Review: Silver by Rhiannon Held

My review of the new novel Silver is up at the magazine New Myths. And yes, there's a few typos, but hey, at least it's just a few. Here's the first half of the review:

Writers like Patricia Briggs and Kelley Armstrong have taught us that wolf pack politics is a tricky thing—one part subtle machinations and two parts brute force. Rhiannon Held continues in this tradition with her debut novel Silver.

The urban fantasy Silver has a certain grit and intelligence to it which is apparent from the get-go. Someone has performed unspeakable acts of experimentation and torture on an entire pack of werewolves, systematically burning them with silver and injecting it into their veins. The only werewolf to escape is a young woman who’s retreated so far into herself, she can’t recall her own name and adopts the moniker Silver. Andrew Dare, a pack enforcer, tracks Silver down when she crosses his pack’s territory. Andrew expects to have to meet the stray werewolf with violence and threats, instead he meets the half-crazy, rambling, injured Silver, which sets Andrew down the track of finding the person who hurt her and killed her pack. But first he has to find out who Silver really is and where she came from. Read the second half of the review...

Short version: I liked Silver. Is this novel going to revolutionize urban fantasy? Probably not. But it's an interesting new chapter in personable-but-aggressive werewolf fiction.

[Silver by Rhiannon Held came out from Tor, June 2012. I received a complimentary advanced proof via New Myths to complete this review.]

New title from World Weaver Press announced!

We're at it again! This time with an anthology of new twists on the classic ghost story titled Specter Spectacular: 13 Ghostly Tales, to be released on Tuesday, September 25, 2012.  Should be available as both ebook and trade paperback.

Anthology description:

Spirits, poltergeists, hauntings, creatures of the dark — Specter Spectacular: 13 Ghostly Tales delivers all these and more in thirteen spooky twists on the classic ghost story. From the heartwarming and humorous to the eerie and chilling, this anthology holds a story for everyone who has ever been thrilled by the unknown or wondered what might lie beyond the grave. Step inside and witness ghosts of the past, tales of revenge, the inhuman, the innocent, the damned, and more. But be warned — once you cross the grave into this world of fantasy and fright, you may find there’s no way back out.

Featuring the work of Amanda C. Davis (“My Rest A Stone”), A. E. Decker (“Death and Taxes”), Larry Hodges (“The Haunts of Albert Einstein”), Sue Houghton (“The Secret of Echo Cottage”), Andrea Janes (“A Fitting Tribute”), Terence Kuch (“What If It Could Speak!”), Robbie MacNiven (“The Little House at Bull Run Creek”), Kou K. Nelson (“Safe Upon the Shore”), Jamie Rand (“Alabaster”), Shannon Robinson (“Wendigo”), Calie Voorhis (“Cooter, Ass-munch, and Me”), Jay Wilburn (“Pushed Out”), and Kristina Wojtaszek (“Cinder”).

More details.

Ad of the Week

This is one of the more awesome ads I've seen on TV recently.


Then again, maybe I'm just a sucker for people in real life situations bursting into song.

Giant Furball of Doom

Took the cat back to the vet today -- we're starting to make this a tri-annual occurrence -- and let me tell you, whenever it comes time to shove the cat in the little cat carrier, the sleek little cat that can squeeze through any gap suddenly becomes Giant Furball of Doom who somehow just doesn't fit into the carrier.

So far this year we've had an infected tooth and crystals in the urine. The vet wanted us to treat both of those and use a pheromone diffuser (think Glade plug-in filled with synthetic cat spit) to rule out stress-compensation as the reason for her skin issues (licking all the fur off her stomach) and swelling issues (the pouty, collagen lip look).

Things were getting better. Then last week she starting urinating in the bathtub. Again. Bless her heart that her inappropriate peeing confines itself to an imminently washable surface complete with a drain. She's a good cat, really she is.

But now that the tooth's been taken care of and the crystals are down -- what's with the new swelling and the new whythefuckdidyoujustpeeinthetub moments?

Diagnosis: eosinophilic granuloma complex and a urinary infection.
Treatment: steriods, antibotics, and distilled water in a stainless steel dish.

The granuloma complex -- the part where she feels itchy and therefore licks her skin raw in places -- will keep coming back if I don't find out what she's allergic to and/or repeatedly treat her with steroids. I'm hoping the allergy comes from her body disliking the insanely hard water here. I dislike it too, kitty.

Where I live there is such a large amount of mineral deposits in the water that the inside of a new dishwasher turned from white to orange in under 18 months. If it does that to the inside of a dishwasher, I can only imagine what it does to the inside of a cat.

Ad of the Week, Olympic double edition

In my opinion, I don't think there is an Olympic ad to top a zombie on a pommel horse. But the topiary (or "hopiary" as he's also called) man in the Olympic village amused me. There are more videos on YouTube of the making of this Dow commercial.

Good news

Thank you to everyone who saw the previous post and took the time to make a single click that not only could make a difference, but a click that did make a difference in the life of a young family with a sick child. 

One click that can actually make a difference

A good friend recently brought this to my attention. She and her family have been raising money like mad for the past month, having car washes and hosting tupperware parties, ever since they found out that her cousin's 21 month-old daughter, Sophie May, has a tumor the size of a baseball in her abdomen.

Sohpie May's story is now part of ReMax's "What Moves You?" contest. Remax has gathered the top stories and is asking the public to vote. The story with the most votes receives $10,000 -- a sum that can go a long way toward offsetting all the costs associated with having a very young, very sick child.

You can vote for Sophie May here http://whatmovesyou.remax.com/?p=3612 Today (Wednesday) is the last day of voting, so please hop on over, read her story, make one click that could make a difference.

 If you'd rather listen to Sophie May's story than read it, here's the radio interview with Sophie May's grandmother (voting still takes play on the ReMax page)