Release Date: 20/01/11
SYNOPSIS:
Morag and Heather, two eighteen-inch fairies with swords, green kilts and badly dyed hair fly through the window of the worst violinist in New York, an overweight and antisocial type named Dinnie, and vomit on his carpet. Who they are, how they came to New York and what this has to do with the lovely Kerry - who lives across the street, and has Crohn's Disease, and is making a flower alphabet - and what this has to do with the other fairies (of all nationalities) of New York, not to mention the poor repressed fairies of Britain, is the subject of this book. It has a war in it, and a most unusual production of Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM and Johnny Thunders' New York Dolls guitar solos. What more could anyone desire from a book?
REVIEW:
They got cars big as bars, they got rivers of gold, but the wind goes right through you, It’s no place for the old…. as the good fairies are about to find out in Martin Millar’s latest title to be rereleased. It’s definitely quirky, it’s got some great twists and the characters really do stand out as he interweaves a whole cross section of society together in this one magical offering.
Add to that a descent plot outline, some great one liners and you have a title that will appeal to Urban Fantasy readers both young and old. A real joy to read and one that we just had to pass on (although if you do be aware of Neil Gaimans warning in his introduction…)
BOOK BLURB:
Scottish teenage werewolf Kalix MacRinnalch is in London trying to settle down and live a normal life. Her new friends support her as she goes to college to learn to read and write, but her old enemies won't leave her alone. Many powerful werewolves want Kalix dead, and the Guild of Werewolf Hunters is still dedicated to wiping out the entire MacRinnalch werewolf clan. Life might be easier for Kalix if her werewolf family were able to help, but her sister the Enchantress needs all of her sorcerous powers to locate the perfect pair of high heels, her brother Markus is busy in Scotland organising an opera, and her cousin Dominil is engaged in her own merciless vendetta with her enemies. Kalix must carry on alone but she's finding it difficult enough to pay the rent and cope with her anxiety and depression, while struggling with werewolf hunters and exams at the same time...
REVIEW:
To be honest I really didn’t get into the originally offering by this author and really wasn’t expecting that much from this, the second title in the series. As with the original we continue with the tale of Kalix, as she struggles to immerse herself in the real world by learning to read and write with the support of her friends. It is well written, the villains pretty good fun but to be honest with you, I still have the same problem with this as I did with the first. I just didn’t like the principle character. It made this offering not only difficult to get into but it made it a real struggle to finish but most of all it left me wondering if I should even try the next title by this author as it felt that none of the problems had been corrected. It’s definitely an interesting world, it definitely has some fun characters but when you can’t writing a protagonist that the reader can latch onto and support then you’ve lost half the battle to start with.
BOOK BLURB:
As teenage werewolf Kalix MacRinnalch is pursued through the streets of London by murderous hunters, her sister, the Werewolf Enchantress, is busy designing clothes for the Fire Queen. Meanwhile, in the Scottish Highlands, the MacRinnalch Clan is plotting and feuding after the head of the clan suddenly dies intestate. As the court intrigue threatens to explode in all-out civil war, the competing factions determine that Kalix is the swing vote necessary to assume leadership of the clan. Unfortunately, Kalix isn't really into clan politics - laudanum's more her thing. But what's even more unfortunate is that Kalix is the reason the head of the clan ended up dead, which is why she's now on the run in London ...
REVIEW:
I’m always on the look out for new talent so when this offering from Martin Miller landed I was pretty excited as it took the already established werewolf mythos and turned it on its head to allow the author a whole lot of freedom. That said however I had a hell of a hard time getting into this offering as I really couldn’t establish the reader rapport with the principle protagonista. That in itself made this a hard book for me to read and a bit of a struggle yet whilst this problem isn’t necessarily the death of a title I always find it harder to enjoy a title because of it. It was an interesting take, it did have moments of entertainment but the dislikeable protagonista made this a real struggle to finish and as such has meant that its not a title I’m really recommending to friends.
Release Date: 20/01/11
