CD Giveaway - Sam Shrieve, "Bittersweet Lullabies"
Ends Nov 29, 2009
The current student at Berklee College of Music has a rock 'n' roll pedigree, but delivers a pleasing and diverse collection of soft pop on his debut record. Enter our contest for your chance to win!
The Twilight Saga: New Moon Prize Pack
Ends Nov 29, 2009
The second installment of the Twilight saga is hitting theaters, and we've got the stylish goodies you'll howl over!
Publication Date: May 1, 2009 Publisher: Yard Dog Press Author: · Julia S. Mandala Related Sites: ·Yard Dog Press
Grade: B
When Evan Flynn's mother dies, he's sent to live with his Aunt Kate in Kansas -- just the kind of remote area this Cardinals-loving teenager can't stand. Aunt Kate's not too keen to have him around, either, but as we learn later she has sufficient reason for her standoffishness about having people around the house.
You see, Kate's house is very special. It was built on an ancient nexus, well known to the Wakanee natives who once occupied the territory. As a result, every night at sundown, Kate's upstairs floor becomes a hallway of doors, each of which open into a new dimension from which a variety of hostile creatures might emerge. Kate is the latest in a line of family defenders who hold the invasion at bay, but it's getting more and more difficult. Her stubbornness blinds her to the help offered from other corners, and it's up to Evan to defy the rules, learn the secrets of the nexus, and undergo a spirit journey to meet with ancient entities who divulge the truth behind the attacks.
Julia S. Mandala's adventure yarn, House of Doors, is fun and fast-paced, blending disparate elements like Native American religious beliefs with extra-dimensional aliens and talking beasts. The action begins immediately, and the tension doesn't let up until the final battle which, perhaps, is a little longer than it should be, and a touch too deus ex machina in its resolution. Nonetheless, it's an entertaining and diverting novella which can easily be enjoyed in a single sitting at just over 120 pages.
House of Doors is one half of this flip book, officially titled Double Dog #5 from Yard Dog Press, sharing shelf space with Linda L. Donahue's Jaguar Moon.
