The Fear

The Fear

by Charlie Higson

The Enemy, book three

The sickness struck everyone sixteen and over. Mothers and fathers, older brothers, sisters, and best friends. No one escaped its touch. And now children across London are being hunted by ferocious grown-ups who are hungry, bloodthirsty, and not giving up.

DogNut and the rest of his crew, in search of the friends they lost during the fire, set off on a deadly mission from the Tower of London to Buckingham Palace and beyond, as the sickos lie in wait. But who are their friends and who is the enemy in this changed world? (description from Amazon.com)

Sigh. I hated this book. I hate saying that, but it was all I could do to get through the almost five hundred pages. Normally, I LOVE zombie books, but this series just seems gross. It was well written, the storyline was good, but Higson does not at all shy away from a. killing characters off all over the place and b. vividly describing the affects of the disease on adults.  Also, I couldn't stand the chapters that were from the perspective of the now cannibalistic adults. 

So. If you like horror and dark, vivid descriptions of violence and death, I would suggest you check out this series. If you like zombie books, though, for the interactions between the surviving humans...you may want to skip this one.  Half the main characters don't officially make it and a lot of the story is focused on the the horrible zombie attacks...

Full disclosure: Copy received to review for VOYA

Wings of the Wicked

Wings of the Wicked

by Courtney Allison Moulton

Angelfire, book two

Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.

Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven's warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell's strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night.

She's been warned.

Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian's new plan to destroy Ellie's soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian's schemes, the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself.

She'll be betrayed.

Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be Hell to pay. (description from Amazon.com)

It's been a long time since I read Angelfire. I vaguely remembered the plot, but when I started Wings of the Wicked, it took me a little while to remember who some of the secondary characters were and what the situation was like for Ellie at home, etc. However, once I got past the first quarter or so of the book, I got sucked right back in to Ellie's lives - the one she has during the day, and the one she has hunting reapers at night.

I loved reading about the way that Ellie had to try to balance her daily school life with her duties as the Preliator. I can't imagine having to essentially save the world!  I used to feel the same way when I watched Buffy: the Vampire Slayer on TV. I can't imagine having that type of duty and facing that type of danger every day.  Incredible....and I'm sure, super tiring.  I get tired just reading about it, LOL!

I got totally caught up in the action and drama of this book. The romance, the revelations, the reapers... and let me tell you, the ending of this book. WHOA. I tweeted the author the moment I put it down asking when book three comes out. I need it ASAP! There is a cliffhanger... a desperate cliffhanger...a don't hold your breath cuz you might actually die kind of cliffhanger...

Anxiously Awaiting...

Rage
by Jackie Morse Kessler

Due out April 18, 2011 from Graphia.
Sequel to Hunger, book one in a thoughtful new series...a twist on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. *see my review here.

Apocalypse 2012:The Ticking of the End Time Clock

Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock
by John Claeys

Did Nostradamus, the Mayans, and others have a glimpse of God's plan for the end of the earth? If so, will anyone survive 2012, or will that be the end of humanity? Is there a link between these ancient prophecies and what the Bible presents about the end times?

Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock reveals incredible and shocking information about the future of this world.
(description from back jacket copy)

Okay, this is not the typical type of book that I read...but if you read my blog regularly, you know that I have a fondness for dystopia. Yes. In fact, I believe I've even posted once or twice about my fascination with the idea of an apocalypse. I have a place, deep in the back of my brain that wants to dwell on the end of the world. I want to ponder if I would survive!

So...when I was offered the chance to review this book I took a chance. Now, I am NOT a non-fiction reader. I normally avoid it like the plague. I just have never been one to seek out non-fiction books...reading has always been my escape from real life. Occasionally, though, a topic will catch my interest to such a degree that I seek out books to gather more info.

The 2012 prophecy has definitely been on my radar for awhile now. I'm not really a religious person. I don't go to church regularly, but I do believe that there are plenty of things that we cannot explain ourselves. There has to be something out there...

So, I decided to read this book about the 2012 prophecy and truthfully it was both interesting and too dull for me. I know...quite the contradiction! As a person who cannot read a whole non-fiction book straight through, I fell into an old pattern. I skimmed. I know, shame!

However, it was interesting in different sections. While I may not have read the entire book cover to cover, I did read certain sections all the way through. I learned a lot about the history of the prophecy itself, which I'd only vaguely referenced before, and I found out that Christians can link a lot of the Biblical writings to a timeline that fits the prophecy.

Overall I am glad that I got to read through this book. While not exactly my cup of tea, it was written clearly enough that I was not at all confused and even though I'm not really practicing my religion, I understood a lot of the Biblical background and concerns.

Not something I'd recommend to everyone, but interesting to those concerned with our future.

Full disclosure: Received from publisher for review

Hunger

Hunger
by Jackie Morse Kessler

Full disclosure: ARC received at BEA 2010 from Publisher
Publication date: October 18, 2010

"Thou art the Black Rider. Go thee out unto the world."

Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home—her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power—and the courage to fight her own inner demons? (description taken from Amazon.com)

Lisabeth, or Lisa, battles herself every day. She hears the Thin Voice that tells her she will never be thin enough, never pretty enough. Lisa is anorexic. She has become so sick that she might die...unless she becomes Famine instead.

When Lisa accepts she never imagines what she will be required to face as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. She never expected to meet Death (pretty cool), Pestilence (nicer than she would have thought, but icky) and War (a total B-word that wants to kill her). She never thought she would learn to master her own actions...

I don't want to spoil this for anyone so I won't give away any more of the plot. This was an excellent book. It does deal with an eating disorder, which always grosses me out and I generally avoid books like this, but it's only part of the focus of the book so the icky parts are fairly minimal. It's handled VERY well.

The idea of a teen girl becoming one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse...awesome!! The plot works out really well and Lisa is an emotionally complex character that I wanted to shake and hug at the same time.

Keep an eye out for this one!