“Poignant, riveting, and wholeheartedly recommended.”
–Kresley Cole, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“A highly palatable fusion of dark fantasy, historical fiction, and Arthurian legend… exceptional character development, a meticulously detailed portrayal of 1559 London, and brisk pacing, this utterly readable novel will more than satisfy fans of fantasy and historical fiction alike.” Publishers Weekly
Google Trends confirms what we already know, vampires (in blue) are way more popular than zombies (in green). Aliens (in red) are holding on, and I personally think may be due for a comeback. But fairies (in yellow) are flat lining, poor things. Is all this evidence that the zeitgeist has turned very dark indeed or are dead, evil things from other worlds just inherently more interesting?
Next up at the local multiplex—-”Invasion of the Zombie Vampire Aliens”.
Teenagers love vampires and we return the sentiment. But where did the concept of teenagers as virtually a different species of human come from? Stephen Marche, author of “How Shakespeare Invented Everything”, claims that the Bard invented them. Or at least crafted the language to explain them for the very first time.
“Shakespeare essentially created this new category of humanity, and in place of the usual mix of nostalgia and loathing with which we regard adolescents (and adolescence), Shakespeare would have us look at teenagers in a spirit of wonder. He loves his teenagers even as he paints them in all their absurdity and nastiness.”
Elizabeth Tudor, Queen Elizabeth I died 408 years ago today on 24 March, 1603. Personally, Elizabeth was high-strung, tempermental, indecisive, and often infuriating but her reign was characterized by a new spirit of moderation that England desperately needed after decades of political and religious turmoil. Refusing to ever marry, she declared herself wed to her kingdom and ruled it for forty-four years. During that time, England flourished, emerging as a major sea power and laying the foundation for what became a global empire. Requiem en pace, Elizabeth Tudor.
You don’t often catch a vampire energetically fanning herself but then you don’t stumble across a book like this very often either.
“In 1860s London, two loosely overlapping groups of bohemians—the Cannibal Club and the Aesthetes—challenged the buttoned-up Victorian propriety to promote erotic freedom and expression. Sensually attuned and politically radical, they were among the most influential thinkers and artists of the day, from Richard Burton to Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Morris. These iconoclasts not only navigated the fringes of sexual deviance with their bodies but also carried the pleasures of the body into their work, creating a taboo-loving counterculture whose reverberations can be felt today. In this stunning and nuanced exposé of the Victorian London we thought we knew, Deborah Lutz takes us beyond the eyebrow-raising practices of these sex rebels, showing us how their work uncovered troubles that ran beneath the surface of the larger social fabric: the struggle for women’s emancipation, the dissolution of traditional religions, and the pressing need to expand accepted forms of sexual expression.”
For those of us who didn’t make it to the just-concluded Chicago Comic Con, here are videos of the discussion panels for “True Blood” and “Vampire Diaries”. Lots of behind-the-scenes goodies and—-be warned—-spoilers for the upcoming seasons.
SyFy’s “Being Human”, the U.S. version of the U.K. hit, is being renewed for a second season. Hurrah! Aidan is almost enough to make me rethink my taste for human males.
