One technique of good paranormal writing is to create a distinct magical setting with clearly defined rules. Then the author can set up an effective and believable conflict within that context. One disadvantage of the Internet is that authors have access to a great variety of magical environments, and there is a temptation to dabble […]
“Immortal Gifts” by Katherine Villyard
One way to ensure a lively novel is to pick two conflicting cultures and force them together. If you want to make it especially enthralling, have them manifest inside the same person. It turns out that vampirism and Judaism are a complete mismatch. It seems that the Jewish religion has all sorts of taboos about […]
“Werecats Emergent” by Mark Engels
This is a paranormal novel with an unusual approach to werewolves. Most of these stories glorify the power and beauty of the species, while throwing them enough difficulties to keep the story interesting. These werecats find their genetic malformation a life-threatening handicap, almost uncontrollable. A great deal of the conflict in the story revolves around […]
“Lifeforce” by Annie Rodriguez
“Lifeforce” by Annie Rodriguez I would classify this story as Chicklit Paranormal. I say this because the paranormal action takes a weak second place to the romantic conflict in the story, and also because one of the settings is a hospital, which is common to the genre. I mention this because it leads to an […]
“Emma After” by Anthony O’Connor
I enjoyed most of this book, but you need to know up front that it’s got a problem. As it happens, at the front. You, see, I accepted the book for review on the promise that it was about a girl who dies, and what happens after that (Hence the title). The tone seemed light-hearted, […]
“Zombies for Everyone” by Kimberly Wylie
This book is advertised as a “YA Paranormal Cozy Mystery,” and it pretty well checks all the boxes. Like most Cozy Mysteries, it’s light on the blood, gore, and violence. As a Cozy Paranormal about vampires, it’s likewise light on the horror nastiness. The conflict is balanced nicely between the supernatural danger, the solving of […]
“A Tracker’s Tale” by Karen Avizur
This story is fast paced and action oriented, with sympathetic characters in a straightforward good-guys-vs-bad-guys conflict. The plotline is episodic in nature, but the events gradually tie together to lead up to a tense climax. There is a general rule in fantasy of all types not to mix magical styles. Paranormal separate from witches and […]
“The Night and the Land” by Matt Spencer
This is a standard Paranormal plotline with an otherworldly Romeo and Juliet situation to sweeten the plot. Rob is a teenager who begins to realize that there is something other than the everyday world going on. Also that he’s one of the people participating. Then he meets Sally, who seems to know more of the […]
“The Coven Murders” by Brian O’Hare
This book starts out as a standard murder mystery, involving, as you might expect, the ritual slayings of members of a coven. The police team assigned to the task of solving the murders is a pretty standard bunch, complete with the usual fake antipathy leading to comedic banter between the chief detective and the pathologist. […]
“A Very Different Game” Feryll Shayde Book 3 by Vance Huxley
I reviewed the first book in this series a few months ago and made the comment that it had a very weak through story line, tending towards the episodic like the levels in a video game. Unfortunately, “A Very Different Game” starts out not too different; much of the story could be termed “A bunch […]