What I've Been Reading:'Lying Season' by Karina Halle

The fourth instalment in Karina Halle's 'Experiment in Terror' series, 'Lying Season' sees ghost-hunters Perry Palomino and Dex Foray investigate a supposedly haunted Mental Institute in Dex's hometown of Seattle. Which of course involves Perry staying with Dex and his vile girlfriend Jenn for a week. Cue seriously awkward scenes involving Jenn's atrocious attitude and self-love. 

We learn a lot more about what makes Dex tick in this novel. Scouring his bookcase for interesting reading material, Perry comes across Dex's stash of meds, hidden in a hollowed out book no less - I love that guy's style, weed goes in an unlocked drawer, medication must be hidden from his girlfriend... Oh Dex you get more complex, the more we get to know you. And more lovable to boot. Finding his various medications prompts Perry to find out more about Dex's mental health (or lack of) and results in a rather dodgy experiment that I don't want to spoil for you all.

We see some more of Perry's history in this book as well. Through dream sequences we are introduced to the 'accident' that has only been hinted at until now and we begin to see just how pervasive Perry's ghosts are. 

And we are introduced to yet another gruesome ghoul. This time, somebody we've heard about before. Remember Abby, Dex's ex? Well we get to see her in the rotting flesh as she haunts Dex's apartment and gets all threatening towards Perry. That girl creeped me out and I'm kinda hoping she makes an appearance in future instalments. I don't think we've seen everything she has to give. Oh and if you love Creepy Clown Lady as much as I do, you'll be happy to know she makes an appearance or two in 'Lying Season'.

Overall, I enjoyed this fourth novel in what is turning out to be an awesome series but I was a little disappointed by the lack of scares. I was itching to read this book as soon as I found out it involved a haunted asylum - yeah, I have a thing for creepy old mental institutes. But there just wasn't enough about the hospital to keep me completely pleased. Although the guy in the padded cell was bloody horrible. This books focus was more on the up and down relationship burgeoning between Dex and Perry and for me, that meant it lacked a bit of the gripping, nail-biting tension that the previous books had. But nevertheless it was a bloody brilliant book and I can't wait to read the next one.

3/5 (purely for not being scary enough!)

What I've Been Reading:'Dead Sky Morning' by Karina Halle

I adore the Experiment in Terror series by Karina Halle, I really do. It has everything. A kick-ass female protagonist, her snarky looney tunes colleague, ghostly goings-on, some seriously cool locations (a former leper colony for example) and a creepy clown lady. I mean what more could you want from a series? Plus, I think one of the things I really like about these books is that they're not just another vampire series. They're much more rooted in reality, in the real world. Okay, I know there are ghosts. But who the heck knows if ghosts are real... Perry and Dex might just have hit on something.

Anyway, 'Dead Sky Morning' is the third installment in the series, and for me it was a return to the things I loved about the first book in the series - real danger, some interesting history, and of course that old sexual tension between Perry and Dex. And without getting too close to spoiler territory, lets just say the sexual tension gets cranked up to the next level in this novel.

For the fourth episode of their web series, Dex is dragging Perry off to D'Arcy Island, a former Chinese leper colony. Now, intrigued by the story, I googled it (yeah I'm a geek, so shoot me) and discovered that D'Arcy Island is as real as they come. Which of course makes me love the book even more for being factually accurate...

So, Perry and Dex take a boat out to D'Arcy Island and anchor the boat as securely as they can manage on an island that is notorious for its dangerous approach and lack of safe docking area. And they hike to a campsite on the other side of the island. You know they're heading for trouble when the killer raccoons appear, or possibly before then when Perry sees someone watching her from the shores of the supposedly empty island. But then it wouldn't be an Experiment in Terror novel if there wasn't some peril involved.

And in this book it comes in the form of Mary, probably the creepiest damn dead woman I've ever had the displeasure of meeting in a novel. The ghost of a missionary woman, she has her own dirty secrets that keep her bound to the island and intent on stopping Perry and Dex from getting away. But we can't forget the mysterious coffins that wash up on shore, and the bizarre flash-mob Deer. The tension in this novel comes in wave after wave, cranking up notch by notch until you can hardly bear to read on. It was nail-biting, eye-covering, lip-chewing tension. And I loved it!

4/5

What I've Been Reading:'A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold' by George R.R Martin

The books in this series just keep getting better and better! As always, when writing a review of a book that is part of a longer series, I'm going to find it difficult to say too much without edging into the territory of the spoiler, so I'll try and keep this short and sweet. However, if you haven't yet reached this part of the series, you might want to skip this review as it will reveal things you don't already know.

This instalment picks up exactly where the last one left off, mainly because the two 'A Storm of Swords' books were originally published as one larger volume. 

Robb Stark is the King in the North but he has yet to deal with Lord Walder Frey, whom he slighted by choosing a bride for love rather than marrying the Frey daughter he had bound himself to back when the war was just beginning. Arya Stark is desperately trying to find her way home to her family but keeps finding herself in all manor of trouble, while her sister Sansa is still at the mercy of the Lannister's after being forced to marry Tyrion Lannister aka the Imp. Meanwhile Bran Stark is searching for the three eyed crow beyond the wall and his half brother Jon Snow is busy infiltrating the Wildlings as they attempt to breach the wall and make their way into the seven kingdoms.

Daenarys, on the other hand is busy building her army and liberating slaves as she makes her slow journey through the slave trading cities, always with invasion of Westeros at the front of her mind. Stannis Baratheon is busy with Melisandre, concocting ways of winning this war and poor Samwell Tarly is making his way across the frozen waste with Gilly and her newborn baby, desperately hoping to make it back to the Wall in time. And Jaime Lannister, that golden haired hero has found himself freed of the burden of his fighting hand and is going to have to re-build his life once he returns to King's Landing.

And then there's Joffrey, the character we all love to hate. He's still acting the petulant child with too much power and not enough restraint. His Grandfather, the Hand of the King is busy trying to reign him in but for how long can he hold him back. Can he stop him from becoming the next 'Mad king'?

The events of this novel are perhaps the most gruesome so far. There are deaths galore - many of which you will not have seen coming and will probably make you rant and rage at the book. This book is full of shocks and surprise twists and I think it's probably the best so far. I feel like it's definitely sent the series spinning off in a direction completely different to the one I had previously envisaged. I'm excited to get cracking with the next instalment and can't wait to see what evil little plot bombs Mr Martin comes up with next. But please, don't kill off anymore of my favourite characters. I don't think I could bear much more.

5/5

What I've Been Reading:'The Benson (Experiment in Terror #2.5)' by Karina Halle

'The Benson' is a 50 page novella in the 'Experiment in Terror' series by Karina Halle. I'll admit that it was a short, easy read but that definitely did not detract from just how good it turned out to be.

Perry Palomino and Dex Foray are spending the night at The Benson, an up-market hotel in Portland, Oregon. There have been a whole host of ghost sightings at the hotel and the intrepid duo are determined to catch something on film. Armed with their usual camera plus an infrared camera for Perry this time, they check out the ghostly goings on at the hotel.

There are a few creepy moments in this novella and a clever little twist involving a maid (I'm trying not to say too much). All in all, I'd say it was the perfect accompaniment to the series, and it would make a great starting point for anybody who hasn't yet read any of the series.

4/5

What I've Been Reading:'Red Fox (Experiment in Terror #2)' by Karina Halle

'Red Fox' is the second novel in Karina Halle's 'Experiment in Terror' series and continues the story of Perry and Dex's investigations into the paranormal world. This installment sees Perry and Dex travelling to New Mexico to the home of Will and Sarah, a Navajo couple who are being taunted by some kind of supernatural entity. Rocks are falling on their roof at night, their sheep are turning up dead, mutilated beyond recognition and creepy animals walk through their house at night. After Dex's College friend Maximus, a self-proclaimed Ghost Whisperer tries to deal with the problem and fails, he calls in the big guns, and Perry and Dex turn up in the town of Red Fox with their video cameras, determined to solve the mystery.

As with the first novel in the series there was plenty of sexual tension between Perry and Dex plus a good shot of the crazies from a medication-withdrawing Dex. The motif of secrecy, of hiding things ran through the book, adding a deeper layer to Perry and Dex's relationship and also providing the constant question of who was safe to trust and who might just be ready to rip your throat out.

This was a gripping read full of Native American mythology and some clever answers to some of the stories mysteries. It wasn't as full out scary as the first book but it didn't really matter as the novel was strong enough without it. If you haven't already checked out Karina Halle, then do it, please.

4/5 

What I've Been Reading:'A Storm of Swords Part 1: Steel and Snow' by George R.R. Martin

I don't really want to say too much about this novel as I think it would be very easy to trip into the realm of plot spoilers. What I do want to say is that I adored this installment in the series. These books just get better and better and just when you think you have your mind made up about a character, your opinion of them is bound to change. Something will come to light or they'll reveal a part of their personality you didn't know existed and you'll start to think of them differently.

This is a fantastic series that i wish I had the talent or drive to write. I can't wait to read the next part.

5/5

What I've Been Reading:'The Wind Through The Keyhole' by Stephen King

The Wind Through the Keyhole

There are a lot of people out there who claim Stephen King to be their favourite author yet have never read any of his books. What these people mean is that they have seen the films based on his books and enjoyed them. These are the people who make me loath to call King my favourite author. But I'm going to be brave and admit it. I <3 Stephen King. He's a legend and I would love to have even half of his talent.

My girlfriend is also a huge Stephen King fan and we actually have nearly two shelves of our giant bookcase reserved for just his books. And we don't own even half of them. Although our goal is to eventually own everything he's ever had published. 

It was actually my girlfriend who got me into King's 'Dark Tower' series. At 7 books long, it was already a ridiculously long story, but one which I loved every word of. Each book was better than the last and pulled me deeper into the world of Roland Deschain of Gilead, Gunslinger and last in the line of Arthur Eld. When I closed the last book in the series, I expected that to be the last we'd hear of Roland and his Ka-tet. But I was wrong. This year saw the publication of 'The Wind Through the Keyhole', a 'Dark Tower' novel which can technically stand alone but should be shelved between books 4 and 5. King has described the novel as number 4.5 and it is. It fills in a gap in Roland's journey and really in my eyes, its purpose is more to flesh out Roland's history than to add to the telling of his current journey in search of the Dark Tower.

I read this book in roughly two days. And I couldn't put it down. It sucked me in straight away, even though I haven't read any of the Dark Tower series in well over a year. I instantly reconnected with the characters I had loved so much and spent a ridiculous amount of time with while reading the other books in the series (at least two months of reading time?). 

The structure of this novel is interesting. It basically amounts to a story within a story within a story. I know that sounds confusing but it really wasn't. While hunkering down from an extreme storm known as a Starkblast, Roland entertains his companions with a story from his past, a story that reveals a lot about his character and adds to the history revealed to us in 'Wizard and Glass'. As the story he is telling progresses, he remembers and repeats a story his mother told him as a child, a story called 'The Wind Through the Keyhole', a story that is so enchanting that it sucks you in and makes you forget Roland and his band of companions waiting out the storm.

I loved this novel. It's King at his best. And it made me want to re-read the other Dark Tower novels. (Something I would do if I didn't already have so many unread books on my shelves to get through.) I sort of want to force everyone I know to read this book. I want them to see how incredible King is as a story-weaver. People think of him as primarily a Horror writer but I think his best novels are those that veer away from that genre; the 'Dark Tower novels', 'The Eye of the Dragon', 'Misery' and 'The Green Mile'. What I love about Stephen King is the way he gets at the dark side of human nature and exposes it. I think that's where the creep factor of his books lies - the way he shows us the monsters we could be if we had taken different steps in life, if things had worked out differently. 

As I've already said, I think Stephen King is a legend. I hope I've inspired you to go out and read one of his books. And I hope it changes your world.

What I've Been Reading: 'Silent Sand' by Sam Stone

'Silent Sand' by Sam Stone

If you've read my post about meeting Sam Stone, you'll already know just how much I love her 'Vampire Gene' books.'Silent Sand' is the fifth and latest in the sequence. I finished reading it this afternoon and felt the urge to blog about it instantly. I wanted to share my thoughts with the world and spread the word about these books in general.

A lot of the time, when I'm reading a sequence of books that involve the same set of characters, I tend to get a little bored after a while. It's easy for characters to become stale, for plots to become repetitive. But this has not been the case with Sam Stone's books. With each novel, the characters become more alive for me, more 3D in my mind. Each instalment teaches us more about the characters and the world they inhabit. And at the end of each novel, we're left wanting more.

'Silent Sand' explores the nature of the Vampire Gene further, dipping into new ideas of how Vampirism may be spread. I won't give it away but there's a really inspired plot point to do with a certain bodily fluid that I really didn't see coming. It also explores the idea of how those with similar but not identical genetics to those who carry the Vampire Gene might react to being bitten. The result is a really clever story that expands the possibilities of the world we have come to know in the first four books.

I enjoyed catching up with Lucrezia Borgia and her life as Lucy Collins the Haematologist (I have a little fondness for Lucrezia. Plus, I love the Science-y stuff that she gets herself involved in). I also loved the flashbacks that Gabriele showed us of his life in the Paris of Louis XV. That's the kind of depth of character I like in books.

One of the things I really like about these books is the way Sam Stone experiments with Point of View. She switches between first person narration by Gabriele and a third person perspective which allows us to see more of what is going on than Gabriele would possibly be able to tell us. It's brave, not a lot of writer's attempt this kind of thing but I love it. It keeps the writing lively and the plot moving forward.

All in all, I loved this book, even the torturous cliff-hanger of an ending which I had to read three times before I was willing to accept was actually how I would be forced to leave this book.

So of course, now I'm impatiently awaiting the next instalment. Perhaps I'll use the time to re-visit the previous four books...