Teeth: Vampire Tales edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling

Synopsis

Fascinated by vampires?

Then feast on nineteen tantalizing, bite-sized tales exploring the intersections between the living, dead, and undead.

The vampires in these stories range from romantic to chilling to gleeful—and touch on nearly every emotion in between. The one thing they have in common is their desire for blood. . . .

I couldn't wait to get a copy of Teeth. Firstly, it has an amazing list of authors involved: Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Cassandra Clare, Garth Nix. Secondly, it promised to give some alternate views to the type of vampire that we've become used to of late. The introduction by the editors of the book, Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling is a fascinating account of the popularity of the vampire genre and the Gothic through the ages from local myths, through Buffy to the Twilight phenomenon.

It's not often that a short story leaves me with tears in my eyes but Flying by Delia Sherman did just that. The story follows eighteen-year-old Lenka, a former trapeze artist who's recovering from leukaemia. Her family were at the height of their popularity when she fell ill. As a result her brothers and their wives headed off to work while her parents settled down in Cleveland and worked regular jobs to help pay for her care. Now in remission, Lenka is keen to get back to circus life although she knows she isn't strong enough yet. She manages to persuade her parents to take her to the Cirque des Chauve-souris. Once there Lenka watches the show with a professional eye - seeing how it could be improved but aching to be a part of their show.

The next day she runs away, leaving her parents a note, and joins them. Too weak to perform she deals with the front of house responsibilities. As time goes on she discovers that there's more to her new family than she thought. I loved Lenka - she has an inner core of steel and a determination to claim back her life. Hating the fact that she's become so helpless and dependant her act of running away is more than just a whim. She knows that she belongs in the air and all she wants is to be strong enough to fly again. By the end of the story I was both happy and heartbroken. I want to read a novel about Lenka as soon as possible. I'm aware that'll probably never happen but I want to know more!

I can't finish this mini-review without mentioning Vampire Weather by Garth Nix. I'm a massive fan of the Sabriel trilogy. The worlds and landscapes that he created are forever in my memory. Vampire Weather tells the story of Amos who lives in what appears to be an Amish community - cut off from the rest of civilisation. When the fog rolls in off the mountains they live in fear of vampires using the weather to attack so hide in their homes. However, Amos meets a girl at the postbox and she changes his life forever. Atmospheric and memorable, I was a bag of nerves every time Amos stepped outside his house.

If you want a different kind of vampire then please check this anthology out. The authors involved have put together a thoughtful, terrifying and satisfying book that's a keeper.

Blood & Flowers by Penny Blubaugh

Three years ago, Persia ran away from her drug-addict parents and found a home with the Outlaws, an underground theater troupe. This motley band of mortals and fey, puppeteers and actors, becomes the loving family Persia never had, and soon Persia not only discovers a passion for theater but also falls in love with Nicholas, one of the other Outlaws. Life could not be more perfect.


Until an enemy with a grudge makes an unfair accusation against the group and forces them to flee the mortal world and hide in the neighboring realm of Faerie. But in Faerie, all is not flowers and rainbows—with bloodthirsty trolls, a hostile monarchy, and a dangerous code of magic, the fey world is not quite the safe haven the Outlaws had hoped for. And they must decide what’s more important: protecting their right to perform or protecting themselves.

In Blood & Flowers we meet 18 year old Persia who at an early age ran away from home and is only now starting to settle in with her "new" found family, the boys and girls in the Outlaws troupe.  A group of puppeteers and storytellers, their oddness and quirkiness suits Persia who feels very much the square peg in a round hole everywhere else. They aren't all human though, and quite a bit of their magical puppeteering is down to actual magic.  Faerie magic.

Persia's voice is different.  It took me a long time to get used to it and I admit to it not being my favourite style of voice, but it is interesting and engaging and quirky.  Through her we are shown a world where things are not very pleasant.  Drug use is rife, there is a lot of political corruption and things aren't being done by those in charge for people who live on the fringes of society.  And this is where the Outlaws find their voice.  They create magical shows to send up the establishment, to reveal what is everyone tries to hide, and see it as their duty to enlighten those who do not see what is right before them.

When an old enemy from the two "founders" of the Outlaws shows up and uses his skills as journalist and general main nasty, to make life difficult for the troupe, they decide to travel over to Faerie because surely things can't go as badly wrong there as here, right?

I liked that the faeries were twisty, clever creatures.  Darker than what we've seen for some time.  The threat they pose to human society and to the established order of things, is talked about in the novel.  They are seen as outcasts, as aberrations, as odd and strange and if they are revealed to all of humanity, to come and live in the human world, there is bound to be trouble.  Of course there are those who will welcome them, but there are others who will want to see them shunned, as they are dangerous things from long ago that still scare us.

The book is not at all big yet it tackles important elements such as friendship and family and it shows how family may not end up being blood relatives either, but a group of people who get you and who understand and love you, through all your faults and failings and peculiarities. 

It took me a long while to read Blood & Flowers, purely because I wasn't sure about the voice, and I am still not sure.  Elements of it worked really well but I found myself skipping sections, especially where the main character felt she had to make lists to describe things.  It did not ring true, yet I know of some people and friends who do exactly this in real life.

Also, come on.  How gorgeous is that cover?  It has some fantastic elements and I would recommend it for a read but would love to hear what others have thought about it too.  It's a keeper, especially as I am keen to read it again in a few months' time to see if my perception of it has changed.

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Synopsis

Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.

But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

I'm not sure if it was the (gorgeous) cover or the great title that drew me in but I had a set idea of what Paranormalcy would be like. After reading it it wasn't at all what I expected but that's not a bad thing at all. The quote on the cover by Lisa McMann describes it as, "refreshing," and it's certainly different. This difference is evident from the first sentence where Evie is laughing at the cape and widow's peak of a vampire in a grave yard, she can see through his glamour to the withered corpse behind it. Evie's an orphan and due to her glamour-stripping talent has been brought up by an agency which controls supernaturals. She catches and tags the supernaturals she discovers to prevent them from being a threat. Vampires, for example, have an anklet applied which inserts holy water into them if they attempt to bite someone.

I must be honest and say that Evie did annoy me slightly in the first few chapters. She controls the supernaturals with her taser which she calls Tasey which is pink and covered in rhinestones. Later on she's given a knife with a hot pink handle which also sort of irked me for some reason. Other than the use of Tasey she has very few self defence skills. I get that Evie's girly, likes shopping and would rather not be doing the work of the agency but I couldn't understand why she was so poorly prepared. However, I found it difficult to let this get in the way of my enjoyment of Paranormalcy. Evie is quite endearing and I sympathised with her situation; trapped in a life that she didn't choose and without any family. She has a fabulous best friend in the form of mermaid, Lish, but apart from that she's very alone.

Evie can see through glamours but there's more to her. She's always incredibly cold and is hearing poems in her sleep. In the outside world paranormals are being killed. Whatever it is that is doing the killing, it's able to slaughter everything from vampires to hags and werewolves. Evie meets a paranormal called Lend and for the first time gets an insight into the life that she's only seen on TV - that of an American teenager. Alongside all of this is the danger of Evie's ex - a faerie called Reth. Evie's constantly trying to warn people that faeries can't be ruled by an organisation but no-one believes her.

The book becomes gripping from the middle onwards when Evie's goals become clear and she becomes more proactive. The way that paranormals are presented is fresh and interesting. Also, Evie herself is intriguing and her true nature is not something which I've come across before. The ending is satisfying but there are plenty of questions and story strands to look forward to in the sequel. Paranormalcy is both well written, fresh and definitely worth reading.

Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books by Francesca Lia Block

Review Contains Some Spoilers!

Synopsis

Love is a dangerous angel. . . .

In five luminous novels, acclaimed writer Francesca Lia Block spins a saga of interwoven lives and beating hearts. These postmodern fairy tales take us to a magical Los Angeles, a place where life is a mystery, pain can lead to poetry, strangers become intertwined souls, and everyone is searching for the most beautiful and dangerous angel of all: love.

I was watching Story Siren's In My Mailbox one Sunday when she mentioned this book. Cassandra Clare had tweeted Kristi that it was these novels that inspired her to write.

As I'm big lover of Cassandra Clare I decided to check them out. This is a re-release of all five novels in one book: Weetzie Bat, Witch Baby, Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys, Missing Angel Juan and Baby Be-Bop. The above cover is available on Book Depository or on Kindle for those in the UK.

I'm not sure what I was expecting but the first few pages surprised me. The style took a little getting used to; it's very lyrical yet sparse. Things are, "slinkster-cool," and people are actually called, "My Secret Agent Lover Man." Probably because of this, each page is rich with description. Even if I wasn't sure what the words meant, the meaning was woven in. In the first book Weetzie (a girl) and Dirk (a boy) meet at school and become close friends. What follows is a fast-forward of their lives, partners and children with magic on every page. Their lives are nonconformist and wonderful but underneath the sugary surface is a dark reality. I wasn't quite sure of the era that the books cover but I felt it was from the 1960's to the 1990's. The author hasn't shied away from the realities of life such as HIV/AIDS, homelessness, child abduction, drug abuse and a million other subjects.

I think my favourite of the five books (although it's so hard to choose and ask me on another day and I'll probably say another) is Missing Angel Juan. The character Witch Baby has one thing that she hold as precious - her boyfriend Angel Juan. When he wants to see more of the world and move to New York she follows and tries to find him. She stays in the apartment of Weetzie's dead father. What follows is a gorgeous yet heartbreaking story of her search. She's aided by the ghost of Charlie Bat and I loved the way that he's more of a character in the books after his death. By helping her he starts to understand more about his own life. It takes place over Christmas and New Year which gives it an extra element of the mystical.

Having said that, Baby Be-Bop is the perfect ending story. It's about Dirk before he meets Weetzie which gives the collection a circular feel. It covers the difficulties he has with his sexuality in such a touching way. We, the reader, already know how his life will end and it makes you want to reach out to him. Again, the ugly side of life is never far from the surface but these books also give hope; for every single thing you see which may make you despair there's a treasure waiting to be discovered.

I lost count of all the magical creatures which run through the stories; witches, fairies, ghosts and demons are everywhere. I would recommend reading with some food on hand too as the descriptions of meals are everywhere from tiny snacks to huge celebration dinners. I'm writing this review with some Doritos to make sure.

I actually kept a note of some of my favourite lines and that's not something I do with many books: -

"My heart is like a teacup covered with hairline cracks. I feel like I have to walk real carefully so it won't get shaken and just all shatter and break."

"I lie on the floor listening for the broken sound inside like when you shake your thermos that fell on the cement."
(Both quotes from Book Four: Missing Angel Juan)

Or

"He was smiling, but his eyes were like dark corners."
(Book One: Weetzie Bat)

I love that last one. Simple words but powerfully put together. Dangerous Angels is a beautiful book full of dark corners. I think I'll need to read it again to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingstone

Synopsis:

Kelley Winslow is living her dream. Seventeen years old, she has moved to New York City and started work with a theatre company. Sure, she's an understudy for the Avalon Players, a third-tier repertory company so far off-Broadway it might as well be in Hoboken, but things are looking up—the lead has broken her ankle and Kelley's about to step into the role of Titania the Fairy Queen in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Faeries are far more real than Kelley thinks, though, and a chance encounter in Central Park with a handsome young man will plunge her into an adventure she could never have imagined.

For Sonny Flannery, one of the Janus Guards charged by Auberon, the King of Winter, with watching over the gate into the lands of Faerie that lies within Central Park, the pretty young actress presents an enigma. Strong and willful, she sparks against his senses like a firecracker and he can't get her out of his mind. As Hallowe'en approaches and the Samhain Gate opens, Sonny and Kelley find themselves drawn to each other—and into a terrible plot that could spell disaster for both New York and Faerie alike.

Ever since Holly Black reinvented fairies for me a few years ago in Tithe (and subsequently Valiant and Ironside) I've been a sucker for well written novels with a bit of fae magic thrown in.

Wondrous Strange has more than just a big of fae magic thrown in. The book sizzles with magic. Kelley's character in WS is that of the sweet ingenue who is determined to make something of herself in New York. We identify with Kelley because all of us has wanted something strong enough to move heaven and earth to get it and even if it means putting up with overly dramatic producers and tantrum throwing cast members of a acting troupe, well then, she's up for that too.

When she lands the role of Titania in the production, instead of wowing everyone with her acting ability, Kelley manages to make a complete mess of things and she escapes to the peace and quiet of Central Park to rehearse the role. This is where Sonny hears / sees her for the first time and he's inexplicably drawn to her. But as one of the guards watching the portal between the human and fae worlds, he has other, scarier, clawed and tentacled things to worry about at first. Even if the image of Kelley keeps reappearing in his mind.

Kelley and Sonny's romance is slow in developing and it's very sweet - also quite amusing. Kelley is both fierce and confused as to why this strange boy from the park alternately seems to be stalking her, saving her, scaring the life out of her.

Also, Kelley has a problem: after almost drowning in Central Park, she made it home to the small apartment she shared with her room-mate and unexpectedly finds that the horse she saved followed her home and seems to really like hanging out in their bathroom...and uh, using their toiletries.

Written with great aplomb and with a sense of bubbling humour, Wondrous Strange, is a very fun read and I laughed out loud more than once. Kelley's not what she seems, no one seems to be what they seems and as the story unravels, only to be put back together, we are left with a solidly concluded book that has a few frayed tassles left over to segue neatly into the sequel: Darklight.

I don't mind this as both Kelley and Sonny are characters I'd like to spend my time with and their story is fresh and engaging. Also, those covers - tell me you don't want books that look this gorgeous?

Find Lesley Livingstone's website here. Wondrous Strange has not yet been published here in the UK but it is available on Amazon and through The Book Depository.