Dead of Winter- Brian Moreland

I read all 491 pages of this book in 2.5 days. Admittedly, I found the length a bit daunting at first but it didn’t drag on or become boring. It’s a fantastic book that combines many of my favorite things: violent shape-shifting blood sucking gut eating invisible-ish monsters, violence, massive amounts of suspense, a killer back story and native lore. I loved it. Actually, I couldn’t get through the last half of the book fast enough! The “what the fuck is it-s” and the “holy shit what’s happening next-s” kept me so enthralled that I couldn’t put the book down. The whole time I read it I had the most vivid images in my head of the characters and scenes.

This book needs to be made into a movie- I’ve seen the whole thing in my mind already and it is fantassssstic. Now someone start preparing the set and firing up the computers to hammer out all the CG shit, or whatever the movie people do. I’m thinking M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village but with REAL monsters. There are so many scenes that I am DYING to see on the big screen: the rats and crows forming the body of the demon, when Willow’s face shifts into Beth’s just to fuck with Tom, or how people's bodies morphed and grew when they were infected. OMG, or the scene with Father Xavier and Gustave in his cell!  So. Fucking. Cool.

Ok, here is one of the coolest scenes in the book. Read and you’ll totally understand:


“Let the boy go!” Tom yelled.

The she-beast released a maniacal cackle and then bit into her son’s neck, wrenching out his throat. She dropped the child and charged towards the front of the nave, bounding on hands and feet towards Tom and Pendleton.

“Kill her!” yelled the chief factor as he dashed into a confessional closet.

Tim gripped the barrel of his shotgun and swung, cracking the woman’s jaw. She lurched again. He struck her head, hammering down repeatedly, bludgeoning her face. Her nose shattered. Her forehead caved inward, crushing her eye sockets. The white eyes popped. The infected woman clawed blindly at Tom. Her too-wide mouth kept laughing with a maddening, witch’s cackle. He moved behind the now-blind woman, pressed the barrel to the back of her head, and pulled the trigger. Her face blew outward. She fell to her knees as if kneeling for communion, her entire face an open, dripping maw. The laughter finally stopped. Tom kicked her with a boot, and she fell forward against the stage."


…… aaaaweeeeesome, right?! Get this book right now, read it and enjoy. I did.

Xx Cara

The Fire Song
by K. Bannerman

The Fire Song by K. Bannerman is an excellent read. Gods and half giants who walk amongst men, Hell, earthquakes, magical harps, and mystery all packed into a short well written novel. The female protagonist, Maja Turner, is easy to like and identify with. I'd like to meet her actually, in my head we're already friends. She's a shaman who owns a bookstore. That is literally my dream in life, both actually, so I was crapping myself a bit as I was reading it. As you learn more about her, she is witty, strong and very mellow, even in the face of danger and uncertainty; she is a superhero really. Maja is even unique in how she deals with her husband's infidelity. Here's a sweet little tidbit from the text (Maja speaking about her husband Nick):

    "I think it’s cute, in a strange way, how he sneaks around like a little boy who thinks he’s being clever.  The first affair broke my heart, but when I put the pieces back together, I found I’d lost the part that had adored Nick.  Without that little shard, it was easy to like him, sleep with him, and live with him, even with the knowledge that he was screwing around behind my back.  If he wasn’t going to be faithful, it didn’t mean we couldn’t still be friends." 

Very interesting indeed.

The characters are well developed and interesting, especially Maja's grandmother, Aiti, who's all sassy and mischievous. But what I really love is how Maja lives between the world of humans and this overlapping spirit world that slowly reveals itself throughout the book. Anytime I find myself wanting to leave my reality to live in one created in a book I know I have found a winning story. The Fire Song left me wanting to crawl into Maja's world and not just to live with her but AS her. Well done K. Bannerman, well done.


But before I continue, I'd like to suggest you download the ebook before you continue reading so I don't spoil anything for you.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~  ~~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~ ~ ~ ~

... and welcome back. Sweet read eh? Glad you downloaded it aren't you? Gunna listen to momma Cara from now on, right? ;)


So let me continue... Maja's magical harp is damaged, and the mystery builds as we try to figure out who did it and why. Magical doesn't quite cut it though, this harp is one powerful little instrument when used by the right person. Here's a bit more info on Pike the harp:

    "Well, my little Nordic witch, let me let you in on a little secret.  It isn’t just the playing of your precious Pike that starts the war, but WHAT you play on it.  While you’ve been banging out cheap imitations of 80’s love ballads and 90’s grunge rock on these precious strings, we’ve been honing our talents at perfecting the Songs of the Dead, which will split the world in two
if played upon an instrument of magical inclinations."

So you see how losing the harp has major potential for some disastrous consequences.
But this has left me with one small problem K... (Pun intended). Is there a sequel? Can I read it now? How about now? What's going to happen next with Maja, Nick, Luka, and... well.... you know (Hugh?!) I may have to call you personally and find out! I will not give away the ending or what happened, but I will say that it has left us with a few holes that need to be filled with juicy pieces of long descriptive narrative. The sooner they can be filled the better (you knew this was gunna turn dirty at some point).

As I sign off I'll leave you with one last quote from the book, I hope it resonates with you as it did with me:

                                                     “Trust me, my grand-daughter, the shaman
                                        singer,” said Aiti, “Every end is only a beginning in disguise.”