TV POST: The US TV Off-Season Cometh

So MTV was running a competition/challenge via YouTube to get their Official Trailer for Teen Wolf Season  Two to 2 million hits. I have been checking back from time to time but slacked off recently busy with job chasing and fun with Diablo III installation problems. They recently hit their target and released the first 10 minutes of the new season on their website which strangely I could view even from the UK (albeit with a terrible framerate) I have presented it below from a friendly YouTube user.



Teen Wolf of course is not the only show with a mighty marketing mammoth behind it. True Blood is stepping things up with a series of posters and of course a trailer for the new season.

I don't know which one I will enjoy more. Teen Wolf was really good last season but too many shows trip up in the second season while True Blood's last season was absolutely woeful in my opinion and I can only hope this gets a lot better.

What shows are you waiting for in the Summer TV season?

I was going to talk about Comic Con

Nope not any of the US based Comic Cons. I was going to write about the London MCM Expo because it sort of came up on me by surprise. While clearly not on the level of the US ones there is still more than enough star appeal to make it interesting.

With Tyler Hoechlin and Holland Roden from Teen Wolf which is about to start it's second season on MTV. They would have been my first stop there is also Raphael Sbarge from Once Upon A Time, not such a fan of that show but I do make an effort to watch it.

Seychelle Gabriel from Avatar but for the purpose of the appearance she will be promoting Falling Skies which to me was a disappointing show that somehow got a second season. Pascale Hutton will be there too and she was Abby Corrigan  on Sanctuary one of my favourite shows.

I was going to write all about that but then I decided to talk about something else. Yes again it is a job search post. I have come through on the other end of 3 job interviews in a month and not been lucky enough to find a position. Definitely a bit of a downer but even as I write this I am flicking between this post and another application for a role I would do well in.

Application now done so time to hope for the best and look for the next role. Wish me luck I certainly need it.

If you are heading to Comic Con London have a great time it looks EPIC.

BOOK REVIEW: If I Die by Rachel Vincent

This Review is part of the Soul Screamers Reading Challenge run by Fiktshun

If I Die is the fifth book in the Soul Screamers and is written by Rachel Vincent. It was published by Mira Ink on the 3^rd of February 2012. This book review is part of the Soul Screamers Challenge. I purchased this book myself.

PLOT

Kaylee can see death coming. But how will she face her own? Teen banshee Kaylee and her friends have barely recovered from the violent chaos unleashed the last time their school was invaded by Netherworld entities when she receives the news she's top of a reaper's list and scheduled to die within days!

But contemplating her own impending demise will have to wait, when it is revealed that new maths teach Mr. Beck is an incubus who has just come into his once-a century fertile period. And he’s looking for a few healthy young girls capable of carrying a non-human infant to full term and Kaylee s mortal best friend Emma fits the bill perfectly. But as Kaylee fights to save her female classmates, her dark fate is closing in.

And as Kaylee’s borrowed lifeline nears its end, and the men who love her will do anything to save her life. Even if it costs their own...

WHAT I THOUGHT

This proved to be a huge game changer in more ways than one. While My Soul to Steal was a frustrating read for me with so Nash and Kaylee seemingly making the same mistakes all over again despite past experiences .

Soul Screamers was always a series that had it dark parts most notably for me at least in the prequel which scared the heck right out of me. This book for me at least is the next scariest instalment, it is one of those that make you stop mid-sentence just to say “Eww that is just WRONG”.

If I Die is the beginning of a change in the series and I couldn’t be happier, I’ve never thought of Kaylee as being weak just as someone who was rather impulsive for the most part but in this instalment of Soul Screamers we see how strong a young woman she truly is and it is inspiring. To face what she is facing and somehow put it to the back of her mind to help her friends even while fighting with yet another supernatural being shows how much heart she has.

At the end of If I Die I knew my relationship with the series had fundamentally changed it went from my initial feeling of liking Kaylee’s friends and not understanding her motivation through the first four books to finally thinking that I could fully understand why she makes the decisions she does. This made me so much more excited about the follow ups to this book. I know I am probably in the minority of fans who felt this way but surely there is room for us all. Anyway for now wake me on the 6^th of July for “Before I wake”. I’m sure I will see you there.

I Don't Usually Do This But...

WOW.

I mean wow.

First thanks must go to theCHIVE for making me aware of this. This is the story of a South Korean actress who raised more than a few eyebrows at an International Film festival with this risque little number.

Can't say I have heard about her before this but to be fair the only South Korean show I have caught recently was IRIS. She claims she didn't think the outfit would cause a stir. Yah sure...

And for the second most asked question that pops into our heads, who the heck is the old guy with her?

BOOK REVIEW - Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

Deadlocked is the twelfth book in the Sookie Stackhouse series (aka Southern Vampire Mysteries) and is written by Charlaine Harris. It was published on the 1^st May 2012 by Victor Gollancz Limited. I purchased this book

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PLOT

With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard—especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.

Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

WHAT I THOUGHT

I should make one thing clear when I finished Dead Reckoning last year I was a very worried man. I found that book disappointing to say the least, it seemed to throw away all the good from the previous books. It didn’t really have a murder mystery which the previous ones did and it just seemed a little rushed.

Deadlocked is a refreshing return to form for Charlaine and our favourite waitress Sookie. Everything that makes reading Sookie fun is back in this instalment, we get to visit the bar and its unique clientele. And we get to hear what goes on in Sookie’s head. In the end that is the thing that sets Sookie Stackhouse series apart from a lot of fantasy related literature is that normal stuff happens to Sookie it isn’t all punching vampires in the face sometimes it is just trying to find the rent.

It is the rich world of Bon Temps and all the varied characters that make me never want to put this book down. One thing that was a surprise to me was the eventual complexity of the mystery part of the story. Obviously no spoilers but this mystery reaches back way back in the series and the revelation is one hell of a surprise.

I have been a bit surprised about all the negativity I have been reading just in the run up to the released of Deadlocked. There are a significant number of people who think the series is on its way down, I only had a problem with Dead Reckoning. I urge those of you who are still Sookie fans to give this a try as you will likely be glad you did.

BOOK REVIEW - Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine

This review is part of the Morganville Reading Challenge 2012 which you can learn about here.

Midnight Alley is the third book in the best selling Morganville Vampires series written by Rachel Caine. It was originally published on October 2^nd 2007 by Signet.

PLOT

Morganville is such a nice place to live... And die. If you don’t mind that sort of thing.

When Claire Danvers learnt that her college town was run by vampires, she did what any intelligent, self-preserving student would do: she applied for a transfer and stocked up on garlic. The transfer is no longer an option, but that garlic may come in handy. 

Now Claire has pledged herself to Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town. The protection her contract secures does little to reassure her friends. All of a sudden, people are turning up dead, a stalker resurfaces from Claire’s past, and an ancient bloodsucker extends a chilling invitation for private lessons in his secluded home.

WHAT I THOUGHT

Have I mentioned I loved the Morganville Vampires series it is so much more than just ANOTHER vampire book. One of the ongoing themes in MV is secrets. All too often Claire and co have held back on something of importance either out of fear or wanting to protect others. This time it is Claire’s turn. In this instalment of MV we do a little more exploring of the town itself which is very welcome and we get to add to the cast of characters that we have met so far. Once again we see that in the world of Morganville everything isn’t black and white and Vampire does not always mean Evil as Human does not always mean Good.

This book like all of the Morganville series happens directly after the previous which is refreshing and allows the book to flow as one long saga so this is one series were you HAVE to start at number one or you’ll find yourself all at sea.

Claire continues being Claire strong yet fragile and always fun. The wonder she shows when learning about the slightly less fatal aspects of the town have the same inspiring effect on the reader. Shane can be a bit of a jerk but he can be very gentle and someone who can be relied upon in a pinch and I have a lot of respect for him. Michael I’m not so sure about I think him a little too perfect in a lot of ways but that may change. Eve is at her sarcastic best and we get a lot of insight into what makes her tick in this book and it is a truly scary look into her past.

Amelie and Oliver are something else I swear if MV had been started a little earlier I would have sworn they inspired the Lannisters and the Starks. They are the heads of the two most powerful factions in Morganville and their clashes are guaranteed to cause a lot of collateral damage. Then we come to Myrnin who is quite an enigma, a man who has sold his sold in his thirst for knowledge (foreshadowing for Claire herself perhaps) and he is an excellent mentor for her if it wasn’t for those homicidal tendencies of his he would be absolutely perfect.

In Midnight Alley MV steps things up to a new level and Caine continues to write a compelling story full of realistic multi-faceted characters.