Winner of the...

to Baldly Go giveaway was...

Renee

Drop me an e-mail and I'll get your copy of Sweet and Deadly on its way.

Meanwhile if anyone comes across some excellent balding/skull trimmed heroes. I still want to know.

So far we have:-

Fiction

Zsadist
D
Tom Paoletti


Movies/TV

Patrick Stewart (Jean Luc Picard on ST: TNG)
Timothy Olyphant as Agent 47 in the film Hitman
Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor in Smallville
Richard T. Jones (of Judging Amy and Terminator : the SC Chronicles)
Lawrence Fishburne as Morpheus in the Matrix

It's a pretty short list for the fiction guys.

How Did That Get There?

Do you ever look at the books on your wishlist and wonder how they got there? Most of the books on my wishlist I've put there as I've read recommendations on various blogs - usually Lurv a la Mode as KMont reviews a lot of UF.

Sometimes by the time the publication date arrives I've completely forgotten what intrigued me about the book and why I put it on my wishlist. I reason to myself that there must have been SOMETHING about the book that interested me.

At the moment the following books have me somewhat bemused by their appearance...

And Falling, Fly - Skyler White

Unclean Spirits - M.L.N. Hanover

The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay

I must have put them on there for a reason, I guess it will be fun when I get them to find out what it was. :)

DIK Challenge Review - Soulless by Gail Carriger

I'm on something of a role with my DIK picks. My February choice is Soulless by Gail Carriger one of Katiebabs picks (and I think also recommended by Renee). Soulless is the first in the Parasol Protectorate series and begins the story of Alexia Tarrabotti. Alexia lives in an almost Steampunkian version of Victorian England, where vampires and werewolves are an accepted part of society. Alexia, herself, is a preternatural, her touch renders both vampires and werewolves human, but only while she maintains contact with them. However, not everyone is happy with the integration of human and supernatural in society and when vampires and werewolves start to disappear, Alexia finds herself in the middle of a very dangerous situation.

(Just a little aside. If I have a problem with the book it's that Alexia is described as soulless. This is how the Victorians have explained the existence of supernatural and preternatural. An excess of soul allows an individual to survive the transformation into vampire or werewolf, whilst an absence of soul allows the individual to nullify the supernatural aspects of other characters. I guess it's the idea that a good person doesn't have a soul - it's one of my bugbears. I didn't like it when Freds soul was destroyed when Illyria took over her body on Angel. So for my own purposes I think of Alexia as being a null, and that her soullessness is simply a 'Victorian' explanation, kind of like them saying an excess of bile causes flatulence.*)

Anyway, on with the review. I kind of imagine that if Jane Austen were alive today and writing Urban Fantasy that what she would come up with wouldn't be a million miles away from Soulless. The point of view is omniscient mainly focalized through Alexia - I think, grammar isn't my strong point, but I can tell you that it isn't a traditional third person point of view. I think for some people this may take a little getting used to, but you just have to go with it. For one thing, the slight distance it initially gives you as a reader really helps with the Victorian setting. You get to know the characters through observation rather than immediately being plunged into their heads.

This is a book peopled with delightful characters, Alexia, Lord Maccon (werewolf), Lord Akeldama (vampire), Ivy (Alexia's friend), Professor Lyall (Lord Maccon's beta) and Alexia's less than perfect family.

What I perhaps most enjoyed about the story was the developing romance between Alexia and Lord Maccon, their history together involves a nasty incident with a hedgehog. You don't expect 'Bollocks!' to be the first word the hero utters on seeing the heroine. That's one of the things that makes this story so refreshingly different. Alexia and Lord Maccon do not have what could be considered a traditional courtship, that would be impossible given what they are, but it's clear from the outset that there is a chemistry between them and that even though they may not realize it at first, they each care for the other. (Though it is somewhat up to the brilliant Professor Lyall to explain to Alexia that Lord Maccon is a werewolf, and to explain to Lord Maccon that Alexia is not (a werewolf), and that he should refine his courtship techniques accordingly).

Lord Maccon can be blunt.

"You are about as covert as a sledgehammer."

and may not always know exactly the right thing to say or the right way in which to say it.

"I have spent a good deal of time and energy during the course of our association trying not to like you," he admitted finally...
"And yet I find not liking you comparitively easy, especially when you say things such as that!"

But in the end he gets it completely right.

...he touched the side of her face..."I understand that you have been taught for far too long that you are unworthy."

The relationship is just one part of this story. And I think the reason it works so well is because it is set against the backdrop of an incredibly well-realized world. There is a depth and believability to the story. Alexia doesn't exist in a vacuum, she has friends, family, there's a whole social minefield that she has to walk through. As well as humans, she also has to deal with vampires and werewolves, who each have their own etiquette and sensibilities that can be offended.

There are little touches throughout which may not add that much on their own but together they make the story so rich. For example Alexia wears two hairpins - one of silver and one of wood - it's these details which lift the story. Gail Carriger also keeps her fingers on the plot points - she doesn't forget about the octopuses (if you read the story that will make sense :))

To some extent the denouement does rely on the convenience of the bad guys being gullible. But that's something I can easily overlook when the rest of the story is so well told. I am eagerly looking forward to the next installment in The Parasol Protectorate series and I highly recommend Soulless.

* - completely made up Victorian saying there.

To Baldly Go...

There are old heroes,

There are bold heroes,

But there are no old, bold heroes

Okay, possibly that's pirates but this post isn't about that sort of boldness.

Where are all the bald heroes? Why aren't there more of them. Or even the guys who have skull trims?

Two of my favourite heroes have skull trims. Though in the case of Zsadist of the BDB it's not because he's losing his hair. However, D, of Zero at the Bone is described as having hair that is barely more than stubble all over his skull.

I don't think it's because there aren't any heroes in the media who are/have been bald or who have skull trims - Patrick Stewart, Jason Statham, Michael Rosenbaum, Richard T. Jones, Lawrence Fishburne to name but a few. So why aren't there more in romantic fiction?

So does anyone have any bald/balding heroes to recommend? I'm serious about this. :) There's a copy of Sweet and Deadly by Charlaine Harris for one poster to this thread. Poster to be chosen at random on Friday by random number at random.number.org.

UK vs US covers - Lover Mine by J.R.Ward

Be warned. Snark follows. But after you've looked at the UK cover can you blame me?

Okay the UK cover is on the left and the US cover is on the right.

Take a moment to appreciate the true awfulness of the UK cover. This is possibly the worst UK cover ever. I've wiped the Kim Harrison UK covers from my memory so this might be wrong.

The UK publisher has somehow succeeded in making John Matthew look like a demented slightly pudgy green troll. Whoever approved this cover a) needs to get their eyes tested b) seriously needs to reconsider their career choice.

I would gladly take the generic blandness of the US cover - naked male torso, yawn - at least it's aesthetically pleasing. Or even better just the title and author in a lovely gothic font. Because it couldn't possibly be worse than the horror up there on the left.

Of course there's always the possibility that the internet doesn't do the real cover justice. But there is no way I am having that thing on my book shelves.

When the Cure is Worse...

...than the problem.

Anyone who's read this blog for any length of time knows that I suffer from migraines. After a particularly hellish week a fortnight ago - four in seven days. I decided to go to the doctor to get something.

Noting that the side effects of these tablets include drowsiness I waited until this week off from work to start taking them.

Now to me, drowsiness means feeling sleepy; not they will remove your capability to hold a thought in your head leaving you all alone inside your skull with a void where your thoughts and personality used to be.

My sister (the nurse) assures me that if I keep taking them my body will get used to it and this won't happen any longer.

Erm...let me think about that...no thanks.

I now know what it's like to be a zombie I don't need to repeat the experience. I'd rather suffer the migraine.

Regular blogging service will resume very shortly.

The Winner of...

the 'I Love You' better felt than heard giveaway is...

Renee

A copy of Halfway to the Grave is waiting to wing its way to you.