Charmed: Season 9, Volume 1

I didn't get this for myself, mostly because I was beginning to hate the series towards its end. (If you've got some time, go to Television Without Pity and read their recaps. I pretty much echo their sentiments.) However, my girlfriend liked it, so I got this as a gift for her and then just read it after she finished it.

A year (or thereabouts) after the Season 8 finale, all three witches now have kids, some who are already demonstrating their powers. Meanwhile, a pair of demons is working behind the scenes to resurrect the Source of All Evil (yes, again).

The story is pretty standard Charmed, following the pattern and pacing of most episodes, where the immediate problem is cleanly solved once a certain hurdle is jumped, and the season-wide plot advances in the background. The dialog isn't bad, but a lot of the attempts at humor fall flat.

The art is a mixed bag. While the actual quality of the art degrades as the book goes on, the distinctions between the characters become more obvious. I realize comic book work can't mirror the individual actors all the time, but each person has some distinct visual features (Rose McGowan's chin, Alyssa Milano's eyes and smile, etc.), and the artist needs to bring those out so the reader doesn't have to rely on the dialog to identify who's in the panel.

If you legitimately liked the series and can get past the artwork, this will probably appeal to you. If you weren't a fan or lost interest in the series, there isn't much here to justify bringing you back in.

Available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million.

Title: Charmed: Season 9, Volume 1
Authors: Paul Ruditis and Raven Gregory
Artists: Dave Hoover, Marcio Abreu, and Milen Parvanov
Year: 2011
Pages: 144

The End of the Night

Told in almost reverse chronological order, The End of the Night tells the tale of four youths (called the "Wolf Pack" by the media) travelling from Mexico to New York who decided to embark on their own mini-murder spree. Eventually, the Wolf Pack is caught, tried, and executed for their crimes.

Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Spider Robinson have highly praised MacDonald's work and listed him as one of their favorite authors. Stephen King went as far as to say: "John D. MacDonald has written a novel called The End of the Night which I would argue is one of the greatest American novels of the twentieth century. It ranks with Death of a Salesman, it ranks with An American Tragedy."

Fans of police procedural television shows would likely enjoy this book, as the facts of the story are presented in a very straightforward manner. Because the first chapter deals with the Wolf Pack's executions, there isn't much surprise to the story. However, the most educated member of the Wolf Pack, Kirby Stassen, recounts much of his experiences, and the transition from a group of ne'er-do-wells into a murderous quartet seems like a natural progression.

The plot and tone do show their age somewhat, but it's still an entertaining read. If you enjoy true crime literature, this might be one you should check out.

This book appears to be temporarily out of print, so you might check eBay and see if you can find it there.

Title: The End of the Night
Author: John D. MacDonald
Year: 1960
Pages: 192

The Waking

Four police detectives investigate two seemingly random murders with suspicious scenes. Once they delve into the cases, they realize the murderers may actually be avenging their own deaths. As the night draws on, the police scramble to figure out where the zombies are coming from and how to stop them.

Raven Gregory presents a fresh take on the much-overdone zombie genre. Instead of being mindless, unstoppable brain-eaters, The Waking's zombies are purpose-driven, and die once they've avenged themselves. The crux of the story centers around the source of the resurrections and why all this is happening.

While Drujiniu's pencils aren't spectacular examples of well-done anatomy, I will give him credit for making everyone look different and not recycling faces like a lot of other artists do. The storytelling is above average, only getting hard to follow in some of the action pages. Still, he creates good effects with shadows and conveys the scenes with a good hand. Roberts's colors seem a bit too bright throughout most of the book, but are quite competent.

Still, it's definitely worth reading, especially if you're as tired of zombies as I am.

Available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million.

Title: The Waking
Author: Raven Gregory
Artists: Vic Drujiniu and Mark Roberts
Year: 2010
Pages: 124

2012: The War For Souls

There exists three versions of Earth: the one we're accustomed to, a two-moon world with no wars, and another populated by a race of sadistic, reptilian humanoids. As the sacred date of December 21, 2012 approaches, the quantum boundaries separating the three worlds grow weaker. The reptilian world of Abaddon needs souls and resources, and its inhabitants possess the knowledge to overcome the other two worlds if their plans succeed. One human in each of the other two worlds possesses a piece of knowledge to save humanity from a fate beyond death.

Whitley Strieber goes to great lengths in creating a universe where not only bodies can be destroyed, but souls as well. As the story progresses, the two-moon Earth begins to succumb to Abaddon, and the population begins to lose faith entirely. However, humanity's greatest strength is its ability to adapt to a desperate situation and overcome, and a small group of people won't just stand by and let themselves and everything they hold dear be destroyed.

I'm not sure what the hatred of this book is all about. Admittedly, it wasn't the greatest book I've ever read, but it was certainly far from the worst. While there are a few deus ex machina moments in the plot, I thought Strieber had some great imaginary moments, especially as they relate to the world of Abaddon.

I doubt I'd read it again or put it on my list of recommended books, but I certainly didn't hate it.

Available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million.

Title: 2012: The War For Souls
Author: Whitley Strieber
Year: 2007
Pages: 319

The Cannibals of Candyland

The gist of the story is that there exists a group of cannibalistic offshoots of humanity that live in a subterranean world where everything is made of candy. Of course, evolution happened this way because the Candy People's favorite food is young children, and children are attracted to candy. Franklin Pierce watched one of the candy cannibals eat his siblings as a child and is seeking to expose and motivate the world into ridding existence of the Candy People. When he follows one down to their world, his plan goes awry, and he finds himself becoming what he hates most!

While Carlton Mellick III has a vivid imagination and a knack for thinking his universes through completely, I wouldn't consider this the best work of his I've read. Earlier I read Sausagey Santa, and that was a much more whacked-out and entertaining read. While this has some good moments, it mostly just drives the plot towards its inevitable conclusion.

It's a fun read, but not Mellick's best.

Available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million.

Title: The Cannibals of Candyland
Author: Carlton Mellick III
Year: 2009
Pages: 151