Friday 29 August 2014

Blood Boy - Barry Lyga - An I Hunt Killers Prequel

Blood Boy
An I Hunt Killers Prequel
Barry Lyga
ISBN 9780990659426
ASIN B00N1YFY76

I will be completely honest with you. I Hunt Killers, the Jasper Dent series is one of my favorite series in years. It is comprised of a trilogy of books, I Hunt Killers, Game and Blood of My Blood, and now 4 short stories of Novella's. They are: Lucky Day, Career Day, Neutral Mask and Blood Boy.  This is the last of the short stories to be released.

Blood Boy is told primarily from Howie's perspective and shows some of the ways he tries to deal with his hemophilia. It recounts a Halloween night after Billy Dent is in Jail and about a year before the events in I Hunt Killers. Howie has convinced Jasper (Jazz) and Connie to meet at a Halloween party out of town. He has a number of reasons for this, some of them he is open about and so not so much. So come for a ride inside Howie's mind and spend an evening with the best friend of a the world's most famous serial killer's son. 

It is a great little short story, and for fans of the series give some great insight into Howie and his friendship with Jazz. It was a fun read and great prep for the final book in the series. 

On a side note, Barry Lyga is donating his profits from this story to the Adam Lynch Award, a scholarship established by the Hemophilia Association of New York. Well done Barry well done.

Books by Barry Lyga:
I Hunt Killers:
I Hunt Killers (2012)
Game - I Hunt Killers #2 (2013)

Blood of My Blood - I Hunt Killers # 3 (2014)

I Hunt Killers Short Stories:
Down Time (2018)
Lucky Day (2014)
Career Day (2012)
Neutral Mask (2013)
Blood Boy (2014)

Brookdale High:
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl (2006)
Boy Toy (2007)
Hero Type (2008)
Goth Girl Rising (2009)

Bang (2017)

Archvillian:
Archvillain #1 (2010)
The Mad Mask - Archvillian #2 (2011)
Yesterday Again - Archvillian #3 (2013)


The Flash Series:
Hocus Pocus (2017)
Johnny Quick (2018)
Tornado Twins (2018)

Other Books By Barry Lyga:
Graphic Novels in Your Media Center: A definitive Guide (with Alison A.W. Lyga - 2004)
Wolverine: Worst Day Ever (2009)
MangaMan (with Colleen Dorren 2011)

Unsoul'd (2013)
After The Red Rain (2015)
The Secret Sea (2016)
Thanos Titan Consumed (2018)
The Hive (2019)

...

Short Story Project 2017
The Ghosts at 95
Loving The University
The Ideas of March
Four Minutes
Pulse vs. the Killing Fiend
Her Decade
The Life Cycle of Stars (Ignition)
Bobby
Trading Worlds
When I Die
The Autopsying of Michael Edward Morgan
Meet Me Tonight
...

Contributed to:
Geektastic (2009)
Who Done It? (2013)

Author Profile and Interview with Barry Lyga

Author Profile and Interview with Randall Banner



















































Thursday 28 August 2014

Zombie Surf Commandos from Mars! - Tony Abbott - Weird Zone Book 1


Zombie Surf Commandos from Mars! 
Weird Zone Book 1 
Tony Abbott (Author)
ISBN 9781480486492

First I have yet to read anything by Tony Abbott that I did not really enjoy. Second it is great to see his earlier series coming back into print in eBook formats by Open Road Integrated Media. They are bringing back to life three of Tony's series, The Danger Guys, The Weird Zone and Cracked Classics. They have already made 20 of Tony Abbott's out of print books available and I think that is awesome. 

This was the second series written by Tony Abbott, and it was originally published in the mid 90's. These books are set in Grover's Mill and it is a town known to be more than a little strange. It focuses around friendship, like many of Tony's series, and our key characters are Liz, Holly, Sean, Jeff and Mike. They consider themselves normal, and most of the residents of the town are Zoners. Even the paper in town, Grover's Mill Gazette, is weird and the headlines need deciphering for example - What was in the paper: "Exports at the Wells Lavatory discoed around stringy spit on the sour face of Mars a few dogs ago." And the translation by Liz was "Experts at the Welles Observatory discovered a strange spot on the surface of Mars a few days ago?".  Maybe Grover's Mill is so weird because the town lake is called lake lake. Or maybe it is because it sits in the center of a triangle made up of  a secret government UFO testing base, a dinosaur graveyard, and Humongous Horror Movie Studios, where the cheapest, cheesiest, horror movies ever made. This group of friends have nicknamed their town 'the weird zone' and to be honest a day would not be normal there unless if something really weird happened. But this one might be one for the record books. 

The day the Zombie Surf Commandos from Mars invaded Grover's Mill. Holly, Liz and Jeff were heading to spend the day at the beach at Lake Lake. When all of a sudden the teenages had their surf boards stolen from under the water, then as the water started boiling and roiling they appeared, each surf board had 5 or 6 figures and they were good surfers, but they were: "horrible and gray. They had bald scalps with stringy wisps of white hair flying back in the breeze and ears that drooped and sagged to their shoulders. And their foreheads bulged. Some had big gaping holes instead of noses!" The wanted brains, nice fresh brains. But Liz and the gang were going to do whatever it took to save Grover's Mill's no matter how weird it is, it is still home.

This book was a great fun read. In many ways it is like the earlier series Danger Guys, or later series Goodballs. It is a good fun read that children will enjoy. It is geared for a younger audience than some of his books, but he writes from 4-16 but as an adult I have enjoyed all of his books to date. I highly recommend this title. And look forward to reading more in the series.
  
Books By Tony Abbott:

Goofballs
1. The Crazy Case of Missing Thunder (2012)
2. The Startling Story of the Stolen Statue (2012)
3. Superhero Silliness (2012)
4. The Mysterious Talent Show Mystery (2013)

5. The Scary Story of the Ha-Ha-Haunted House (2013) 

Underworlds:
1. The Battle Begins (2012)
2. When Monsters Escape (2012)
3. Revenge of the Scorpion King (2013)
4. The Ice Dragon (2013)


Danger Guys
1. Danger Guys (1994)
2. Danger Guys Blast Off (1994)
3. Hollywood Halloween (1994)
4. Danger Guys Hit the Beach (1995)
5. Danger Guys on Ice (1995)
6. Danger Guys and the Golden Lizard (1996)

Time Surfers
1. Space Bingo (1996)
2. Orbit Wipeout! (1995)
3. Mondo Meltdown (1996)
4. Into the Zonk Zone! (1996)
5. Splash Crash (1997)
6. Zero Hour (1997)
7. Shock Wave (1997)
8. Doom Star (1997)

Weird Zone
1. Zombie Surf Commandos from Mars (1996)
2. The Incredible Shrinking Kid (1996)
3. The Beast from Beneath the Cafeteria! (1996)
4. Attack of the Alien Mole Invaders! (1996)
5. The Brain That Wouldn't Obey! (1996)
6. Gigantopus from Planet X! (1997)
7. Cosmic Boy Versus Mezmo Head! (1997)
8. Revenge of the Tiki Men! (1997)

Secrets of Droon
1. The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet (1999)
2. Journey to the Volcano Palace (1999)
3. The Mysterious Island (1999)
4. City in the Clouds (1999)
5. The Great Ice Battle (1999)
6. The Sleeping Giant of Goll (2000)
7. Into the Land of the Lost (2000)
8. The Golden Wasp (2000)
9. Tower of the Elf King (2000)
10. Quest for the Queen (2000)
11. The Hawk Bandits of Tarkoom (2000)
12. Under the Serpent Sea (2001)
13. The Mask of Maliban (2001)
14. Voyage of the Jaffa Wind (2002)
15. The Moon Scroll (2002)
16. The Knights of Silversnow (2002)
Special Edition 1. The Magic Escapes (2002)
17. Dream Thief (2003)
18. Search for the Dragon Ship (2003)
19. The Coiled Viper (2003)
20. In The Ice Caves of Krog (2003)
21. Flight of the Genie (2003)
Special Edition 2. Wizard or Witch? (2004)
22. The Isle of Mists (2004)
23. The Fortress of the Treasure Queen (2004)
24. Race To Doobesh (2005)
25. The Riddle Of Zorfendorf Castle (2005)
Special Edition 3. Voyagers of the Silver Sand (2005)
26. The Moon Dragon (2006)
27. The Chariot of Queen Zara (2006)
28. In the Shadow of Goll (2006)
Special Edition 4. Sorcerer (2006)
29. Pirates of the Purple Dawn (2007)
30. Escape from Jabar-Loo (2007)
31. Queen of Shadowthorn (2007)
Special Edition 5. Moon Magic (2008)
32. Treasure of the Orkins (2008)
33. Flight of the Blue Serpent (2008)
34. In the City of Dreams (2009)
Special Edition 6. Crown of Wizards (2009)
35. The Lost Empire Of Koomba (2009)
36. Knights of the Ruby Wand (2010)
Special Edition 7. The Genie King (2010)
Special Edition 8. The Final Quest (2010)

Don't Touch That Remote
1. Sitcom School (1999)
2. The Fake Teacher (1999)
3. Stinky Business (announced, not published)
4. Freak Week (announced, not published)

Cracked Classics
1. Trapped in Transylvania: Dracula (2002)
2. Mississippi River Blues: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (2002)
3. What a Trip!: Around the World in Eighty Days (2002)
4. Humbug Holiday: A Christmas Carol (2002)

5. X Marks the Spot: Treasure Island (2003)
6. Crushing on a Capulet: Romeo and Juliet (2003)

Haunting of Derek Stone
1. City of the Dead (2009)
2. Bayou Dogs (2009)
3. The Red House (2009)
4. The Ghost Road (2009)



The Copernicus Legacy

The Forbidden Stone (2013)

The Serpent's Curse (2014


Novels
Kringle (2005)
Firegirl (2006)
The Postcard (2008)
Lunch-Box Dream (2011)

Author profile interview with Tony Abbott.

Tuesday 12 August 2014

Updated 2016-04-13


This post has been redacted because of personal conviction. I would appreciate if you say a prayer for me. 

Oh, Saint Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.
Oh, Saint Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most Loving of Fathers.
Oh, Saint Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss his fine head for me and ask him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath.
Saint Joseph, Patron of departed souls – pray for me. 
Amen