The Vampire’s Curse, by Mags Halliday, Kelly Hale and Philip Purser-Hallard
Second paragraph of third chapter of “The Badblood Diaries”, by Mags L. Halliday: Yes, I know, I know. She'll see all of this once we get back home. By then I'm sure we'll have become fast friends who will laugh over such foolish first impressions and recount them at each other's weddings or some such. I hope.
Second paragraph of third-ish (depending how you count) chapter of “Possum Kingdom”, by Kelly Hale: He could just make out the sea, a flash of white and gold in the setting sun. And stretching towards it was now a landscape made of flesh, bone, and blood; an undulating, noisy mass of young beating hearts and awkward shuffling feet that had sprung up virtually overnight, overflowing the streets, the bogs, and fields beyond. These were the child crusaders led by another of God's chosen: the shepherd Stephan of Cloyes in the Orléanais. According to the inn's proprietress, Dame Merveaux, the people of the Orléanais were prone to fits and visions: 'They see the face of Christ in every horse dropping and puddle of water. It's the mountain air, young sir. Goes straight to the head. Likely the reason they have so much trouble with the walking dead, I suspect. Indecent the numbers of people won't stay buried in the Orléanais.'
Second chapter of third part of “Predating the Predators”, by Philip Purser-Hallard: She was a friendly, motherly person, and the first Lavellan I have met. Not having investigated her species before I arrived on Murigen, I had been expecting a biology akin to that of Earth's amphibia, but the Lavellans I have observed since my arrival are covered with sleek black or russet fur. They look more like otters or beavers than frogs or salamanders, though far more closely adapted to their waterborne lifestyle.
A set of three novellas featuring Bernice Summerfield and vampires (she has met them before). The first of these was fairly standard stuff (archaeology expedition suffers mysterious deaths; who is the vampire?) but the other two I thought were excellent. The second story features a time-travelling quest through pocket universes and the history of vampirism, and the third has an aging Benny attending an academic conference where things start going horribly wrong. Two out of three ain’t bad (and it’s not that the first is awful, just not as original as the other two). You can get it here.
Next in this series: Secret Histories, ed. Mark Clapham
Second paragraph of third-ish (depending how you count) chapter of “Possum Kingdom”, by Kelly Hale: He could just make out the sea, a flash of white and gold in the setting sun. And stretching towards it was now a landscape made of flesh, bone, and blood; an undulating, noisy mass of young beating hearts and awkward shuffling feet that had sprung up virtually overnight, overflowing the streets, the bogs, and fields beyond. These were the child crusaders led by another of God's chosen: the shepherd Stephan of Cloyes in the Orléanais. According to the inn's proprietress, Dame Merveaux, the people of the Orléanais were prone to fits and visions: 'They see the face of Christ in every horse dropping and puddle of water. It's the mountain air, young sir. Goes straight to the head. Likely the reason they have so much trouble with the walking dead, I suspect. Indecent the numbers of people won't stay buried in the Orléanais.'
Second chapter of third part of “Predating the Predators”, by Philip Purser-Hallard: She was a friendly, motherly person, and the first Lavellan I have met. Not having investigated her species before I arrived on Murigen, I had been expecting a biology akin to that of Earth's amphibia, but the Lavellans I have observed since my arrival are covered with sleek black or russet fur. They look more like otters or beavers than frogs or salamanders, though far more closely adapted to their waterborne lifestyle.
A set of three novellas featuring Bernice Summerfield and vampires (she has met them before). The first of these was fairly standard stuff (archaeology expedition suffers mysterious deaths; who is the vampire?) but the other two I thought were excellent. The second story features a time-travelling quest through pocket universes and the history of vampirism, and the third has an aging Benny attending an academic conference where things start going horribly wrong. Two out of three ain’t bad (and it’s not that the first is awful, just not as original as the other two). You can get it here.
Next in this series: Secret Histories, ed. Mark Clapham
