I really was prepared to hate this. I mean, how dare they kill off Peter Parker? But this was really good and has me wanting to read more. Miles Morales is a great new character and the possibilities for his story are endless. Really excited about this new direction.   posted Jun 5, 2012 at 5:28PM

Amazing comic that just keeps getting better from one volume/story arc to the next, with this the high point. No comic has ever given me a lump in my throat before, but this one did. Outstanding story.   posted Jan 14, 2010 at 10:10AM

Shori looks like a 10-year-old black girl, but she's actually a 50-something vampire, a genetically-altered member of the Ina race who awakens with amnesia to discover the burnt remains of the commune where she was living. This is an excellent novel, very similar to Hubbard's (see below), with a great exploration of the Ina race and their symbiotic relationships with human beings. Shori comes under fire from renegades within the larger community who are worried about the mingling of vampire and human genes, allowing for Butler to bring in themes of racism and bigotry. Since this was her last book before her untimely death in 2006, we won't (unfortunately) be seeing a sequel.   posted Jun 26, 2007 at 11:48AM

Really enjoyed this one, a coming-of-age novel as a young girl being raised by a single father comes to grips with the fact that she might be a vampire. The 'Society of S' of the title are the "sanguinists," vampires who are conservationists and environmentalists (because, after all, as immortals, they have a stake in seeing the Earth endure). I would love to read more about these characters and this world.   posted May 31, 2007 at 7:18PM

Humorous look at the vampire life, set in a world where vampires are the majority and humans the minority, many of them raised on blood farms. Another very inventive look at the modern vampire and his troubles.   posted May 14, 2007 at 9:35AM

The return of Jules and friends, this is also a very effective mystery novel as a series of vampire killings appear to have some connection to a real estate and re-development plan. Hope there's a third Jules Duchon novel someday.   posted May 14, 2007 at 9:34AM

Excellent introduction to Jules Duchon, the "fat white vampire" of the title. Jules lives in a pre-Katrina New Orleans and gets caught up in a power struggle among rival vampire clans. All he wants is to be left alone. Very funny book.   posted May 14, 2007 at 9:33AM

Great first book in the Joe Pitt, vampire detective, series. Very hardboiled story of vampire life in a complex collection of different vampire societies. One even believes vampires shouldn't be in hiding, but should take their rightful place out in the open, alongside their human prey.   posted May 14, 2007 at 9:31AM

Very much in the vein of Huston's novels--follows the travails of an ordinary vampire who struggles to get along and remain under the radar, until he makes a new friend who teaches him how to enjoy being a vampire. Very imaginative and often funny book.   posted May 14, 2007 at 9:22AM

This seems to be a book you either love or hate--for me, it just worked and effortlessly pulled me in to one of the more horrific stories I’ve read in some time.   posted Sep 7, 2006 at 9:44PM