From School Library JournalGr 7-10–Modo is back with more bizarre shape-shifting, daring espionage, and exciting steampunk adventures. Mr. Socrates's agents have been following the exploits of a French spy named Colette Chiyoko Brunet when she disappears unexpectedly. Modo and his partner from the first book, Octavia, are ordered to pose as husband and wife in order to investigate something referred to in Colette's documents as the Ictíneo, or “new fish.” They suspect that this may be a new kind of boat, or mechanical narwhal designed to sink ships. What they don't realize is that someone very dangerous is also on its trail. Modo and Octavia's journey will lead Modo to the depths of the ocean and straight into another conflict with the Clockwork Guild. Modo is an innocent character who is easily teased and is very honorable. His tentative affection for the streetwise and reckless Octavia is touching, but, like Modo, readers aren't sure that she can be trusted with his greatest secret: the deformity of his real face. In this book, readers begin to see that there is more to the stoic Mr. Socrates than was originally revealed. The only problem with the characterization is that the “bad guys” are simply evil, with little nuance of character. On the surface, this is a simple Victorian adventure that will be accessible to lower-level readers. However, there are allusions and references to some of great classic authors that will allow this novel to be an exciting read for those who want to mine more from its depths.–Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. From BooklistShape-modifying Modo’s second round of adventures require him, at the age of 14, to pretend to be married to another British spy and also throw him into the confines of a submarine—with a beautiful and wily French spy. In this sophomore volume of the steampunk Hunchback Assignments series, which riffs off of Victor Hugo (yes, Modo is the titular hunchback), the pacing and plotting are as tight and engaging as in the opener. Slade does an excellent job of catching new readers up to speed without pedantic reportage that would bore those who have already read the first volume. Grades 8-10. --Francisca Goldsmith Views: 56
Salvation through darkness. Abby Winston wants to die. Her darkness inside is too great to face. The Universe agrees. Even her fortune cookies are shooting blanks. She can't do it herself, but her Death-Wish is not in vain. Something hears her plea and means to derive purpose from her erasure: a man-made demon meant to save the world. She can't return to the life she decided to leave and so takes the first step on a path darker than death. Views: 56
Felix Gomez returned from the war in Iraq a changed man—once a soldier, now forever a vampire. So the undead underworld put his skills to work as a private detective, specializing in the sordid, the sexy, and the supernatural. After surviving aliens, nymphomaniacs, and x-rated bloodsuckers, it's high time for a vacation. Now the aliens are back in a fiendish conspiracy with the U.S. government, and only Felix stands between them and the Earth women they covet. But when an army hit man attacks Felix and the bodacious vampire sexpert, Carmen, not even the astonishing erotic powers of the Kama Sutra for the Undead may be able to save them. Views: 56
After teenager Sarah Crane is seriously injured by her alcoholic father, she is sent to live in a foster home. But it quickly becomes clear that this family has taken her in only for the money they get from the county. When Sarah starts school, the limp left over from the accident sets her apart from the rest of the students, and she makes only one friend: Nick Dunnigan, who has problems of his own, and has recently been released from a mental hospital. The only other person who befriends her is Bettina Phillips, who lives in an old mansion known as Shutters because it was once the warden's house at the Shutters Lake Prison for the Insane. Bettina is the art teacher at Warwick High School and she recognizes in Sarah a remarkable talent, and offers to help Sarah develop that talent. When Sarah enters Shutters, she feels a strange stirring, and she begins to paint recreations of crimes that may have been committed by the prison's long-dead inmates. But before Sarah can begin unravel the mystery behind all of this, things turn ugly fast when violence befalls two of her enemies.and the town grows hungry for revenge. Views: 56
When two young men go on a hunt that they know will be the last hunt of their youth, they decide they want it to be an unforgettable outing. When they cross a ridge leaving the protection of their kingdom behind, they find a cavern that looks like it needs to be explored. In the cavern they find exactly what they were looking for. In this stoney hole lives something they will never forget! Views: 56
FEAR COMES IN MANY FORMSThe horror genre's greatest living practitioners drag our darkest fears kicking and screaming into the light in this collection of nineteen brand-new stories. In "The Boggle Hole" by Alison Littlewood an ancient folk tale leads to irrevocable loss. In Josh Malerman's "The House of the Head" a dollhouse becomes the focus for an incident both violent and inexplicable. And in "Speaking Still" Ramsey Campbell suggests that beyond death there may be far worse things waiting than we can ever imagine... Numinous, surreal and gut wrenching, New Fears is a vibrant collection showcasing the very best fiction modern horror has to offer. Views: 56
When she was ten she made a promise to that which inhabits the winter storm. Now she's twenty-six and pregnant, and the White Walker has returned to collect his due. Views: 56
