“Inspirations and Influences” is a series of articles in which we invite authors to write guest posts talking about their…well, Inspirations and Influences. The cool thing is that the writers are given free reign so they can go wild and write about anything they want. It can be about their new book, series or about their career as a whole.”

Today’s guest is awesome author Jackie Kessler, writer of Urban Fantasy, Comics (she is part of the Buffyverse CANON) and Young Adult books (her YA debut Hunger will be coming out in a few months). She also pens the Icarus Project Series, a superhero series written in collaboration with Caitlin Kittredge. The new book in the series Shades of Gray (Shades of Night in the UK), comes out tomorrow in the US. Ana is a huge fan of the series and has reviewed both books.

To celebrate the release of Shades of Gray we invited Jackie to talk about some of her Inspirations and Influences:

I Blame Neil Gaiman
By Jackie Kessler

Back in the early 1990s, I thought I was done with comic books. Seriously. Firstly, they were expensive, and without my dad to bankroll my sequential-art habit, all of my cash had to go to textbooks and Ramen noodles. Secondly, I was getting a little fed up with many of the storylines and some of the art. I thought I’d had enough of Good versus Evil in illustrated form. If I really wanted, I could watch Michael Keaton as the Batman again and call it a day.

And then, something happened that changed my life. Multiple choice time! What was the event that changed my life?

A) Lightning hit a row of chemicals in beakers, and all those electrified chemicals spilled on me, giving me super speed and the uncanny ability to wear a skintight red outfit and manage to look slender.
B) I was bitten by a radioactive spider, giving me the proportional strength, etc., of a spider (yuck).
C) I discovered, when I took off my glasses, that I had super strength, was able to fly, and had a weird allergic reaction to kryptonite.
D) My roommate plunked down a copy of SANDMAN #23 on my bed and told me I had to read it.

If you guessed A, B, or C, bless your geeky heart. Sadly, no, I still have no super powers (unless you count selective hearing, but I consider that an art form more than a super power).

When my roommate gave me SANDMAN #23, he* insisted that I stop everything and read it. I told him, rather wistfully, that I didn’t read comic books anymore. And he said, “This isn’t just a comic book. It’s amazing. You have to read it.” So partially to shut him up, I read it.

And then I went out and immediately bought A DOLL’S HOUSE graphic novel collection.

And then I got my hands on every back copy of SANDMAN that I could find. (And afford.)

That one story — from its dynamic writing to the incredible art to the way Morpheus spoke in dialogue balloons made of awesomesauce**— was enough to rekindle my love of all things comic book. I still limited myself in terms of what to buy (see the above about me being insanely poor), but man, there was nothing like looking forward to hitting the comic book shop and seeing what the new week would bring in terms of spandex, capes, and anthropomorphic personifications.

It also paved the way for my professional crush*** on Neil Gaiman. I devoured his work. I read GOOD OMENS (coauthored with Terry Pratchett, and still one of my favorite books of all time, right up there with Christopher Moore’s LAMB), eagerly sought out rare chapbooks, found the occasional HELLBLAZER, and so on. When I was in the hospital with my first child, I had AMERICAN GODS to read during those rare minutes when I wasn’t nursing or sleeping. I waited on a looooooooooong line to have Neil sign my ENDLESS poster (framed, hanging in my home office). I registered for the Fantasy Matters convention when I heard he was one of the keynote speakers and was second on line for autographing (I actually gave him signed copies of HELL’S BELLES and THE ROAD TO HELL. He gave me a kiss on the cheek.**** I definitely got the better end of the deal.)

Why am I a writer? I blame Neil Gaiman. On that framed ENDLESS poster, he’d written: To Jackie: Dream On! And my dream was to be a novelist. He gave me permission, you see. He made the dream not some ephemeral thing, not this fleeting notion, but rather an actual goal. There’s a reason why Neil is one of the people I acknowledge in BLACK AND WHITE: he got me to stop thinking about writing as something lofty. Thanks to Neil, writing for me became a passion…one that I’ve been fortunate enough to also make one of my professions.

So even though Morpheus doesn’t wear spandex (thank God) and the notions of Good versus Evil in SANDMAN are like nothing I’d previously read about in the Justice League or the Avengers (and didn’t see with superheroes until Moore and Gibbons’ WATCHMEN and Miller’s THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS), Neil Gaiman got me to love comic books again. And I’m forever grateful.

* Yes, my roommate was a guy. Okay, technically, he was a suitemate. There were five of us. But really, “suitemate” doesn’t flow as well as “roommate,” and if this is the part of the story that’s concerning you, then you’re missing the point.

**** I still haven’t washed that cheek.

From Gaiman-fangirls to another: thank you, Jackie!

And now, for the giveaway:

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Courtesy of the author, we are giving away 1 signed copy of Shades of Gray.The contest is open to ALL and will run until Saturday June 26 at 11:59 PM (PST). To enter, leave a comment here answering who is your favourite Superheroine or Supervillainess. Only one entry per person please! Good luck!

Title: Shades of Gray (US)/ Shades of Night (UK)

Author:Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kittredge

Genre: Fantasy (Superheroes)

When Jet and Iridium – best friends turned enemies – came together to bring down a supervillain, they inadvertently destroyed the secret Corp-Co transmitter, whose frequency kept the New Chicago’s heroes of in-line – and sane. Now the city is plunged into chaos as these heroes are suddenly the biggest threat. Corp-Co brings in a new Squadron from India – but when heroes are tied into a system of sponsorship, only money, and not a sense of duty, can persuade them to save the day.

As they haggle, Everyman sets out to destroy the powers with a group of enhanced super-soldiers, and the mysterious villain Doctor Hypnotic is lulling heroes and supervillains alike into his seductive web – a dream-world where everything is perfect, but nothing is real. Once again Jet and Iridium are forced to set aside their hatred of each other to do what they were born to do: save the world.

Publisher: Spectra (US) / Piatkus (UK)
Publication Date: Jun 22 2010/ Jul 1 2010
Paperback: 432 pages

Stand alone or series Book 2 in the Icarus Project series

Why did I read the book: I read Black and White the first in the series last year, and loved it.

How did I get the book: ARC from Spectra

Review:

“ Dear Diary:

Today I start reading Shades of Gray. I really loved Black and White, please let the sequel be at least as good. I am supposed to review this in three days, hope I can make it (I blame it on the World Cup).”
Excerpt from Ana’s Journal, June 18th 8am.

Shades of Gray is the sequel to Black and White and part of the Icarus Project series. I read the first book last year as soon as it came out and I loved it. I thought the book was fun and clever by both paying homage to previous books and comics and giving the superhero lore a new spin. With alternating chapters from each of the main characters’ – Jet and Iridium – PoV and then chunks of chapters alternating between Now and Then, the authors created a world full of possibilities, based on an intriguing Origins premise and wonderful characters.

Shades of Gray starts with the aftermath of what happened in the end of book 1. After Iridium helped bring down the Corp and their commlinks system that kept the superheroes under control, all hell broke loose with Superheroes rebelling and turning villains and/or rabid, attacking citizens, creating havoc, etc or simply quitting. Only a handful of Heroes remains, led by Jet, trying to re-organise the Squadrom and bring order to the city. If things weren’t already chaotic, difficult and tiring, shit really hits the fan when supervillains escape from Blackbird prison, including the most dangerous of them all, Doctor Hypnotic, a former superhero turned rabid who starts turning people into mindless zombies.

“ Dear Diary:

I barely only started reading Shades of Gray and already love it, although the beginning is a bit slow. Why is my lunch break so short? I wonder if I can smuggle the book into this afternoon’s meeting.”
Excerpt from Ana’s Journal, June 18th 2pm.

On the other side of town, Iridium is dealing with things her own way, which as we know, is not less heroic than Jet’s, only slightly less orderly. Like for example, she was the one who helped some of the villains, including her father, Archlight, escaping prison.

The thing is, in this world, villainy and heroism is officially determined by the Corp and since book 1, we all know how THAT works. On top of that, other threads continue to be explored: like the relationship between Corp and the Icarus Project and we learn what it all means.

The plotting is very, very complex. The ideas, the clues are spread out in small journal snippets at the beginning of each chapter. Plus, once more the book alternates between NOW and THEN. The NOW chapters alternate between Jet and Iridium and deals with the chaos resulting from book 1 . But there is a big difference this time because the THEN goes back in time to tell the story of the first generation of superheroes, the one with the heroines’ parents with alternating point of views between those characters.

It sounds confusing but it really is not – in fact, I am delighted, surprised by how awesome and complex it was. I do admit that at first, I thought the pacing to be super slow and with less action sequences than a superhero novel ought to have. But folks, it works. Because this is less of a book about fighting (although there are some really good fighting sequences) and more about the characters and what it means to be a superhero. In the same vein of the comics Irredeemable or the novel The Rise of Renegade X (both recent releases) it investigates the psyche of the superhero and how not everyone who is a superbeing is necessarily equipped for the task – this is both sad and terrifying. I mentioned an Origins story and in the end all the pieces of the puzzle come together to form an astonishing story.

“ Dear Diary:

Couldn’t read last night. But just read a few chapters on the train from London and HOLY SHIT.
Excerpt from Ana’s Journal, June 19th 7pm.

As astonishing and complex as the plotting was, nothing matters more to me than the characters. Both Jet and Iridium whom I already loved from book 1 and whose arcs are further developed: these two have to deal with their parents’ reputations and fall from grace and create their own path. It is not easy; especially when it comes to Jet whose Shadow power basically dooms her to mental illness as it has doomed every single Shadow hero before her.

But this time around what really made the book to me was the THEN parts. I can’t begin to describe how good the chapters about the first wave of superheroes were: Vixen, Luster (before coming Archlight), Blackout, Angelica and Night. By showing how Corp first started using the comms links, how they used and controlled most of them and how of course, there was a sense of impending doom throughout because we knew already how tragic their lives were. We just didn’t know how much: love, paranoia, betrayal, madness, death, everything was there and this was by far my favourite part of the novel because it all has repercussions in the worldbuilding and in the current lives of the protagonists.

“Dear Diary:

Today a book made me cry. I love when that happens. Also: Luster and Vixen FOREVER.”
Excerpt from Ana’s Journal, June 20th 3:30pm.

I have to give kudos to the authors for this collaborative work – it can’t be easy to create such a polished, smooth read. In the end, I laughed, I cried, I rooted for the heroes and against the villains and when I closed the novel, I knew I was going to miss the characters. That makes it for a great read, in my books.

Notable quotes/Parts: I loved all the scenes with Vixen and Luster, the Angelica/Hal/Blackout love triangle. They were powerful and so, so sad.

Additional Thoughts:Come back later today for a guest post with one of the co-authors, Jackie Kessler, who talks about how comics and Neil Gaiman’s kiss inspired her as a writer and for a chance to win a signed copy of Shades of Gray.

Verdict: Picking up where the first book left off and further developing the themes of heroism and the hero’s psyche, Shades of Gray is an even better book than its predecessor. It is also an extremely fun book to read and with awesome characters to boot.

Rating:8 – Excellent

Reading Next:Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding

Hello everybody, hope you are all having a good Sunday!

We start this mini-stash with some news:

Change of Address

Two of our favorite bloggers have moved to new and shinning adobes:

Racy Romance Reviews is no longer. Jessica has not only moved her blog but also renamed and revamped it (or sort of). Read React Review is the new name and she plans on reviewing not only Romance but other genres as well and keep on writing all of those awesome philosophy of fiction posts. Like this one.

Kenda of Lurv A La Mode is the other one and we luuuurves the new design – very cool. Be sure to check it – the content remains the same awesomeness as always: reviews of romance, fantasy and scifi.

Make sure to update your blogrolls and feed readers!

In other news

Meanwhile, the second part of Jackie Kessler’s “Carpe Noctem” – Tales of the Vampire, part of the Buffy Comics is up and you can preview it here.

Also, the *official* countdown timer for the third and final installment in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy has been released! Check it out:

So. Very. Pretty.

Finally, you may or may not have heard the fabulous news that Carrie Ryan’s paperback release of The Forest of Hands and Teeth debuted at #8 on the New York Times Best Seller List!

We are so thrilled for Carrie – and if y’all haven’t read The Forest of Hands and Teeth, NOW is the time to go forth and buy a copy. Speaking of…you may have seen the shiny new countdown widget in our sidebar. We cannot WAIT for the release of The Dead-Tossed Waves next week – and what’s this? Thea just received her ARC in the mail this afternoon!

Giveaway winners

We also have a few giveaway winners to announce.

The winner of one copy of Something About You by Julie James is:

Shel! (comment#42)

The two winners of the Stacia Kane giveaway taking home the complete set of the Megan Chase books are:

Mel Butcherl! (comment#3)

Sharon K (comment#70)

And the 20 winners of the Kresley Cole giveaway are:

brina g (comment#58)

Anna Shah Hoque (comment#1)

elaing8 (comment#64)

chelleyreads (comment#41)

maered (comment#10)

Amanda Isabel (comment#24)

Ava (comment#76)

Maria (comment#22)

Tracey D (comment#52)

iokijo (comment#74)

Dawn (comment#69)

Rebecca (comment#47)

Virginia C (comment#11)

KayAnna Kirby (comment#6)

GSM (comment#34)

Jennifer K (comment#3)

Laura Hadland (comment#15)

Maija A. (comment#59)

Bianca F (comment#14)

Stacy (comment#45)

You all know the drill. Email us (contact AT thebooksmugglers DOT com) with your snail mail address, and we will get your winnings out to you as soon as possible. Thanks again to everyone that entered, and congratulations to all of the winners!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand that’s it from us today. Well, sort of.

We will be back later with our calendar for the Steampunk Week and launch the event in all its glory! We are excited. Yes, we are!!

Today, we have a very special interview prepared with an awesome guest author. Jackie Kessler, author of dark fantasy and paranormal novels, has just joined one of the most prestigious clubs in all of geekdom: she has officially joined THE BUFFYVERSE. February 3, 2010 officially marks Jackie’s first foray in the comic book medium with the publication of short story “Carpe Noctem” in MySpace Dark Horse Presents #31. Her contribution to Dark Horse Comics’ “Tales of the Vampires” collection of short stories ties into the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 comics, which (if you have been living under a rock and don’t know) is the comic book continuation of the iconic television show. Last week, an exclusive 8-page preview of “Carpe Noctem” was released on MTV’s Splash Page, and to get into the spirit of the release, we knew we HAD to have Jackie over for one of our infamous interviews.

Fellow Buffy fans! Comrade geeks! Whedonites! We are proud to give you the talented Jackie Kessler.

The Book Smugglers: First of all, congratulations on being inducted into the Buffyverse! How in the world did you manage to land one of the coolests gigs EVER?

Jackie: Thank you so much! It happened through a combination of chutzpah and serendipity. See, I went to Dragon*Con in 2009, and I was on a couple of panels with Scott Allie, the Dark Horse Comics editor of Buffy Season 8. After our last panel together, I chatted with him and told him that I’d love to send him a book. (This is the chutzpah part — I have to point out that I am horribly nervous at conventions, doing live interviews, speaking on panels…basically, being in public.) Scott asked if I wrote anything dark, and I said yep, so I sent him Hell’s Belles.

A month later, I received a carton of author copies of The Road to Hell in mass market. Now, what am I supposed to do with a carton of books? That’s right: have a Twitter contest! The first 10 people who RT’d my tweet won my spur-of-the-moment contest. Scott was #2. (And there’s the serendipity.) So I emailed him to confirm the address was the same. And that’s when he asked me if I would be interested in doing a project for him.

I was like, Sure!

And that’s when he asked if I would like to write a “Tales of the Vampires” comic book, set in the Buffyverse, for MySpace Dark Horse Presents.

And I was like, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. (But I think I said, “Sure!”)

Scott gave me some terrific pointers on how to switch my mindset from “novel” or “short story” to “comic book script.” And my friend C.E. Murphy (author of the Take a Chance comic book series, as well as author of the Walker Papers, among others) gave me some amazing tips. I sent a synopsis to Scott, and he sent it on to Joss. And then, Scott asked me if I was ready to start writing. And I was!

The Book Smugglers: Were you always a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer? How does it feel to be a canonic part of Buffy?

Jackie: [LAUGHS] Canonic? I wouldn’t say that. Because then I would totally panic, because that’s BIG. I wrote a story, set in the Buffyverse. I’m flattered, honored, and just plain giddy to have this opportunity. Even when I realized it was happening, I thought that it couldn’t possibly be happening.

I started watching Buffy in the middle of its third season, and then I had to try to catch the previous seasons. (Thank God for the cable channel that ran the episodes every afternoon!) I fell in love with it — especially with season two. Man, talk about pre-marital sex having consequences…

The Book Smugglers: Your story, “Carpe Noctem” is one of the “Tales of the Vampire” shorts, published by Dark Horse Comics on Myspace. How does your story fit with the Buffy continuity? Can you tell us a bit about it?

Jackie: So here’s the thing, and spoilers abound if you haven’t read Buffy Season 8, so fair warning.

In issue #21, Harmony changed everything. Everything. In one fell swoop, not only are vampires real to everyday people…they’re cool. They’re on television, and they’re the good guys. Harmony killed a Slayer on live television (granted, in self-defense), and the ratings skyrocketed. Now you’ve got Slayers on the run, and Harmony, the star of her own reality show, is a guest on The Colbert Report. Simply put, the world (at least, the world presented to people via television) loves the vampires.

“Carpe Noctem” takes place during the “Harmony Comes to the Nation” short by Jane Espenson and Karl Moline, from MySpace Dark Horse Presents #25. So that would be around the “Retreat” main storyline in Season 8.

Scott, the editor, wanted me to show the world through a vampire’s perspective. So “Carpe Noctem” focuses on two vampires, Cyn and Ash, and shows how they’re dealing in this new reality. Ash is doing great — she’s loving every moment of her unlife. But Cyn can’t stand it. She’s supposed to be a monster, not a celebrity. “Carpe Noctem” follows Cyn as she makes an important decision (in part one), and then the consequences of that decision (in part two).

The Book Smugglers: The first part of “Carpe Noctem” was published last Friday – what was it like to see it published?

Jackie: It feels completely surreal. In a good way, not in an up-my-meds way.

The Book Smugglers: Vampires have a new status quo in the Buffyverse after Harmony outed them on TV, but there is now a huge problem with their own identity. All of a sudden, they are no feared as monsters by the population at large. One of your vamp characters says it all: they have been defanged. What do you think can happen next?

Jackie: That’s the sheer joy of it: anything can happen next. Vampire rights? Civil war? Something completely different? We’ve had the pleasure of seeing how other authors have tackled the “vampires living openly among the humans” route — for example, Charlaine Harris in her Sookie Stackhouse series, or Laurell K. Hamilton in her Anita Blake stories. I can’t wait to see where Joss Whedon & Co. will go with this new world order.

The Book Smugglers: The second (and final) part of “Carpe Noctem” will be published in MySpace Dark Horse Presents #32 – what can we expect next?

Jackie: It’s a vampire tale, so you know there’s gonna be blood. [GRIN]

The Book Smugglers: Your most recently published title, the superhero/villain book Black and White seems to have been influenced by comics (we definitely see a few Watchmen shoutouts in there). Are you a comic book fan? What comics do you read regularly (monthlies and/or trades)?

Jackie: Oh holy cats, yes — I grew up reading comic books with my dad. Every week, we’d go to the comic book store, buy a boatload of titles (er, he would buy them; I’d pick them out), and spend the day swapping comics and talking about them. My bat mitzvah present was Uncanny X-Men #94 – 100 in mint condition. (Best present EVER.) As a kid, DC Comics was my thing. As I got older, I was more into Marvel, with some independents thrown in there. In college, it was all Hello, Vertigo! (The entire Sandman series remains my favorite read ever. Joss Whedon is my master, but Neil Gaiman is my god.)

I haven’t been a regular comic book reader for many years, alas. But I watch Teen Titans reruns with my kids, and they tell me when there’s a good episode of Batman: Brave and the Bold on. Every once in a while, I head down to the local comic book store with my kids, and they pick from Marvel Adventures or Sonic while I get the latest Buffy and stare at ALL the freaking titles out there and wonder how I could ever begin to play catch up. (Spider-Man revealed his identity? Batman is dead? AAAAH!)

The Book Smugglers: What was it like writing a comic versus writing a novel or short story? And how do you feel about the free internet publication of “Carpe Noctem”?

Jackie: Talk about medium shock! Going from prose to script was tough. Figuring out how to break down each page, panel by panel, was eye-opening. And you have to visualize everything — not just the characters, but how the action looks on the panel, descriptions of everything in the panel, facial expressions. You have to give the artist enough information to bring the story to life. And the artist lets the characters act. It’s so freaking COOL.

The biggest change I had to make was cutting things down. When you write a novel, you have 300+ pages to get into backstory to explain motivation and whatnot. But you don’t have that option in a 16-page comic book.

I’m very glad that people can read “Carpe Noctem” online. It’s short, it’s free, it’s in the Buffyverse. Hurrah all around!

The Book Smugglers: Were you given pointers or guidelines that you had to follow for your contribution to “Tales of the Vampires” or were you given free rein?

Jackie: Scott gave me the basics on comic book script format as well as a number of key points to help me make the transition from novel to comic book, and C.E. gave me wonderful tips — and I’m very grateful for all of the help! Scott, as the editor, oversaw everything from synopsis to final product, and we had a few rounds before the synopsis and then the script moved to the next steps. He was wonderful to work with, as was Paul Lee, the very talented artist. All of the panel descriptions I had were guidelines; Paul truly breathed life into the story. And whoa, Dave Stewart, the colorist…wow, he did amazing things. (There’s a nightclub scene that’s simply spectacular to look at.) And the Comicraft letterist was terrific. (When vampires vamp out, their lettering changes. Dude, how COOL is that?)

Getting to see the pages, from the initial sketches to the final product, is just outstanding. I can’t put it into words. **jumps up and down in a happy dance**

The Book Smugglers: And now, for the full-force geek-out:

Jackie: OK, the coolest part of all this? When I was talking to Scott to go over the basic premise, at one point he said, “Jackie, that’s Joss on line 1. I’ll have to call you back.” And I said, “Okay, sure.” But what I was thinking was, AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! THAT’S JOSS WHEDON ON LINE 1!!!

The Book Smugglers: Buffy is one of our favourite TV Shows ever. Do you have a favourite season, episode, or storyarc?

Jackie: Season two was my hands-down favorite. As for individual episodes…toss-up between “Once More, With Feeling,” “Earshot,” “Hush” and “The Body.” Storyarc: Angel as Angelus, and Buffy forced to send him to Hell. God, I still see the look on her face as she leaves Sunnydale. **shivers** And let’s face it: Season two Spike is just the best Bad Guy ever. (Except for Hunter Rose. But that’s another story completely.)

The Book Smugglers: Who is your favourite character from the entirety of the Buffyverse? (And no, you cannot say Buffy!)

Jackie: [LAUGHS] I wouldn’t have said Buffy anyway. Toss-up between soulless Spike and Dark Willow. (“Bored now,” before she does the deed to Warren? FABULOUS.) Drusilla is a close second (rah, rah, insanity!), as is Angelus (remember Willow’s goldfish from season two?) I adore Xander…but the good guys just don’t hold a candle to the bad guys and gals.

The Book Smugglers: Do you read the Buffy comics? If so, do you have a favourite issue or storyarc? What do you think of the switch from TV to Comics?

Jackie: Yep, I surely do! My favorite storyarc in Season 8 so far is “Time of Your Life,” for various reasons. (Fray!!!) I think Joss et al. did a phenomenal job making the transition from television to comic book.

The Book Smugglers: As the comic book medium isn’t as constricted by pesky budgets or contractual issues as TV shows are, anything can, theoretically, be done. Powers can evolve, people can fly (Willow) and characters like Oz can make a comeback. But perhaps this freedom can also lead to “Jumping the Shark” moments and possible continuity problems. What are your thoughts on the freedoms (and possible problems) that comics allow for, especially in terms of Buffy?

Jackie: There’s always room for continuity errors, whether it’s television, comic books, or other media. There are a lot of people in place to help guard against such errors — the writers, the editors, the actors, the artists. But even so, mistakes are going to happen. Writers learn more about the characters after working with them for a while. Ditto the actual world created and the history. And when there’s more than one writer, well, the chance for error increases. The trick is to try to identify any inconsistencies before you go to press. [GRIN]

Novelists aren’t immune, by the way. I made a huge mistake in Hell’s Belles that I didn’t realize until after I was revising The Road to Hell. So I took that error and made it a subplot in Hotter Than Hell. (Points if you know what I’m referring to.)

Like I said, mistakes will happen. Hopefully, the creative team behind the story can pinpoint errors and either correct them or account for them. And sometimes, you just have to shrug and say “Whoops.”

The Book Smugglers: If you could extrapolate or change ANY Buffy storyline (from either the TV series or the comics) to suit your own twisted, dark purposes, what episode or storyline would you pick?

Jackie: Change? Nah. No change. Would have loved more singing episodes. (Avid GLEEk, that’s me!)

The Book Smugglers: A little bit of controversy to shaken things up. In the comics, Buffy has an experimental experience with a Japanese slayer called Satsu, What do you think of that?

Jackie: You know what? Buffy deserves whatever pleasure she can get for herself, in whatever quiet moments she has. Man, woman, vampire…let her take what she can get.

The Book Smugglers: And finally, a time-honored, Very Important Question: Spike or Angel?

Jackie: Soulless Spike. At the very least, for the fabulous coat.

Jackie Kessler likes to write about demons, angels, furies, superheroes, supervillians, the Horsemen of the Apocalypse…and vampires. Her upcoming 2010 works include “Hell’s Angel” (proceeds of which will go to the American Heart Association); Shades of Gray (in the UK, Shades of Night), coauthored with Caitlin Kittredge; Hotter Than Hell (mass market reissue); “Hell Bound” (in the anthology Those Who Fight Monsters); Hunger, under the byline Jackie Morse Kessler; and “Carpe Noctem,” her first foray into comic books and the Buffyverse.

For more about Jackie, visit her websites: www.jackiekessler.com; www.jackiemorsekessler.com; www.deadlinedames.com.

A huge thank you again to Jackie Kessler! And make sure to stop by MySpace Dark Horse Presents to catch the debut of “Carpe Noctem” on February 3!

Happy Sunday, everyone! If you’ll kindly step away from the football…

With the official end to Smugglivus, we’re back to our regular ol’ Smugglers’ Stash & News posts. But first, a few announcements.

Adrian Phoenix Giveaway Winners:

In all the excitement and chutzpah of Smugglivus, we forgot to announce the two lucky winners of our interactive Q&A with Adrian Phoenix! So, without further ado, here we go. The lucky winners of a complete, autographed set of The Maker’s Song books are…

Congratulations to the winners! You know the drill. Send us an email (contact AT thebooksmugglers DOT com) with your snail mail address, and we’ll get your winnings out to you as soon as possible. Thank you to everyone that entered the competition – your questions for Adrian were fantastic. And if you didn’t win this time around, you’ll have another chance at an interactive author Q&A with a great full set of books as a prize – so stay tuned!

News from the Interwebs:

You might have heard of the release of upcoming SF novel The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman – a book that has garnered a lot of buzz online, and is being pushed by publisher Penguin as one of their biggest fiction launches of the decade. To celebrate the publication of the book, Don’t Panic (a super cool, FREE, arts/culture/design publication based in the UK) has launched a visual design competition. The winning artist will have their artwork printed on a Don’t Panic poster, and the chance to have their artwork included in The Left Hand of God’s paperback release!

The guidelines are as follows:

What we are looking for is an artistic representation of the lead character Thomas Cale, who you can get to know through a selection of excerpts on our site. We want entrants to use any printable media they choose to create an interpretation of the young Cale using the text provided.

The top ten entries submitted will be put into the winner’s shortlist to be judged by Penguin with the top three entries given the chance to win some fantastic prizes, including £350 (or approximately $560 US) worth of Penguin books and signed copies of The Left Hand of God, as well as of course the opportunity to have their design printed. Also, every shortlisted entrant will receive a copy of the book.

You can check out the full details of the competition online HERE – if you’re artistically inclined, this sounds like a fabulous opportunity to get some real exposure.

This Week on The Book Smugglers:

Smugglivus may be over, but we’ve still got a whole lot going on this week! On Monday, we kick off the week by hosting a stop on Elizabeth Eulberg’s The Lonely Hearts Club blog tour. Elizabeth will be stopping by to tell us a bit about her book, dating, and life before jetting off to the next stop on the tour. On Tuesday, Ana reviews The Lonely Hearts Club for extra measure.

Wednesday, we have dark fantasy/paranormal author Jackie Kessler over for an interview to celebrate some huge news. See, in addition to being a bestselling author of paranormal and superhero-inspired books, she’s also just become a comic book author – FOR BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. That’s right. The talented Ms. Kessler has just joined the Buffyverse (and, by proxy, the Whedonverse) with the online publication of “Carpe Noctem” – her contribution to Dark Horse Comics’ “The Tales of the Vampires” story collection, which ties in to the Buffy Season 8 comics.

With the publication of a sneak peek of the first part of the comic last friday (which you can view for free on the MTV Splash Page), we are thrilled to have Jackie over to talk about writing comics, Joss Whedon, and all things Buffy with us.

On Thursday, it’s back to the daily grind as Thea gives a doubleshot of a newfound favorite author Stephen Baxter with reviews for Titan and Moonseed (books 2&3 in the NASA series).

Finally, on Friday we close out the week with a classic science fiction novel, as Thea reviews The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin in honor of the book’s 40th anniversary.

Phew. That’s it for now! Until tomorrow, we remain…

Welcome to Smugglivus 2009 – Day 2!

Throughout this month, we will have daily guests – authors and bloggers alike – looking back at their favorite reads of 2009, and looking forward to events and upcoming books in 2010.

Who: Jackie Kessler, author of Urban Fantasy with two ongoing series: Hell on Earth with three books and three novellas published; and the Icarus Project, a superhero series written in collaboration with Caitlin Kittredge. Plus, a YA novel is in the works, to be released in 2010. She is also one of the Deadline Dames.

Recent Work: Black and White (an awesomely cool and fun book with superheroines!), the first book in the Icarus Project. Reviewed here by Ana.

Ladies and gentlemen: Jackie Kessler with her favorite reads of 2009, information about her 2010 releases and a giveaway:

Jackie:

Oh my goodness, I can’t believe 2009 is drawing to a close. There were so many terrific books I read this year — both new books and books that came out before 2009 but I finally got around to reading. (I know I’m probably leaving out a bunch of books, and I’ll slap myself upside the head when I remember what I’m leaving out.) In no particular order…

TURN COAT, Jim Butcher. Love, love, love me that Harry Dresden! I’m itching for the next — and pivotal — book in the series, CHANGES. Come on, 2010! Hurry up and get here!

THREE DAYS TO DEAD, Kelly Meding. I was fortunate enough to read this as a manuscript, and I was very proud to blurb it. Terrific urban fantasy debut!

SPEAK, Laurie Halse Anderson. Yes, I know this one’s been out for a while, but I finally read it, and I was blown away. Absolutely stunning, and extremely powerful.

TENTH GRADE BLEEDS, Heather Brewer. Who says that being a teenage boy vampire is all fun and games? Definitely not Vladimir Tod. Full disclosure: Heather is my critique partner. That being said…MAN, terrific book! The best in the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod to date…and I promise you that ELEVENTH GRADE BURNS is going to be even better.

THE STEPSISTER SCHEME and THE MERMAID’S MADNESS, Jim C. Hines. You don’t know fairy tales. You only think you do. Jim is brilliant.

The entire Cal Leandros series, Rob Thurman. God, I don’t know who I love more — Cal, Niko or Robin Goodfellow. Fabulous dark fantasy series. Bravo, Rob!

THE GATHERING STORM, Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. Major kudos to Brandon for taking up the mantle after James Oliver Rigney, Jr., (the esteemed Robert Jordan) passed away in 2007. This 12th volume in The Wheel of Time series brings some plots to a close and moves the overall story along very, very well.

CAPTAIN TRIPS — PART 1 of THE STAND, graphic novel edition. Normally, graphic novel renditions of novels leave me only lukewarm. But this rendition was as close to perfect as I could imagine it — updated for today’s world, beautifully depicted, artfully told…and freaking terrifying.

And now…coming in 2010, from yours truly:

Writing as Jackie Kessler:

1. “Hell’s Angel,” in the 28 DAYS OF HEART paranormal romance anthology (February 2010). This is a charity anthology from ARe, and all proceeds will go to the American Heart Association. As the novella title may suggest, my story is all about the angel called Angel from the HELL ON EARTH series. She’s horribly lonely, and outside the gates of Paradise she meets the one being who truly understands her pain. Yes, boys and girls…Angel pops her celestial cherry. Any guesses who the lucky lover is?

2. SHADES OF GRAY (coauthored with Caitlin Kittredge), from Ballantine Spectra (June 22, 2010). This is the second book in the ICARUS PROJECT series. It picks up right where BLACK AND WHITE left off: in the midst of chaos. Along with Jet and Iridium’s story, we get to see the previous generation: how their parents all met, and the devastating events that ended with betrayal, death, incarceration, and madness. I write in the POV of Jet, Angelica (Jet’s mom), Night and new character Garth McFarlaine; Caitlin writes in the POV of Iridium, Vixen (Iri’s mom), and Luster/Arclight.

3. “Hell Bound,” in the THOSE WHO FIGHT MONSTERS urban fantasy/mystery anthology, from Edge SF&F Publishing and edited by the amazing Justin Gustainis (fall 2010). Other confirmed authors include Rachel Caine, Lilith Saintcrow and Laura Anne Gilman. “Hell Bound” is a Jezebel story, which takes place before HELL’S BELLES and after “Hell Is Where the Heart Is” (in A RED HOT VALENTINE’S DAY). It’s not paranormal romance, but it is rather sexy. (Hell, it’s a Jezzie story — it has to be sexy!)

For those who have been asking about HELL TO PAY, the fourth book in the HELL ON EARTH series…please be patient. I promise to announce what’s happening with it ASAP.

Writing as Jackie Morse Kessler:

My debut YA novel, HUNGER, will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Graphia Books (August 11, 2010). This magical realism novel is about an anorexic teenage girl who becomes the new avatar of Famine, the Black Rider of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. It’s a hard-hitting look at eating disorders, and a portion of proceeds will be donated to the National Eating Disorders Association. (I’m currently at work on the second book, RAGE (spring 2011), which is about a teenage girl who self-injures—and is chosen to be the next avatar of War.)

Thank you, Jackie!

Giveaway details

Jackie Kessler is generously offering one copy of Black and White to one lucky winner. The contest is open to EVERYONE and will run until Saturday, December 5 at 11:59pm (PST). To enter, simply leave a comment here. ONE entry per person, please! Duplicate and/or multiple entries will be disqualified. Good Luck!

Next on Smugglivus:  Melissa Marr

Smugglivus has arrived!

As you know, Smugglivus is our end of the year celebration leading up to our blog-o-versary on January 7th. And in true celebratory spirit we have invited authors, publishers and bloggers to look back at 2009 and talk about their favourite reads, to rant if needed, to say what they are looking forward to reading in 2010 and more: it IS all about the love for books and reading!

And we kick-off the event tomorrow, with a great line up:

We start with horror writer Joel Sutherland as he officially opens the event.  Joel Sutherland was the first author we interviewed for the blog and the person who opened last year’s Smugglivus celebration, so it is now part of the Smugglivus tradition to have Joel kick-start the event. This year we’ll hear more from Joel, including a very cool contest too!

On Wednesday, it is UF/YA author Jackie Kessler’s turn to talk about her fave reads of 2009 and what we can expect from her in 2010. Her post is followed by Thea’s review of Gateway by Sharon Shin

On Thursday, Melissa Marr , writer of the YA Wicked Lovely series lists her favourite reads of 2009, followed by Thea’s review of Spellspam (with an autographed giveaway) by Alma Alexander.

On Friday, we have a chat with YA/Fantasy author Alma Alexander and Thea posts her final review of the WorldWeavers’ trilogy with Cybermage (again, with a giveaway).

Finally on Saturday, Kathryn McKenna, Simon and Schuster UK’s Children’s Marketing & Publicity Assistant talks about what we can expect from the publisher next year. We follow her piece with our first Smugglivus Flash Giveaway.

So, folks, buckle up and let get this party started!!

So, while Thea is on a Thanksgiving break and I am left on my own, I decided to take over (Muwahaha) and do this stash, Ana style.

What was on my mind last week?

First and foremost: I was immersed in Smugglivus’ (upcoming event to celebrate reading and books!) preparations.

Drooling over the pretty poster, organising our crazy schedule, contacting our guests, etc. If you missed our Smugglivus’ announcement last Thursday, you can read it here.

I also spent some time trying to decide which books to read next month. Because of Smugglivus and the end of the year , I will be able to read those books I wasn’t able to read so far. One of those was The Magicians by Lev Grossamn and that did not work out as expected.  Alas, I do hope my next reads will be better. I have high expectations for those in particular:

I also spent some time musing and fawning over this one here:

I think the cover is fabulous; I like the blurb; I read one story by Sam Sykes in the Dragon Book and I liked it; The twitter buzz around this novel is growing; The book is not out till April though and it is KILLING me that I have other books I need to read before I can read this one.

Speaking of new authors: not a new author per se, but new author to me, I think I have a new author-crush for Jim C. Hines. I loved his Princess books, which I reviewed this week

….and I have been reading his livejournal. On top of interesting posts about writing, there is one about Rape in Fiction which I thought was fabulous.

Speaking of  rape in fiction. Kate, from What Kate’s Reading posted her thoughts on The Windflower and ended up writing a great post about rape and

why Rape is not romance. Rape is not a laughing matter. Rape is not a cheap literary device.

Her post is part of The Windflower World Tour, which by the way, is getting back on track!

For those who do not know, The Windflower World Tour is an across-blogs event in which a copy of the out of print The Windlower by Laura London is going around the world from blogger to blogger. The book is an old school romance and the reactions to it are all over the place. You can read more about it here and here. Next stop on the tour is at Literary Escapism.

Also on my mind last week, were the series of great posts that author Jackie Kessler wrote about the whole Harlequin Horizon debacle (in which publisher Harlequin opens a Vanity Publishing on the side). You can read more about it here and here. Also, here.

Great is also the word I would use to describe a post by Sarah Rees Brennan where she reviews some books she loved (including a couple of wonderful romance novels by the ever magnificent Meredith Duran) and mentions the Blank Page Heroine. Justine Larbalestier picked up the term and talked about it on her own blog . Make sure to read the comments – they are great too.

Speaking of heroines – and heroes and “great” , I jump right into Super-heroes ( am I trying too hard? LOL) : I saw this at Harry’s blog and loved it! The Super Emo Friends:

Seriously, how cute is that? And so, so true.

Anyways, this is what I have been up to. On Tuesday, we kick-off Smugglivus and we will post a special Week One Schedule tomorrow right after my review of Deep Kiss of Winter (Kresley Cole’s story) goes live.

What else? I think I need to do something important. Ah! Giveaway winners! I saved the best for last!

Tainted Giveaway:

Carolyn H (comment # 3)

Flash Giveaway:

Batch 1 – Jenny N (comment #63)
Batch 2 – Sarah (comment #80)

Congratulations! You know the drill – send an email to contact AT the book smugglers DOT com with your snail mail address, and we’ll get your winnings out to you as soon as possible! Thanks to all that entered, and if you didn’t win this time, don’t worry. There’s plenty more where that came from.

And that is it from me today! Have a great Sunday and until tomorrow!

~ Your friendly neighborhood Book Smugglers

For the past few months, we have been including an “On our Radar” section in our weekly stash for books that have caught our eye; books we heard of via other bloggers, directly from publishers, and/or from our regular incursions into the Amazon jungle. This is how the Smugglers’ Radar was born, and because there are far too many books that we want than we can possibly buy or review (what else is new?) we thought we could make it into a weekly feature on its own – this way YOU can tell us which books you have on your radar as well!

On Ana’s Radar:

Ah, Kresley Cole’s IAD series is my Cheetos Reading: guilty pleasure at its best and there are two new stories to look forward to:

The first is a story in Deep Kiss of Winter (out now)

Under the cover of wintry dark shadows, passion’s magic ignites a fire too hot to touch — and too wicked to die….

KRESLEY COLE delivers a breathtaking tale of a brutal vampire soldier about to know love for the first time…and a Valkyrie aching to be touched.

Murdoch Wroth will stop at nothing to claim Daniela the Ice Maiden — the delicate Valkyrie who makes his heart beat for the first time in three hundred years. Yet the exquisite Danii is part ice fey, and her freezing skin can’t be touched by anyone but her own kind without inflicting pain beyond measure. Soon desperate for closeness, in an agony of frustration, Murdoch and Danii will do anything to have each other. Together, can they find the key that will finally allow them to slake the overwhelming desire burning between them?

GENA SHOWALTER puts a daring spin on a tale of huntress and hunted…and concocts a sensual chemistry that is positively explosive.

Aleaha Love can be anyone — literally. With only skin-to-skin contact, she can change her appearance, assume any identity. Her newest identity switch has made her an AIR (alien investigation and removal) agent and sends her on a mission to capture a group of otherworldly warriors. Only she becomes the captured. Breean, a golden-skinned commander known for his iron will who is at once dangerous and soul-shatteringly seductive, threatens her new life. Because for the first time, Aleaha only wants to be herself….

Watch the Deep Kiss of Winter Trailer!!

Click on the link HERE to read an Excerpt and to download an exclusive FREE Immortals After Dark novella, The Warlord Wants Forever or visit simonandschuster.com

And….Pleasure of a Dark Prince, the book I have been waiting for since book 1 in the series. (out February 16)

Lucia the Huntress: as mysterious as she is exquisite, she harbors secrets that threaten to destroy her—and those she loves.

Garreth MacRieve, Prince of the Lykae: the brutal Highland warrior who burns to finally claim this maddeningly sensual creature as his own.

From the shadows, Garreth has long watched over Lucia. Now, the only way to keep the proud huntress safe from harm is to convince her to accept him as her guardian. To do this, Garreth will ruthlessly exploit Lucia’s greatest weakness—her wanton desire for him. . . .

A Vampire and a Lykae story: NOM NOM NOM (Vampire trumps demons anytime. And Lykaes trump everything)

I love the cover for Shades of Gray, the next in the Black and White series by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge (about two superheroines!). This cover is SO much better than the one for the first book. Can’t wait (the book is not out until June though, BOO)

I also can’t wait for the second book in the YA series Soul Screamers, by Rachel Vincent (out in January)

The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad’s ironclad curfew and putting her boyfriend’s loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls for a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for
eternity in the Netherworld—a consequence they can’t possibly understand. Kaylee can’t let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk….

And lookie! The Brazilian cover of The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss: I will sure be picking it up when I go home for Christmas!

On Thea’s Radar:

This book came out in July, but I have just seen the eye-catching cover recently…and I wants it.

First in a brand new series from the author of the rogue mage novels

Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind-a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. But now she’s been hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katie’s Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who’s killing other vamps…

Love this title, this gorgeous cover, and the dystopian premise:

What Happens when bio-terrorism becomes a tool for corporate profits? And what happens when said bio-terrorism forces humanity to the cusp of post-human evolution? In The Windup Girl, award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi returns to the world of “The Calorie Man”( Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award-winner, Hugo Award nominee, 2006) and “Yellow Card Man” (Hugo Award nominee, 2007) in order to address these questions.

This cover FLOORS me. And the premise ain’t too shabby either…

926. New York. The Roaring Twenties. Jazz. Flappers. Prohibition. Coal-powered cars. A cold war with a British Empire that still covers half of the globe. Yet things have developed differently to established history. America is in the midst of a cold war with a British Empire that has only just buried Queen Victoria, her life artificially preserved to the age of 107. Coal-powered cars roar along roads thick with pedestrians, biplanes take off from standing with primitive rocket boosters and monsters lurk behind closed doors and around every corner. This is a time in need of heroes. It is a time for The Ghost. A series of targeted murders are occurring all over the city, the victims found with ancient Roman coins placed on their eyelids after death. The trail appears to lead to a group of Italian-American gangsters and their boss, who the mobsters have dubbed ‘The Roman’. However, as The Ghost soon discovers, there is more to The Roman than at first appears, and more bizarre happenings that he soon links to the man, including moss-golems posing as mobsters and a plot to bring an ancient pagan god into the physical world in a cavern beneath the city. As The Ghost draws nearer to The Roman and the center of his dangerous web, he must battle with foes both physical and supernatural and call on help from the most unexpected of quarters if he is to stop The Roman and halt the imminent destruction of the city.

AND, finally, just got this in the mail, and I cannot WAIT to read it:

Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for himself, his mother, and his sister Mari. Ironically, the only thing of value he has is something he can’t sell. For as long as Han can remember, he’s worn thick silver cuffs engraved with runes. They’re clearly magicked-as he grows, they grow, and he’s never been able to get them off.

While out hunting one day, Han and his Clan friend, Dancer catch three young wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. After a confrontation, Han takes an amulet from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to ensure the boy won’t use it against them. Han soon learns that the amulet has an evil history-it once belonged to the Demon King, the wizard who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece that powerful at stake, Han knows that the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back.

Meanwhile, Raisa ana’Helena, Princess Heir of the Fells, has her own battles to fight. She’s just returned to court after three years of relative freedom with her father’s family at Demonai camp – riding, hunting, and working the famous Clan markets. Although Raisa will become eligible for marriage after her sixteenth name-day, she isn’t looking forward to trading in her common sense and new skills for etiquette tutors and stuffy parties.

Raisa wants to be more than an ornament in a glittering cage. She aspires to be like Hanalea-the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But it seems like her mother has otherplans for her—plans that include a suitor who goes against everything the Queendom stands for.

The Seven Realms will tremble when the lives of Han and Raisa collide in this stunning new page-turner from bestselling author Cinda Williams Chima.

What about you? Any books you are really looking forward to reading? Do share!

Title: Black and White

Author: Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge

Genre: Fantasy – Superheroes

Publisher: Bantam Dell
Publishing Date: June 2, 2009
Paperback: 464 pages

Stand Alone/ Series: book 1 in a new series but can be read as stand alone (i.e. no huge cliffhanger)

Summary: It’s the ultimate battle of good versus good.

They’re both right. And they’re both wrong. Because nothing is as simple as Black and White.

Why did I read the book: the Extraordinary Karen Mahoney recommended it to me and let me borrow her ARC.

Review:

When I first heard about Black and White, I thought, what a GREAT idea – there aren’t enough superheroes novels out there, if you ask me. Vampires, Werewolves, Fairies, Demons, yes. Superheroes? No. On the other hand, I thought – what could one possibly add to the superheroes’ lore that hasn’t already been done in comics? I mean – all the cool superpowers have been taken, all the cheesy lines delivered and even all the Dark Side of superheroes has been explored with Batman Graphic Novels and the Watchmen. Could Black and White offer something fresh to the genre?

In one word: yes.

For starters, there is the fact that the two main characters here are women – The Superhero Jet and the SuperVillain Iridium. Former best friends who find themselves at different sides of the Law. Jet is the do-gooder hero, the face of the City, the one that always follows the rules set by the Corps. Iridium is the rabid ™ vigilante who rules the underworld. They have been at odds with each other since their time at the training academy for superheroes and since Iridium has turned her back at the official rules.

But as the book’s tagline says: nothing is black and white in the world that Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge created. Jet is the strict chick sorely in need of loosing up (think Superman) whereas Iridium, well, Iridium rules, quite frankly and even though I would like to say more on the subject of Iridium, I simply can’t as it would be spoilery.
But their relationship goes way beyond simply good x evil.

The chapters alternate between Iridium and Jet’s POV (Jackie K. writes Jet and Caitlin K. writers Iridium by the way and each has a very distinctive voice) and at every few chapters the story alternates between Now and Then. Now being the current developments of the story in which Jet is trying to get Iridium who is trying to get…something big which I shall not spoil (I am feeling quite restricted in this review!). And Then, following the two in their five years at the Academy where they met and where they received their training until they broke apart .

Then there are the powers themselves – Jet may be the face of the City, may be the superheroine everyone looks up to, but she is far from being stable and that is because of her power of Shadow-wielding. Because this an unique power that few superheroes possess , she is rather alone with the knowledge that all Shadow heroes will eventually go crazy – and that is part of why she follows the rules set by the Corp so closely, it is a way of keeping tight control on herself. Iridium wields Light and is cocky and smart-mouthed and together they are a perfect foil to each other’s strengths and weaknesses and their present-day enmity is all the more interesting to read about by having this insight into their early lives.

The two may well be, the Black and White of the title, not only because of their positioning in the world but also because of their powers. But the Black and White may also refer to the world they live in – the year is 2112 and society is divided between those that like having superheroes around and those that don’t. Then there are the Corps – the Corporation that train and shape the superheroes since they are children. The supes go to the Academy (like a high school) where they mingle with other superheroes, learn to fight and in a more complex and fresh twist, get “branded” – every superhero goes through tests and talks to establish what is the best way to market themselves -from their uniform , to their aliases. They even have to test the lines they will say when fighting villains and before leaving the Academy every superhero needs to get a sponsor. It is all very market- centred and if preludes the motive for Iridium going a different way.

There is a narrow line that both walk (be it sanity or insanity/law or out-law) and as the story progresses with events that bring to the front the fact that not all humans want to be saved by superheroes as evidenced by the actions of the Everyman society and the disappearance of a reporter who have found a connection between the mythical Icarus Project and the Corps. More interesting events occur, and the line between Jet and Iridium and others blur and more engaging the book becomes till the final blow-out with the Villain, like all Cool Villains, revealing all to the hero.

But I think the Black and White ALSO refers to the book itself: this is a story and a world that both pay tribute (the opening pages are so clearly a declaration of admiration to the Watchmen!) and make a parody of Superheroes. It works and it is cool.

Notable quotes/ Parts: The entire book is actually wicked cool. The fighting sequences, the on and off relationship between the girls, sometimes even the poignancy of it all. Iridium’s lines were awesome.

Additional Thoughts: The authors have created a website for the series called Icarus Project (yay, there is another book coming called Shades of Gray!) with a list of characters, details of the world and a gallery with for example the Corp-Co’s Extrahuman Division Logo and a wanted poster for Iridium.

Clearly, these two authors are having fun with these books, and it shows.

Verdict: Superheroes in the future with different powers and a very interesting-to-read relationship between the two protagonists: what’s not to like? Good fun and definitely recommended for YA as well.

Rating: 7 – very good.

Reading next: Frederica by Georgette Heyer