New bookclub/blog and bookreview City Under the Moon

Hey guys! I have set up a new blog solely for book reviews/recommendations and everything else reading-related. It's called the Bookworm Society and you can find it at: thebookwormsociety.blogspot.com. My first review is of Hugh Sterbakov's (Robot Chicken, Freshmen) City Under the Moon, a werewolf thriller of epic proportions!
Click on the link for the review, or continue reading here! Next time I'll only put up the Bookworm Society posts on that blog, so please check back there.

The story starts outside the United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan where an ambassadors wife got brutally attacked and her baby has been stolen (or worse). The fierce, emotionless FBI Special Sgent Brianna Tildascow gets called out to take on the case. Quickly she finds out that this is not just an ordinary animal attack, but something far worse. The attack seems to have infected to victim with a virus that triggers something in the body, causing her to become a wolf-like beast who goes on the rampage. The victims start multiplying fast each night and soon Manhattan has a werewolf epidemic on their hands.

While Dr. Jessica Tanner, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and her viroligist husband start fighting over the nature of the virus, Lon, a geeky basement-dweller gets cut off from talking to his online girlfriend when his werewolf expertise gets called upon by none other than the government...

City Under the Moon is a fast-paced read. Every moment is utilised to it's full extend, every page is covered with werewolves, guts and action. Yet, it's not a lighthearted story full of fluffy werewolves that rip their shirts off, or even your usual anguished puberty-metaphor, it goes in deep and it goes in hard. Everything and everyone becomes involved, from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, the President, the Military, the FBI, a Romanian werewolf hunter with a tragic past and the irritating but lovable lycanthropy nerd Lon (after Lon Chaney Jr.) Toller who, despite not having the guts to meet his girlfriend in person, shows a hell of a lot of bravery when faced with disaster.

This story is so well written and planned out, it must have been a hell of a job to make sure everything is plausible and fits together. All the details make sense and seem extremely accurate. The governing bodies involved are written very realistically, Sterbakov has obviously done extensive research into the way things work and the methods that are available.

Sterbakov set out to write a story that portrayed the transformation as a werewolf to be far more frightening than being attacked by one and I think he managed that perfectly. The description of what happens to a person when they transform made my bones ache and my tendons recoil in horror. No thanks, I'd rather be ravaged by a werewolf (ooh err!) than become one myself.

If you like a good fantasy story packed full of action, gore, kick-ass female FBI agents (well, there is only one of those, but she sure counts for more than one woman), triumphing nerds and a President facing a terrible dilemma, this punchy, throat-grabbing book is for you.

I'm trying to come up with a rating system here, eeehmm, I give City Under the Moon five werewolves out of five!

Check out the official City Under the Moon website: http://cityunderthemoon.com/

You can follow Hugh Sterbakov on twitter here: @darhkhugh

Not had enough of the Sterbakov? Official website: http://hughsterbakov.com/

RECOMMENDED: Mystery Science Theater 3000

Ever end up cracking jokes with your friends because the movie you're watching is just too awful? I think many people who have watched a lot of films, have come across some really bad stuff, especially if you're interested in old sci-fi and horror, and what else can you do but turn it off or entertain yourself by making fun of the bucket of poopy you have been confronted with? Maybe you'd turn it off, but life isn't so easy for Joel or Mike.

Joel was the first victim of an evil scientist, he got sent into space and was forced to watch terrible movies. Troubled by his fate, Joel builds robots to keep him company and prevent him from going completely insane. Later on in, about five seasons on, the same fate befalls Mike, who gets pestered by Pearl and her two minions Brain Guy and Bobo (one of the most annoying chimps ever!) To make their punishment less agonizing, both guys end up riffing on the movies with their robot pals Tom Servo and Crow (there's also the derpy Gypsy and the very quiet but important Cambot).

At first, I mostly just enjoyed watching them tear down the movies, but gradually I came to like Mike (I haven't watched any of Joel's episodes yet) and the robots and enjoy their little segments in between the movie scenes, maybe even more so than the riffing. The jokes in the segments aren't always particularly funny, it's a little hokey and it's all got a very home-made feel about it, but that's exactly why it's so enjoyable. The banter between the robots and Mike is silly and endearing, you come to regard them as the go-to friends for when you're in the mood for a bad Star Wars wannabe film and it feels friendly and familiar every time you see them sat at the front in the ever recognizable sillouhette.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ended in 1999 but both formations have continued to take the mickey out of bad movies. Cinematic Titanic consists of most of the earlier cast, they seem to stick to the more traditional riffing of trashy horror flicks and you can also go see them live. Rifftrax is made up of Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy (the Crow and Tom Servo I'm familiar with) and besides a vast library of shorts, such as public service announcements, they also riff on more familiar movies such as Twilight and Transformers. So, always wanted to watch Twilight, but felt like you couldn't live with the embarrasment? Try downloading the Rifftrax version and play it along with the movie, guaranteed fun (and astonishment at just how bad the movie really is)!

Mystery Science Theater 3000 is really worth checking out if you have a big interest in movies, especially bad ones! Or if you love adorable robots! You know what it's like to watch a bad movie and be in stitches with your friends about it and you know you want more - check out Mystery Science Theater 3000!

DVD's are available from Shout! Factory and you can also download episodes to rent or buy on iTunes, Xbox Live and PSN. I'd recommend the third-rate Gremlins rip-off 'Hobgoblins' to start you off, or perhaps 'The Final Sacrifice', a cult-based 'thriller' that's guaranteed to have you cheering on the mighty beer-swilling Canuck RRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOWSDOOOOOWERRRRRRRRRRRR!!!! 

Mystery Science Theater 3000: https://www.mst3k.com/
Cinematic Titanic:                      http://www.cinematictitanic.com/
Rifftrax:                                     http://www.rifftrax.com/

MAKE-UP TUTORIAL: Draculaura from Monster High

Hey there! I've finally done a make-up video again. It's taken me some time, but it's a fun one, especially for all those Monster High and Draculaura fans out there. Please let me know what you think and don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel! You can now also follow me on Twitter @MissDaiquiris.