Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: The Laughing Corpse, Volume 1: Animator (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: The Laughing Corpse #1) by Laurell K. Hamilton, Ron Lim (Illustrator)

Anita Blake is back in the second volume of Marvel’s comic adaptation of Laurell K. Hamilton’s bestselling series of novels. What would you do for a million dollars? Would you resurrect a two-and-one-half-century old corpse? Harold Gaynor poses just that question to Animator and part-time vampire hunter, Anita Blake… Plus, some crime scenes are even too horrible for a vampire slayer, and the worse they are, the more questions they raise.

Anita Blake: The Laughing Corpse – Book One #1-5  Hardcover, Graphic Novel, 120 pages Published May 13th 2009 by Marvel Comics (first published January 1st 2008)

ISBN  0785136320 (ISBN13: 9780785136323)

In one of her more intense and gory stories, The Laughing Corpse, Anita Blake is offered millions of dollars to raise a very old zombie from the dead. She (being her stubborn self) turns down the job. By in doing so, she puts into motion several different events that eventually lead to a tough choice; give in and accept the job, or lose her life. The longer the person is dead, the more blood it takes to awaken them. As the person in question here is 283 years dead, she must sacrifice a human to be able to raise the zombie. This she refuses to do. Although she has killed humans before, it has always been in self defense. She sticks to her decision and is rather adamant and threatening when pushed.

After refusing the job, she begins to have unwelcome visitors at her house. Not only that, but as she is on retainer with the local police department, she’s pulled into an unusual murder that has taken place not far from town. There is a creature killing innocent people and a 3 year old has gone missing.

This series of books (The Laughing Corpse, Animator, Executioner, Necromancer) is more gory and intense than others in the series. Anita is pushed to her limits with no sign of a vacation in sight. With a full time job raising zombies for clients through Animator’s Inc, and her investigative work finding the creatures killing innocent people for the police, she rarely sleeps or eats. We don’t seen her in any type of type of normal relationship. It’s all business with her.

After turning down another offer from the Vodun priestess, Anita gets in deeper than ever and she starts sleeping with a gun by her side. Anita seems to have so much on her plate already, then the new master of the city (Vampire master, that is!) Jean-Claude, enters. Anita and Jean-Claude have a history together. He has marked her twice already and is planning on making her his human slave. They have a deep connection from the previous bites and Anita is bitter and incredibly anxious to disconnect their newly made mind bond. She tries to escape him and his games but no matter how hard she tries, he will not let her.

The graphic novels maintain a good balance between dialogue and illustrations and the story keeps up an intense pace.

Reviewed by Cels Jansink

When the body of a famous Hollywood director is found covered in an occult tattoo and embalmed in the cement floor of his own film set, N.T.A trainee Kannon Dupree is hired to return to 1939 to find out just who put him there. Unfortunately, this particular director had a habit of making enemies where ever he went and the list of suspects is long and Kannon’s time short. While on the set of “Gone with the Wind” and mixing with Hollywood’s elite, she stumbles across a disturbing mystery with its roots stretching all the way back to the Civil War. Among the bright lights and superstars, Kannon must decipher the truth before its too late, after all, time travel can be murder, as any time-travelling detective knows only too well.

“Hoodwink” is the second in the “Kannon Dupree- Timestalker” series and has certainly taken the drama to a whole new level.  This series combines the best of the mystery genre with an added dash of sci-fi and the supernatural to constantly keep your heart racing and mind puzzling.

The plot is an absolute twisting and turning delight and the cast of characters so diverse and realistic, you’ll feel you’ve jumped the portal right along with Kannon. I found myself so deeply immersed in the action and unwinding mystery that I had a hard time putting it down. I could have quite happily climbed into the pages and given Kannon a helping hand myself; I was on tenterhooks the whole journey. Not only is this so vividly rich and high- octane level drama, there was just something so deeply compelling about the playground Roberts’ has created, I wanted in on grilling those suspects too.

Roberts’ has paid great attention to detail of not only the Civil War but Gone with the Wind as well. Even if you have no idea about that period or the story, details have been interwoven with such skill that you will emerge from the story feeling enlightened and impressed by the realism it adds to the plot.

Gone with the Wind is still such an iconic film and literary creation and the array of stars from the period such as Gable, Leigh and Lombard are still names that are recognised today. I was a little apprehensive that the central mystery would get a little lost behind all the glitz and glamour. I worried about absolutely nothing. Roberts’ has created not only a striking and strong “voiced” lead who grabs a hold of the reader’s attention and keeps you thick of the action right from the beginning, but she has woven the golden age of Hollywood into a stunning setting without overshadowing our quest one bit.

This truly is mystery at its finest and Kannon a fresh new breed of P.I. I would ideally recommended you read the first of Kannon’s adventures- “Gladiatrix” for Kannon’s full backstory and to understand our lead’s motives all the more, but at the same time they both stand on their own as independent reads.

Hoodwink is a definite 5/5 star read and I can’t wait to see where Kannon leads us next.

Hoodwink- Rhonda Roberts

Harper Voyager

ISBN:978-0-7322-8856-3

562 Pages

Reviewed by Mandy Wrangles

Tanyana is special. Her career as an architect – a pionner – makes her one of the most highly regarded people in society.  By manipulating pions, the particles that hold all matter together through a blend of ritual and innate talent, Tanyana and her team are working on a giant construction; a prestigious statue named Grandeur in the city of Movac-Under-Keeper. And then something goes wrong. Tanyana is left injured, humiliated and without the ability to see or manipulate pions. She is cast into a world quite the opposite to what she knows – that of a lowly Debris collector.

Tanyana is denied justice at every turn. No one wants to know or listen to her; no one wants to be the one to help her find who – or what – caused her fall from grace. Her critical circle, the nine skilled binders who worked below and in harmony with Tanyana have abandoned her, and sinister undercurrents sweep and still her every movement.  Money ebbs from her bank account, the mysterious collection suit (and its creator) she finds is now part of her physical being is without explanation or an instruction booklet. Blank-faced ‘Puppet Men’ are watching, but no one can tell her why, or who they are. Not only is she is shunned by the society she once knew, she’s not exactly accepted with open arms by the debris crew she’s allocated to. Tanyana is alone, lost and powerless.

Debris collectors are the lowest of the low in the country of Varsnia, but without them, debris – the waste product left behind by pions – threatens to cause some serious damage. It’s when Tanyana finds her feet as a collector that this story really amped up for me. The relationships between the collection team are cautious and real, they trust each other but are innately suspicious of Tanyana – she represents everything they’re not. Each team member is drawn extremely well, and it’s easy to care about them very quickly, particularly the mystifying and childish Lad. The relationship Lad has with his brother Kichlan is an especially beautiful and intriguing bond; one that I’m looking forward to learning more about.

Debris is an exceptional novel. I have to admit, it’s taken me a long time since I finished reading to write this review. There are so many layers (yep,
just like an onion only tastier) I wasn’t sure where to begin. The physical aspect of Tanyana’s fall is the tip of the iceberg; Anderton’s observations of society and class system – and then the layers within that system – are written in a way that stays with you long after the story is finished. This is a story that sits somewhere in between fantasy and science fiction with a good dose of steampunk thrown in, but the themes covered and revelations about humanity are decidedly real. I’m a huge fan of a well-built world, and Debris ticks every box. The reader is treated intelligently, there are no over explanations to the workings of this world, just enough to keep you questioning and looking for the drip-fed answers while the action moves at a fast pace around you.

Debris is the first novel from Australian Jo Anderton, but not her first published work; she has a serious sackful of short fiction credits to her name. I for one will be sourcing those short stories to tide me over until the next instalment in The Veiled Worlds (Suited), is available later this year. I can’t wait to see what else Anderton’s  remarkable imagination has dreamed up.

Debris by Jo Anderton

Published by Angry Robot

Paperback – 408 pages

ISBN – 978-0-85766-153-1