~Lily
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
In honor...
of today's release of True Blood season 1 on DVD, here are the trailers from the original season.
And a few things we learned from season 1...
And a few things we learned from season 1...
HBO's True Blood, Season 2 Trailers
I think the first trailer for True Blood season 2 is exceptional. It's stylistically beautiful, the Dylan song captures the mood of the series, and it manages to be evocative without offsetting - no small feat when dealing with that much blood.
Here are the new trailers that have been released.
This trailer is very similar to the first trailer, just a different cut and arrangement of the images.
A glimpse of Season 2
Here are the new trailers that have been released.
This trailer is very similar to the first trailer, just a different cut and arrangement of the images.
A glimpse of Season 2
Even More True Blood Season 2 Promos
Here are the last two single person promos that I've found.
Jason Stackhouse. This boy makes so many bad choices.
Maryanne. Straight up, I have no idea who the hell she is. This is a character that the books simply do not have.
Jason Stackhouse. This boy makes so many bad choices.
Maryanne. Straight up, I have no idea who the hell she is. This is a character that the books simply do not have.
More True Blood Season 2 Promos
Here are several more of the new HBO promos for the second season of True Blood.
Bill Compton. For some reason, people like him. I'm hoping they haven't read the books. Personally, I'm all for staking him outside and waiting for dawn.
Bill and Sookie promo.
Bill Compton. For some reason, people like him. I'm hoping they haven't read the books. Personally, I'm all for staking him outside and waiting for dawn.
Bill and Sookie promo.
Monday, May 18, 2009
True Blood Season 2 Promos Galore
In addition to the trailer for True Blood Season 2, HBO has begun airing shorter promo clips. The videos take a while to upload, so these will likely be broken up into several posts.
Eric Northman. Not quite the viking warrior of the books, but still quite hot.
Sookie Stackhouse, heroine extraordinaire
I put these two promos together simply because I'm hoping that happens in the series. Television, book, I don't really care at this point. I'd like to see some actual relationship (not just wild sex) out of these two.
Eric Northman. Not quite the viking warrior of the books, but still quite hot.
Sookie Stackhouse, heroine extraordinaire
I put these two promos together simply because I'm hoping that happens in the series. Television, book, I don't really care at this point. I'd like to see some actual relationship (not just wild sex) out of these two.
Thoughts on True Blood
I've had a varied relationship with the HBO series True Blood. Since the premature cancellation of CBS's Moonlight, I've needed something vampire related gracing my television with at least semi-frequency. Enter True Blood, based off Charlaine Harris's delightful southern vampire series, also known as the Sookie Stackhouse series. Now, despite being a rural vampire tale told entirely in first person (a POV that generally turns me off within the first page), I love this series. I really do. I had just finished the first book in the series (Dead Until Dark) when the first season of True Blood premiered. If you are unfamiliar with the series, the first book supplies the plot for the first season - at least loosely.
As television series and movies are want to do, many liberties were taken with the original subject matter. The TV series was made darker and sexier, with far more subplots than the actual book accounts for. That makes sense. The book series is told all in first person. If Sookie doesn't know something the audience doesn't know it either. That's one of the limitations of first person; the reader sees the world through a single character's perception. The TV series has more flexibility. Actions can take place around Sookie without her knowledge, the audience privy to information Sookie lacks.
Despite this, certain aspects of the TV series bother me. Some changes are made seemingly without cause. Actions are changed. Character's are made weaker or more ignorant than they are meant to be. Characters are left out (HELLO, Bubba anyone?). Sookie just seems more needy and less independent. Like I said, parts of the series bother me Even so, I'm excited for season 2 because I'm hoping that as the series grows in popularity, it will be able to draw more information from the books that provide the original source material. Only time will tell.
The first season of True Blood goes on sale tomorrow. Incidently, its release date coincides with Helena Sparrow's birthday. Happy birthday, Helena :)
~ Lily
As television series and movies are want to do, many liberties were taken with the original subject matter. The TV series was made darker and sexier, with far more subplots than the actual book accounts for. That makes sense. The book series is told all in first person. If Sookie doesn't know something the audience doesn't know it either. That's one of the limitations of first person; the reader sees the world through a single character's perception. The TV series has more flexibility. Actions can take place around Sookie without her knowledge, the audience privy to information Sookie lacks.
Despite this, certain aspects of the TV series bother me. Some changes are made seemingly without cause. Actions are changed. Character's are made weaker or more ignorant than they are meant to be. Characters are left out (HELLO, Bubba anyone?). Sookie just seems more needy and less independent. Like I said, parts of the series bother me Even so, I'm excited for season 2 because I'm hoping that as the series grows in popularity, it will be able to draw more information from the books that provide the original source material. Only time will tell.
The first season of True Blood goes on sale tomorrow. Incidently, its release date coincides with Helena Sparrow's birthday. Happy birthday, Helena :)
~ Lily
Sunday, May 17, 2009
A link for paranormal lovers
I just read an excellent blog entry on the Romantic Inks blog about the appeal of vampire novels and the paranormal romance subgenre at large.
"There’s a deep sexuality in the alpha hero in most paranormals that makes them an ideal escape read.
I couldn't have said it better myself. Check it out here.
~Lily
"There’s a deep sexuality in the alpha hero in most paranormals that makes them an ideal escape read.
I couldn't have said it better myself. Check it out here.
~Lily
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Review - Dark Lover by JR Ward
Well, this is a bit outdated. I mean, Dark Lover was released back in 2005. It was the first in a series that is now 7 books deep. Why choose now to review it? For several reasons, actually:
1) I'm constantly talking Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series up to others; especially people who do not normally read paranormal stories. What better way to break them in? Anyway, my friends and coworkers who haven't already read the series always want to know why it's so special. Really, it would be so much easier to send them a link to a review than to gush on for an hour about why I love the series so much. Especially since that gushing usually just ends with me saying "I love Zsadist!" over and again.
2) I am interested in reviewing her current release, as well as her future books, but the anal part of me will not let me review books in a series out of order. Nope, just can't.
3) I love the book and kinda just want to review it. Yeah, 'nuff said.
Dark Lover by JR Ward
The rough streets of Caldwell, NY are home to more than just drug dealers and working girls. Deep in the shadows wages a centuries old war between Vampires and the Lessening Society, a group of soulless humans dedicated to their destruction. At the forefront of the war is the Black Dagger Brotherhood (BDB), a powerful group of 6 vampire warriors, bred and trained to be the defenders of their race. The leader of the group is Wrath, the last pureblood vampire in existence and reluctant king of the vampire race.
Vengeful as his name would suggest, Wrath carries the burden of being forced to watch his family's murder at the hands of the Lessening Society centuries ago. Wrath is content as a warrior and nothing more, until tragedy strikes and he finds himself keeping a promise to care for the halfblood daughter of a dear friend. It's a promise he's reluctant to keep, until he gets his first blurry glimpse of Beth Randall. He's immediately attracted to the spunky woman, determined to see her through her dangerous transition into the Vampire world, and maybe even take her as his queen. But the Lessening Society has other plans, and even if Beth manages to make it through her transition and the Lesser's tricks, will she return Wrath's feelings?
Dark Lover is more than just a romance novel covering the burgeoning relationship between its hero and heroine; it is the introduction to a world hidden deep within our own and a cast of rich characters who are everybit as real as the author putting them on the page. While Dark Lover tells Wrath and Beth's story as a romance is expected to, it also introduces the rest of the brothers who comprise the BDB, introducing their individual conflicts and subtly paving the way for each of the books to come.
Combining romantic themes with dramatic situations, erotic encounters, and dark humor, Dark Lover blurs the lines between paranormal romance, erotic fiction, and urban fantasy. Romance lovers will enjoy the fast pace, sexual tension, and happily-for-now ending that includes not only Wrath and Beth as a couple, but as leaders for their race. Erotica fans will enjoy the sexual heat. Reading about these two is like standing too close to a bonfire; you're bound to be scorched . Ms. Ward is certainly a master of crafting sex scenes that are hotter than hell. It's a talent she only inproves upon throughout the series. Finally, paranormal and urban fantasy fans will be blown away by the depth of the world Ward has created.
While the series continues to build, becoming more vibrant and compelling with each new edition, this is the story that started it all. Dark Lover is a great read. Pick it up. I'll be surprised if you can put it down before traveling the distance between the covers.
Rating: 4/5
Until next time,
~Lily
1) I'm constantly talking Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series up to others; especially people who do not normally read paranormal stories. What better way to break them in? Anyway, my friends and coworkers who haven't already read the series always want to know why it's so special. Really, it would be so much easier to send them a link to a review than to gush on for an hour about why I love the series so much. Especially since that gushing usually just ends with me saying "I love Zsadist!" over and again.
2) I am interested in reviewing her current release, as well as her future books, but the anal part of me will not let me review books in a series out of order. Nope, just can't.
3) I love the book and kinda just want to review it. Yeah, 'nuff said.
Dark Lover by JR Ward
The rough streets of Caldwell, NY are home to more than just drug dealers and working girls. Deep in the shadows wages a centuries old war between Vampires and the Lessening Society, a group of soulless humans dedicated to their destruction. At the forefront of the war is the Black Dagger Brotherhood (BDB), a powerful group of 6 vampire warriors, bred and trained to be the defenders of their race. The leader of the group is Wrath, the last pureblood vampire in existence and reluctant king of the vampire race.
Vengeful as his name would suggest, Wrath carries the burden of being forced to watch his family's murder at the hands of the Lessening Society centuries ago. Wrath is content as a warrior and nothing more, until tragedy strikes and he finds himself keeping a promise to care for the halfblood daughter of a dear friend. It's a promise he's reluctant to keep, until he gets his first blurry glimpse of Beth Randall. He's immediately attracted to the spunky woman, determined to see her through her dangerous transition into the Vampire world, and maybe even take her as his queen. But the Lessening Society has other plans, and even if Beth manages to make it through her transition and the Lesser's tricks, will she return Wrath's feelings?
Dark Lover is more than just a romance novel covering the burgeoning relationship between its hero and heroine; it is the introduction to a world hidden deep within our own and a cast of rich characters who are everybit as real as the author putting them on the page. While Dark Lover tells Wrath and Beth's story as a romance is expected to, it also introduces the rest of the brothers who comprise the BDB, introducing their individual conflicts and subtly paving the way for each of the books to come.
Combining romantic themes with dramatic situations, erotic encounters, and dark humor, Dark Lover blurs the lines between paranormal romance, erotic fiction, and urban fantasy. Romance lovers will enjoy the fast pace, sexual tension, and happily-for-now ending that includes not only Wrath and Beth as a couple, but as leaders for their race. Erotica fans will enjoy the sexual heat. Reading about these two is like standing too close to a bonfire; you're bound to be scorched . Ms. Ward is certainly a master of crafting sex scenes that are hotter than hell. It's a talent she only inproves upon throughout the series. Finally, paranormal and urban fantasy fans will be blown away by the depth of the world Ward has created.
While the series continues to build, becoming more vibrant and compelling with each new edition, this is the story that started it all. Dark Lover is a great read. Pick it up. I'll be surprised if you can put it down before traveling the distance between the covers.
Rating: 4/5
Until next time,
~Lily
Monday, May 4, 2009
HBO's True Blood, Season 2
HBO has just released the trailer for the upcoming second season of hit series True Blood, based off the Southern Vampire Series (also known as the Sookie Stackhouse series) by Charlaine Harris.
The accompanying song is Bob Dylan's "Beyond Here Lies Nothing," and sets the mood perfectly for the trailer. Check it out.
~ Lily
The accompanying song is Bob Dylan's "Beyond Here Lies Nothing," and sets the mood perfectly for the trailer. Check it out.
~ Lily
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