to live with her aunt.  However, right before she is due to leave, she is attacked by a ghost in her home and two boys, Lukas and Jared, show up to save her.  They explain that they, along with two other teens, form a group called the Legion of the Black Dove, formed centuries ago to protect the world from a demon.  They are the newest members, because the last group, mostly their parents or grandparents, were killed the same night as Kennedy’s mother.  They believe Kennedy is the fifth member of the group.  Kennedy, somewhat disbelieving, goes along with the group and helps to get rid of many vengeful ghosts in their quest to find something they believe will destroy the demon once and for all.  However, Kennedy doesn’t really think she is the last member of the group even as she finds herself hoping that she is.  This is a pretty good story that fans of the Beautiful Creatures series will definitely want to read.  Teens who like advebture ghost stories will enjoy this book.

Son Of No One

Son Of No One by Sherrilyn Kenyon, 420 pages

This is one of the Dark-Hunter novels.  Josette does not believe in the supernatural, except maybe in her own bad luck.  She is recently divorced from a cheating husband and broke because of the costs of the divorce.  Luckily her family is always there for her, even if they are crazy, fortune-telling, paranormal-seeking psychics.  Her cousin offers her a job filming a group of her friends trying to do a ghost hunting type show.  Even though Jo doesn’t believe in any of it, the pay is incredible so she takes the job.  While in the house, Jo is sucked into a mirror where she meets Cadegan, who is trapped in this world.  At first, Jo thinks that she has hit her head and is dreaming all of this, but after a while she is forced to believe that everything she is experiencing is real.  She also realizes that she is falling in love with Cadegan and vows to do whatever it takes to free him.  What she doesn’t know, and may not care about anyway, truth told, is that Cadegan is also a demon and has the power to destroy the world.  A good addition to the series, Kenyon’s fans will enjoy this, as will lovers of fantasy romance. 

Blood Trinity

Blood Trinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon, 519 pages

This book, and I suspect this series is quite similar to the Dark Hunter series also by Kenyon. The similarities include a semisecret paranormal organization composed of supernatural beings are trying to prevent other supernatural beings from overly interfering with regular human life. Like her other books this one also follows a strong female lead character that hasn't found love and suspects she never. That is until she meets someone she classifies as a big jerk that saves her and she falls in love.

Despite the multiple love stories happening in the subplot Blood Trinity still is less of a romance than the books I have read in the Dark Hunter series. I am interested to see if the rest of the series will continue in this line, or slip into the romance section.

Last Apprentice series books 6 and 7

Clash of the Demons and Rise of the Huntress by Jospeh Delaney, 408 and 436 pages


So far I have enjoyed reading the Last Apprentice series but in these two books it starts to slip a bit. Not only are there more "world ending" threats but they have taken on an unexpected darkening. I liken it to the darkness and uneasiness that crept into the Harry Potter series. You have this underlying belief that everything will turn out fine like most series do, but also this nagging doubt that maybe it won't.

I have never been a fan of the the repeated world ending threats. As I have said in a previous post you know with near certainty that the world is not going to end. I suppose it might have been a tad more believable if I had read these when they came out, but since I know there are still half a dozen more books the world can't end. This "spoiler" removes some of the suspense from the books and just leaves you guessing at how they are going to save the world this time.

The series is still full of adventure and is still worth reading though I hope Delaney doesn't get stuck in this bigger and deadlier plot escalation.