Miniencuadro من عند Durgunsu Köyü, 58840 Durgunsu Köyü/Gemerek/Sivas, تركيا
Kiss of Midnight was an interesting story, but it was far too similar to the Black Dagger Brotherhood series for me to get the full enjoyment of it. After witnessing a scuffle outside a nightclub Gabrielle who has the common sense to take a photo of the attacker as he descends on his victim, this would have been fine if anyone could tell what the picture was. Dismissed as being a little unhinged by the police, Gabrielle doesn’t realise that being a witness to what she saw has put her in a lot more danger than what she ever realised. Gabrielle was a flaky character; she had absolutely no resistance to Lucan even when he was pushing himself inside her house uninvited on many occasions. She also wasn’t very intelligent, there is a rule, don’t walk in dark secluded places at night, and don’t open your door to strangers when you know evil people are after you. Kiss of Midnight was well written, the characters had ok chemistry and the writing flowed nicely. The major problem with this book though is that is far too much like the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Vampires who are protecting their race from evil baddies under the reign of a traitor, trying to simultaneously protect human and vampire kind. Each book centres around one warrior who goes through the motions of finding his true mate or Breed mate as these women are called. The only difference in the Midnight Breeds series is that there are no female vampires and the Breed mates are born with a special mark usually behind the ear that signifies them. I also felt that at the end Kiss of Midnight became far too long-winded. The ending started to be really drawn out, and could have been wound up at least 50 pages earlier omitting a few pages of denial and empty threats. I am interested in this series purely because it is a safe read, you know it will be hot, you know it will have a happy ending and it is written well but it is not a series I will be going anywhere near until I have long since finished the Black Dagger Brotherhood books. Find this review at storywings.com
Alan Moore is a fucking genius. Or at least that's what he wants you to think. The truth is, I am just a dummy, and get impressed too easily. This is the case with many things, and "Watchmen" is no exception. Moore tugs the reader along through this masterpiece with no mercy. What started as bathroom reading became an insatiable desire to find out what happens next, and that is the least compelling part of this graphic novel. Not only is it highly addictive, but it also has a depth to it that could sink all the fucking continents on earth. I mean, blow after blow Moore is pushing you further down the tunnel, until you pop out on the other side of the universe. Unfortunately, "Watchmen" was the first graphic novel I have ever read, and using it as a lithmus test against others seems (1) unfair and (2) pointless. The animation is also amazing, and I loved the parallel with the pirate subplot. Simply put, read this one or probably die without ever truly living.
The universe is a joke. Even before I was shown the meaning of life in a dream at 17 (then promptly forgot it because I thought I smelled pancakes), I knew this to be true--and yet, I have always felt a need to search for the truth, that nebulous, ill-treated creature. Adams has always been, to me, to be a welcome companion in that journey. Between the search for meaning and the recognition that it's all a joke in poor taste lies Douglas Adams, and, luckily for us, he doesn't seem to mind if you lie there with him. He's a tall guy, but he'll make room. For all his crazed unpredictability, Adams is a powerful rationalist. His humor comes from his attempts to really think through all the things we take for granted. It turns out it takes little more than a moment's questioning to burst our preconceptions at the seams, yet rarely does this stop us from treating the most ludicrous things as if they were perfectly reasonable. It is no surprise that famed atheist Richard Dawkins found a friend and ally in Adams. What is surprising is that people often fail to see the rather consistent and reasonable philosophy laid out by Adams' quips and absurdities. His approach is much more personable (and less embittered) than Dawkins', which is why I think of Adams as a better face for rational materialism (which is a polite was of saying 'atheism'). Reading his books, it's not hard to see that Dawkins is tired of arguing with uninformed idiots who can't even recognize when a point has actually been made. Adams' humanism, however, stretched much further than the contention between those who believe, and those who don't. We see it from his protagonists, who are not elitist intellectuals--they're not even especially bright--but damn it, they're trying. By showing a universe that makes no sense and having his characters constantly question it, Adams is subtly hinting that this is the natural human state, and the fact that we laugh and sympathize shows that it must be true. It's all a joke, it's all ridiculous. The absurdists might find this depressing, but they're just a bunch of narcissists, anyhow. Demnading the world make sense and give you purpose is rather self centered when it already contains toasted paninis, attractive people in bathing suits, and Euler's Identity. I say let's sit down at the bar with the rabbi, the priest, and the frog and try to get a song going. Or at least recognize that it's okay to laugh at ourselves now and again. It's not the end of the world. It's just is a joke, but only some of us are in on it.