Amanda Prantera

The mysterious blurb doesn't really give you all that information about the plot of Wolfsong but that seems to almost work in its favour. It's a short book and so the majority is given over to the life and society of Nico and Sarah - the fact that they're werewolves seems almost incidental. It's only approaching the end that the implications and hardships are shown and it's a shock when they are. I was completely blown away because I just didn't see it coming.

Just to re-emphasise - this isn't Young Adult. It's one of those rare books that manage to take a topic that's usually dealt with on a lighter note, and turn it into a mature, literary masterpiece. The prose is beautiful - both the descriptions of the many soirées attended and those of the Italian countryside are stunning and create a sleek, dark atmosphere.

It's not a long book and it's not a particularly fast-paced one either, but the growing relationships and settings pull the reader in and hold them past. By the time, the plot started to thicken, I was already hooked.… (mehr)

This is a seriously fun beach read--the Gothic epistolary novel, updated. Set in Capri, Lola d'Aquaviva is a bored English duchess, estranged from her Italian husband. Deciding to kill boredom by writing a novel about the legendary villa next to hers, she contacts Simon Parks, a bookseller in the U.K. Following their email conversation via Lola alone, the reader learns about Lola's difficult marriage and her interest in two local mysteries (both involving pedophilia); soon, it becomes clear that her husband is involved somehow, and the reader is left waiting for the inevitable end.

I've said before that I hate guessing the twist in mystery novels and thrillers, but in this one, we are expected to, because the stress of that knowledge carries the novel to it's creepy conclusion. This was literally a weekend read, started Saturday AM and finished Sunday PM. My only complaint is this: I found the speed through which Lola and Simon became intimate unrealistic. I think a merchant--no matter how chatty the customer--would not be asking for a photo or physical description at their fifth email interaction, especially when the first four were brief.… (mehr)

Three researchers and one Byron expert attempt to find out the identity of Byron's Thyrza by programming a computer to become the poet himself. Granting the computer free will, the researchers expect a logical answer to easily arrive while the Byron expert finds herself slowly becoming enamored with the poet-computer. Their probing questions prompt the computer-as-Byron to revisit it's/his 'memories' and reflect on one of his most tempestuous and infamous relationships, especially with John Eddleston. Prantera's theory about Eddleston might feel absurd and outright silly for some Byron fans, but fits in with this story that borders on fantasy at times. Published in 1988, some of the technological references are dated, but Prantera's ideas about artificial reality being used to reanimate dead authors still feel relevant. The pacing of the story was slow at times, but otherwise, this was an enjoyable weekend read.… (mehr)