In the Flesh, Season 2, Episode 4

Amy starts her day with an attempt at breakfast – which is a little odd since the PDS don’t eat and she spits the bar she eats into the sink.

Phillip, by his dreams, is still obsessed with Amy – and he comes downstairs to find his mum, the awesome Shirley, talking to Henry’s mum and they’re pretty upset that absolutely no-one cares about Henry’s disappearance. That also includes Phillip

Which brings us to Maxine who also doesn’t care – since she’s poring over her records to find the first risen; so much so she threatens the PDS with being listed as non-compliant for not listing their times of rising (which, since most of them don’t know, is likely to just get everyone to make it up). While she does this, Dean leads the “give back” PDS on how not to alarm living people (which is every bit as awful as you can imagine). Simon is missing and Kieren notices, so is Amy.

Back at the Walker household, Jem tells her mum, Sue, that she’s going on patrol again and everything is totally fine while Sue worries massively about her daughter (and for pretty good reason).  

Kieren comes home and his dad is still all positive and upbeat about the whole give-back scheme while Kieren can see exactly how useful Dean’s guide to civilised humanity actually is and it’s little more than ritual humiliation (showing sufficient cynicism to remind us that Steve is a northerner even if he is upbeat, he points out that that’s the work place). He also wants to go out, probably to spend some time looking for Simon, though his parents are pushing him for family time. Ahhh even as a PDS, the old dramas remain – a little normality to contrast wrenchingly with everything else.

Phillip delays his meeting, drawn to the PDS brothel again (unknown to him, a nosy neighbour is making note of everyone going in and out), studiously avoiding the eyes of the other patrons to meet with fake-Amy-sex-worker which, in a show about zombies, still manages to be the creepiest thing. While he sleeps it off, Maxine notices his absence. Phillip wakes in the brothel and realises he is late – but as he hurries off he is confronted by the nosy neighbour who rants at him and spits on him

Kieren does go to Simon’s, all dressed up – only to find Amy and a whole room full of PDS congregants. Awkward. Simon continues to talk some very good sense though – about PDS not being ashamed of who they are, not trying to hide who they are etc; but Amy doesn’t here because she has to hurry away with a nosebleed. Simon greets Kieren as a congregant and Kieren, after the kiss last episode, is not impressed. He warns Simon that all his followers (who he calls brainwashed) are going to get into trouble for not complying and gets irritated with Simon for not being a “normal person” for 2 seconds – I think this is more related to his recruitment pitches than failure to conform though. Amy interrupts to stop them all arguing while both of them jump – because Amy still has a crush on Simon. She’s also showing signs of confusion, trying to do a task she’s clearly already done.

When she leaves, Simon tries to kiss Kieren but he stops him – Amy’s right out there and she deserves to be told rather than her continue to desperately crush on Simon.

Stone Song (Cold Iron #3) by D.L. McDermott

Sorcha never believed her grandmother when she warned her about the fairies, when she took away Sorcha’s violin and forbid her from music – a fate that, for a girl born with the mystical voice of the druids, is almost impossible to imagine

She learned how right her grandmother was when she fell into a fae’s clutches and it was only by chance and her long buried powers that she managed to escape. Now she’s much more careful – but the fae have still come looking for her; Elada with his claims of love and alliance and the Prince who wishes to enslave her for his own terrible needs. Worse, there are many fae with long memories of the druids’ abuses – and are still bitterly seeking revenge.

The framework of this book is interesting. The underlying world building is excellent – we have the ancient druids and fae with a terrible history that is interestingly balanced on both sides. There’s a lot of hatred to bury that is especially difficult and complicated given the immortal nature of the fae who, of course, remember the atrocities the druids committed against them and their loved ones. Asking them to just let it go is complicated. We have at least 3 different fae factions who, to a greater or lesser degree, all fear the Prince successfully bringing the court back. But they all have dramatically different views when it comes to humans and especially druids – the politicking as these groups try to work together but clash is excellent to navigate.

But when you look at the details it doesn’t follow through so well. There’s too much call-back to characters from previous books (and I think part of this is, I admit, from my missing the second book), like Conn and Beth and Helene – I’m not sure why they’re even in this book since they didn’t really add anything to it.

The plot itself starts quite well – though romance is a large part and (as mentioned below), I’m not a fan of it. Sorcha is interesting enough – but the ending is a rather clichéd kidnapping complete with “I must go alone because bad guy said so” which is so infuriatingly overdone and hardly ever makes sense – especially considering Sorcha’s complete ignorance over what she’s dealing with. We have a side order of trusting the bad guys to keep their word (complete non-spoiler: they don’t).  And relying on her super power kicking in despite her being very new to it, barely able to control it, not even able to use it most of the time AND not expecting the bad guys to have a counter measure for even though they know she has it and are all super worried because of that. As an extra bonus, the bad guys who super-duper want her dead, are going to wait a long time before they actually kill her.

Continuum, Season 3, Episode 9: Minute of Silence

Starting in the future, we have a crowd of people queuing up for “citizenship extraction” (which invalidates birth certificates) and apparently very painful, unpleasant process to remove a chip from their arm.

And in the present a man wakes up after 2 months in a coma – he doesn’t remember much, not even his own name. But he remembers Kiera’s name.

At the police station, everyone returns from Betty’s funeral and Carlos tries to confront Dillon about investigating Betty’s murder – but they’re too close to it, Independent Investigation has taken over and it’s not like this particular police department has the best reputation at the moment. And he may have handed over the investigation just to ensure Betty’s Liber8 connections remain buried.

Kiera goes to the hospital to see the mystery man – but she doesn’t recognise him. But the doctor decides to farm him off on her anyway because he’s perfectly healthy and she has no-one else to hand him over to. I’m pretty sure this isn’t standard procedure.

Carlos has taken up day drinking and decides to show Corporate Alec the other Kiera’s body. This turns into Carlos and Alec deciding they can trust the dead original but new Kiera is scary and unknown.

So when Kiera calls Alec for help with her John Doe, he’s snarky and uncooperative and really really passive aggressive. Alec’s day gets a little worse when he learns that Kellog is suing him – because the contract he signed for Sadtech with him had anti-competition rules and Kellog getting a sizeable cut of every one of Alec’s ideas. Working for Piron breaches that. Oh and Kellog adds that, since he’s from the future, he knows that Sadtech ends up beating Piron

More bad news – even working with Jason he can’t get Halo to work without a patch on the back of the neck which is ugly and not likely to be wanted. And he’s losing talent to Sadtech. Jacqueline, his lawyer/assistant also points out that Kellog has reasonable grounds to sue and Jason has no good news about Halo – the things he needs to make it will be very easily available. In 10 years.

To another plot – a guy sneaks into a building and steals something and then escapes pursuit with impressive agility and parkour skills – and some future technology that makes him invisible.

Dillon, Kiera and Carlos meet about the theft (and taking lots of proprietary information) using high tech and inside knowledge without a leak and come up Liber8 (this is deduction. To be fair, though, every time someone jaywalks in the city, Dillon screams “Liber8”). But Kiera takes time off the case because she’s obsessing with John Doe and has found a hotel he apparently was booked in. Which shows he’s either poor or has poor taste (it’s not the most up market) and that he had a sci-fi book about 2071 (I smell time traveller). He also has some random digits tattooed on his wrist. And yes, he looks around and realises he knows the city – but not the time.

The future-tech enabled parkour thief hits Piron and steals a Halo bracelet.

Penny Dreadful, Season 1, Episode 3: Resurrection.

Sunlight! Actual bright sunlight! Am I watching the right show? A boy walking through a sunlit field, quoting Wordsworth until he reaches the decomposed body of a dog, seething with maggots. It’s a young Victor Frankenstein. That night, a feverish and sickly Victor and his mother talk about death, right before his loving mother coughs up blood. She’s tended to by doctors and servants, but ultimately dies and is buried while Victor realises that, contrary to all the poetry, “death is not serene.”

This is when child Victor sets off on his voracious study of anatomy, of life and death.

To the present where a cowering Victor is facing his “first born”. The first monster demands Victor face him and dramatically confronts him (with beautiful, flowery language to prove his facility of speech). He recounts his own creation and we flashback – he didn’t peacefully wake, he work in terrified agony and how horrifying it was to Victor. Victor fled in terror – the Monster’s first human interaction was of rejection. He was abandoned to a small room, experiencing the world through a window where he saw humanity, its cruelty; he studied Victor’s books, his poetry. He points out the irony of Victor doing something so cutting edge that it was the very pinnacle of modern progress while still holding to the romantic, pastoral words of Keats and Wordsworth.

Victor tries to run but the Monster stops him, when Victor asks about the murder of Proteus, the Monster calls it a mercy – to abort him before he knows pain. He recounts coming to London to find Victor – being attacked but also being shown kindness by a wonderfully dramatic actor (Vincent) who introduced him to the theatre. Not the Shakespearean theatre he prefers – but a penny dreadful, gory spectacle theatre – the Grand Guignol. The wonderfully verbose Vincent dubs the Monster Caliban and gives him a job running things backstage.

We have a nod at the irony of him supporting actors who died every night on stage, then to be reborn; though he kept to the shadows because not everyone was welcoming of his disfigured face. His tale finished, Victor finally asks what he wants – and Caliban tells him to walk with him and see

As they walk, Caliban notes that Victor has learned and his “younger brother” was better made than him – prettier, faster learning, gentler – though he’s taken aback to learn Victor named his brother; even more when Victor calls Caliban “Demon”. Caliban wants love (not Victor’s and is quite angry when Victor rejects him again because Caliban doesn’t seek his acceptance), he wants a companion. And Victor will make him an immortal woman or Caliban will kill all Victor loves; Victor isn’t intimidated by death threats. It is life that hurts him, not death.

 At Sir Malcolm’s, Vanessa has a vision of Mina, begging her for help. And she goes to see him (interrupting his masterful performance of endurance and pain).

In their dockside pub, Brona and Ethan have sex. Afterwards she continues to struggle with her tuberculosis; he asks if she had medicine, but she can’t afford any.

Banishing the Dark (Arcadia Bell #4) by Jenn Bennett

Cady’s mother is alive and in the Aether and looking for a way to cross over and fulfil her lifelong ambition – possessing her daughter and claiming her Moonchild magic for herself.

Cady can find only one solution to saving herself and her unborn child – stop being the Moonchild. Which means finding out exactly how her mother completed the Moonchild ritual in the first place and what exactly that means. Unfortunately, they begin this investigation with a memory spell that backfires unpleasantly.

The plot of this book I was actually really eager for. Cady and Lon, after 3 books of ignoring Cady’s powers, using Cady’s powers grudgingly and generally sitting around and doing very little about the whole Moonchild thing have finally decided to get up and track down exactly what the Moonchild means, what it can do and how it was created and what the implications are of that.

Excellent! And the plot and development was fairly well done – if a little late in the day. The investigation was fairly decent (even if Cady had a few moments of “Moonchild means I can pull out useful powers at random”) and tracked down information in a logical manner. It revealed a lot of the back story and the real truth behind Cady’s mother’s machinations.

I really liked the revelations – because it worked so well with Cady’s progression in learning about her parents, having her illusions scattered, fearing them and now, finally turning round and confronting her mother once and for all. It brought her arc round – it was, perhaps, a little abrupt and fast, but it brought it round full circle.

If I had any complaint about Cady’s story it would be that after 3 books of ignoring the Moonchild, we now get it all at once and not enough time to explore or expand on it. We get a lot of quick answer, satisfactory answers, but answers that only begin to explore the whole issue. I feel much the same about the world building in general –the different demons, the whole “Mother of Ahriman” thing, the different magical societies – all have been touched on but this is the last book and none of them have been expanded.

Jupe had his own little storyline this time as well, and it did add to the main and wasn’t too consumed by drama – but it was consumed by breasts and naked women; which I’m guessing is the author writing a 14 year old boy. It wasn’t an awful segment to read but ran straight into that whole last book problem – here’s Jupe introducing me to Leticia, a whole new character with an interesting back story and family and potential for a great deal – but this is the last book. Unless there’s a spin off none of this is going to go anywhere and it ends up being quite a long segment for a small amount of information. It was interesting and it’s nice to see things from Jupe’s point of view and experience (including dealing with racism) but it added up to some other elements of the book to make me want to get back on topic

Fangs for the Fantasy Podcast Moved

It's another Monday - and our battles with the moose continue. However, the podcast is back this week! But it's moving to Wednesday

That's Wednesday 28th May at 12:00am EST

Hope to see you all there where will will begin discussing all the season finales we've been seeing lately for lots of analysis and, of course, our book of the week.

Our next books of the week are listed below for reference purposes

19th May - 26th May: Banishing the Dark by Jenn Bennet

26th May - 2nd June: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

2nd June - 9th June: The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice

9th June - 16th June: Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

16th June - 23rd June: Shattered by Kevin Hearne

30th June - 7th July: Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice

7th July - 14th July: Fair Game by Patricia Briggs

14th July - 21st July: Grave visions by Kalayna Price

Orphan Black, Season 2, Episode 6: To Hound Nature in Her Wanderings

Sarah and Helena are having a sister camping trip! Such fun! Helena may be very much leaping on the “I have a sister! YAY!” train but she’s not a fool and keeps her clues to finding “Swan Man” (Rachel’s dad, Ethan Duncan, quite possibly the guy behind the clones) cryptic so Sarah doesn’t leave her behind. Also she likes Cryptic. She also wants to have kids (and says that Sarah is a good mother which, given that she’s dumped Kira on a guy she hasn’t known for years and who has convenient getaway stuff stashed, I’m going to put a big question mark over that) – which leads to Sarah asking about what the Proletheans did to her and Helena changing the topic and being super cute with shadow puppets.

And creepy. Because she’s Helena. They’re also being followed and their car searched – by Paul.

Helena is even cuter (still creepy) on the road trip, singing along to the radio and Sarah trying really hard not to smile. Helena leads Sarah to the church where Maggie Chen tracked Ethan and she leaves Helena in the car (without the radio – awwww that’s just mean) while she goes and checks out the trail. Inside she finds a picture of the Cold River institute (Helena mentioned “Cold River”) and she learn’s Ethan’s new name – Mr. Peckham and that he’s been rooting around in the Institute’s archives which are stored in the church. Helpful lady shows them to Sarah while warning her that the contents are very very disturbing – and they are, Eugenics experiments from the early 20^th century.

Sarah calls Cosima to check in and notices Cosima is definitely worried and bother. Sarah tells her hoe important she is, seeing through Cosima’s quiet reassurance. They plan to spring Allison when Sarah returns to town – they’re much better together.

Some files are missing though, Helpful lady says they’ve probably been stolen by Maggie Chen.

Helena, meanwhile, does not stay in the car (did anyone expect her too?) She sees a bar and is interested in exploring the many types of alcohol inside. Some guy makes a nuisance of himself so she sprains his finger (“don’t be baby, only sprain. Next one I break”.) Another guy wins her other with pork rinds, a food suitably awful enough to appeal to Helena. While that’s going on, Mark from the Proletheans appears in the doorway AND Paul is still following them (they both size each other up and make a deal that Mark gets Helena, Paul gets Sarah. Sensible Paul, very very sensible). Guy with pork rinds (who is definitely nefarious) flirts heavily with Helena while she tells some outrageous lies about her past before she beats him at arm wrestling (hey he got to keep his arm, step up!). He even manages to get Helena on the dance floor where they dance and kiss and are getting into it – when sprained finger guy decides to get involved.

Oh this will not end well. Helena does terrible things to him, leaving Pork Rinds guy kind of shocked. Paul decides to leave – Helena is Mark’s problem. She ends up getting arrested even while Pork Rinds guy tries to intervene with the police for her.

Which is when Sarah leaves the church to see Helena being put in a police car. At the police station, the guys she beat up aren’t pressing charges so she’s free to go – with her sister. Not Sarah – Prolethean Grace with the healing mouth. Something that was done to Helena once as well. Grace tells Helena about the eggs they took from her and Helena tells them to take her to her babies.

New Releases 25st May - 31st May

What follows is a list of books which will be released between May 25 - May 31.  It can be tough  keeping up with ongoing stories and often, we miss the latest new release, unless the book/series is the beneficiary of a big round of publicity . That is why we are committed to sharing with you books that are the first in their series every week.  Please check out the list and let us know what books you are interested in checking out and why.

The Remaining (The Remaining #1) by D.J. Molles

In a steel-and-lead-encased bunker 40 feet below the basement level of his house, Captain Lee Harden of the United States Army waits. On the surface, a plague ravages the planet, infecting over 90% of the populace. The bacterium burrows through the brain, destroying all signs of humanity and leaving behind little more than base, prehistoric instincts. The infected turn into hyper-aggressive predators, with an insatiable desire to kill and feed. Some day soon, Captain Harden will have to open the hatch to his bunker, and step out into this new wasteland, to complete his very simple mission: Subvenire Refectus.

Our review of The Remaining

Night Terrors (Shadow Watch #1) by Tim Waggoner

Meet the fine men and women of the NightWatch: a supernatural agency dedicated to hunting down rogue nightmares that escape from other realms when people dream about them, while ensuring that other dream-folk are allowed to live among the regular, human population, as long as they play by the rules.

Our review of Night Terrors

Born of Stone (Gargoyle Masters #1) by Missy Jane

Within a body strong as stone beats a heart ready for love.

Gargoyle Masters, Book 1

For seventy years, Orestes and his twelve gargoyle brothers have done their duty to protect King Kadmos’s realm. There’s only one annoyance in his life—humans.

He’s content to leave them to their idol worship. Until he notices a small, frail woman serving at his table, doing her best to remain invisible. Something about her calls to him like no human before.

Astrid is terrified. Not only of the powerful magical creature with inhuman strength, but of the staff overseer’s lash for calling attention to herself. Instead she is whisked away to paradise, bathed, fed, and made love to by Orestes as if she is his reason to live. But she isn’t naïve enough to believe she is anything more than a temporary diversion.