Lilith Saintcrow's profile

A Wonderful Read, June 4, 2007

Sebastian de Ulloa is a vampire. He's lived for somewhere over a thousand years. He's left Europe, weary of the games the "blood" play to relieve the boredom of eternity. And oh yeah--Sebastian is an independent consultant when it comes to catching murderers. And he's very good at it.

Lady Abigail Irene Garrett is a forensic sorceress working for the Crown. She's utterly loyal to the King, and like all loyal principled people, is due for a shock when that loyalty is misused by the King's lieutenants. She lives in a world where magic is real and Britain never gave New Amsterdam back. Ever.

Plus, there's dirigibles. *drools with love*

Seriously, I loved… Read more

Can't Wait For Hill To Get More Practice, June 2, 2007

The Story: Judas Coyne is a rock star, (one puh-leez) and he collects macabre objects (two puh-leezes.) One day he buys an old suit, ghost included, and his life veers into the Twilight Zone. (Great premise, BTW.)

The Precis: This is suspenseful, gritty, and a fast read. Hill definitely has talent, and another few books should see that talent bloom.

The Cons: OMG, could there be more of a Gary Stu? And Jude spends the whole book having "trouble thinking." Jesus, PUH-leeze the third! Which was about one puh-leeze too many. Definitely Jude and his girlfriend are written as TSTL, and the frustration of bumping against the threshold of disbelief that created almost… Read more

Cheap Thrills And Noir Spills, February 24, 2006

Yes, it's a Frank Miller/Sin City joint. It's a graphic novel about Wallace, a painter who is very very good at hurting people, and Esther, an aspiring actress who has just been targeted by a vast conspiracy of white slavers. She ends up kidnapped, and Wallace ends up on a quest to rescue her, by any means. Like any distillation of a Frank Miller graphic novel, that doesn't do it justice in any way, shape, or form.

We meet a lot of tangential Sin City characters in here--most notably Delia, the assassin in blue, and the leopard-print Mariah who works for the notorious Wallenquist. Miller seems to excel at portraying dangerous, dangerous women with breasts that make Pamela… Read more