KMM’s ‘Fever Moon’ has some interesting deets but characters look too old! September 23, 2012
Posted by Diana McCabe in Reviews/summaries.Tags: Barrons, Dani, Fear Dorcha, Fever Moon, karen marie moning, Mac
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I wasn’t going to buy Karen Marie Moning’s FEVER MOON because I’m just not a big fan of book series I’ve read being turned into graphic novels. But my friends over at SookieStackhouse.com liked the novel so I thought I’d read it.
I should have trusted my gut. Didn’t care for it. Here’s the book blurb:
In Fever Moon, we meet the most ancient and deadly Unseelie ever created, the Fear Dorcha. For eons, he’s traveled worlds with the Unseelie king, leaving behind him a path of mutilation and destruction. Now he’s hunting Dublin, and no one Mac loves is safe.
Dublin is a war zone. The walls between humans and Fae are down. A third of the world’s population is dead and chaos reigns. Imprisoned over half a million years ago, the Unseelie are free and each one Mac meets is worse than the last. Human weapons don’t stand a chance against them.
With a blood moon hanging low over the city, something dark and sinister begins to hunt the streets of Temple Bar, choosing its victims by targeting those closest to Mac. Armed only with the Spear of Destiny and Jericho Barrons, she must face her most terrifying enemy yet.
The cool thing about the novel is you get the back story on the Fear Dorcha. But that’s it for me. The rest is — as billed — a retelling of some events that occur during SHADOWFEVER. And that’s OK.
But my biggest complaint? The characters are — well — drawn way out of character. Both Mac and Dani look too old. Mac looks like she’s a hard-bitten 30-something. And Dani — who is supposed to be a teen — looks like a 20-something. And I know graphic novels like to sex things up but some of the outfits they put Mac into — they are not Mac. Oh — and big continuity problem in one chapter. Mac sets off going to Chester’s in a green dress — and then we switch to a flashback scene — but when we return to the present Chester’s scene, she’s not wearing the green dress. She’s wearing a red dress. Maybe I missed something but it’s more likely someone missed something in editing this?
As for Barrons? Not a thing like I pictured. He sort of looks Asian at times. I was perfectly happy with his monster appearance though! I thought Inspector Jayne was handsome and I didn’t think of him as good-looking in the novels.
The artwork isn’t bad. It’s just that most of the characters looked too harsh and hard bitten. Even the Fae who are supposed to look shiny and gorgeous look like oafs.
Not sure I’d recommend it. I suppose diehard fans will go out and read it anyway! I did. Maybe you’ll like it. (Of course — these graphic novels are super fast reads. A plus!)
Here’s hoping Dani’s story — ICED – which comes out Oct. 30 — will be a more satisfying read!
Is KMM writing a 6th ‘Fever’ book? October 16, 2011
Posted by Diana McCabe in News.Tags: 6th Fever book, Barrons, Dani, karen marie moning, Mac
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Image courtesy of Victoria M.
Apparently, everyone keeps asking Karen Marie Moning — author of the awesome FEVER series, so she’s answering it again and asking fans to spread the word. In my humble opinion, the reason for this confusion is that she is continuing to write about our fave world and characters, so it’s natural that readers would want/wish hope for more Mac & Barrons books.
According to her website KMM is:
Working on a trilogy that features Dani, Christian MacKeltar, Ryodan, and the mysterious ‘Dancer,’ set primarily in Fever-Dublin. Each installment in the trilogy is a stand-alone mystery, however there are larger plot arcs unfolding in the background. Where Mac was introspective and her story could feel somewhat esoteric, Dani is down and dirty in the streets. Lots of details, lots of action. There’s a different feel to the two series, totally different vantage points. I’m having a blast writing it.
She says the trilogy is not YA. Instead, it straddles the line between YA and adult uneasily. “I don’t pull any punches. It may be controversial in some ways. But whose teen years weren’t? LOL! Many of the questions I left unanswered in the FEVER series are addressed in this new series.”
Now, here’s where Mac & Barrons fans will get extra excited. After KMM finishes the Dani trilogy, she is writing two more books that return — as she says — “to the core story begun in the FEVER series, and will resume writing about Mac, Barrons, V’lane, Cruce, the Unseelie king, the concubine, the Song of Making.”
Sooooooo — there are more books coming — although I haven’t tracked down release dates. (I’m sure they’re floating around the web somewhere.) But you can bet we’ll get more of the Mac & Barrons story because KMM gives us a little warning:
Because I know you guys, I know this is going to make some of you as nervous as it makes you excited. Trust me. I’m making no compromises with the characters or the story. It’s all unfolding exactly as it should, true to itself-which means, it’s a sometimes rocky road. Dark times ahead, guys. But I write it all with genuine love for the characters, the world, and you the reader.
Mac & Barrons on film: Dreamworks options KMM’s Darkfever series August 21, 2011
Posted by Diana McCabe in News.Tags: Barrons, Darkfever, Dreamworks, karen marie moning, Mac, movie
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Original Darkfever cover.
So start making your casting pitches. Dreamworks just optioned film rights to all of Karen Marie Moning’s DARKFEVER series. Here’s a bit from the article in “Variety” magazine: (It’s not a long article so CLICK HERE to read the whole thing. And yes — the author got details wrong on the release of the last novel in the series, but only her fans will notice that. Details, details, details.)
With “Harry Potter” finished, “The Twilight Saga” coming to a close and “The Hunger Games” getting steady buzz, DreamWorks is looking to launch its own fantasy franchise, as the studio has acquired feature film rights to all five books in Karen Marie Moning’s bestselling “Darkfever” series.
And here is what KMM said on her Facebook page:
Thanks for your congrats on the Dreamworks announcement in Variety Magazine! More to come when I know more
So — a few caveats. An option doesn’t mean a film will be made, but it’s a first step. Lots of authors get options. Think about Diana Gabaldon and OUTLANDER. (She said on Twitter the other day when I asked if there was any new movie news: “Well, no news I’m allowed to share, let’s put it that way. <g>”
Image from Jericho Z Barrons fan page on Facebook.
We also don’t know if KMM will be involved all that much in any film. Some authors are included — like George R.R. Martin in HBO’s GAME OF THRONES. Others, like Charlaine Harris, are consulted for TRUE BLOOD, but Alan Ball has veered significantly from the book series. Other writers, such as WICKED LOVELY’s Melissa Marr, want nothing to do with the film version of her series. Go figure.
I also have read that some fans are worried that anything on film won’t be as good as the books. True. There is that risk. I love the Sookie Stackhouse books but also am really digging the HBO series. Others are worried that Dreamworks has lumped KMM’s works into the more teeny bopper YA genre by mentioning it in the same breath as TWILIGHT. Does that mean anything they might do won’t be as intense as what’s in the novels? (Boy — that would piss off JZB!) I definitely don’t think it’s a YA teen book. But let’s see what happens. How far it goes. And hey folks — it’s just a movie. We still have the real JZB and Mac and V’lane in our heads ….
But for your casting pleasure, I’ve included a video to kick off the casting questions. (I think the woman who plays Mac in this is right. And even the guy for V’lane. But Barrons? I think this is her pick — Eric Etebari — but not quite who I see as JZB. Casting thoughts?
Did we really need that point-of-view sex scene from KMM’s Jericho Barrons? July 31, 2011
Posted by Diana McCabe in News.Tags: fever, Jason Momoa, Jericho Barrons, JZB, karen marie moning, Mac, sex scene
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First — I’ve been recovering from Comic-Con and my regular day job (all I need to say is debt ceiling), so I’ve been a little too tuckered out to do much of anything. But back to the world of the fae, weres, vampires and other things that go bump in the dark …
Second — this post probably isn’t going to go over well with Jericho Barrons fans but so be it. Some of you might have already read Karen Marie Moning’s JZB’s point-of-view sex scene with Mac. I’m not going to publish it here — mainly because I don’t publish full text from an author or any other source without permission anyway (copyright!) — because it’s rather explicit. There’s not even an excerpt I would post without blushing! But I am curious what you think about it. (Everyone who has read it so far seems to love it.)
I will say that it was interesting, but I didn’t really need it and was disappointed she chose to write this particular scene. Sometimes less is more. But mostly, I feel like it destroyed the fabric of the characters and tension she spent so much time building up in the novels. OK — so an extra sex scene with Barrons is what the fans wanted I guess. But if she were going to do a POV, why this scene? Why not one later in the book? And there are plenty of interesting scenes that would have been very intriguing from JZB’s point of view. In the end, I thought it was simply gratuitous.
So take a read and let me know what you think. The link (complete with her intro to it and all ….) is HERE. And you can check out the comments on her Facebook page if you simply search under her name and join the page.
A side note: My friends over at sookiestackhouse.com put together some really nice footage from Comic-Con. We had a little bit of a discussion about GAME OF THRONES actor Jason Momoa, who plays Khal Drogo. Wouldn’t he make a pretty cool JZB?
Jason Momoa (Khal Drogo) > Photo by Michelle Moreland
Check out new paperback cover for ‘Shadowfever’ March 13, 2011
Posted by Diana McCabe in News.Tags: Barrons, karen marie moning, Mac, Shadowfever
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I thought the hardcover for SHADOWFEVER was fab, but it looks like Karen Marie Moning’s team has come up with another winner for the mass market paperback cover — scheduled for release Aug. 30. Check it out below.
KMM says on her blog that the cover is printed on foil, which gives it a sheen. You see Black Mac more clearly on this cover with dark hair, grunge leather and red silk. She’s not facing the camera so we don’t see her face. KMM says, “She’s not liking what she sees in the mirror and has no desire for anyone to look too deep into her eyes. She knows what’s behind them now.”
The tattoo on this cover is different, too. It looks like the tips of Mac’s wings are starting to unfurl, says KMM. And the back cover is straight out of the White Mansion — dreamy and haunting, KMM says.
And in case you didn’t get it, here’s the hardback cover:
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Last Bite Podcast discusses ‘Shadowfever’ February 6, 2011
Posted by Diana McCabe in Fun stuff.Tags: Barrons, karen marie moning, Mac, Shadowfever
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Just a few more SHADOWFEVER posts (and after I said I was moving on!). But if you want to hear a discussion about the book on Last Bite Podcast with me and Maria, who founded and hosts the podcast about all things paranormal on TV, film and in print, CLICK HERE or visit the website at www.sookiestackhouse.com. You can also download the podcast on iTunes.
The discussion is at the end of the podcast. At the top of the podcast, Kelly and Maria discuss the latest on casting for TRUE BLOOD and what’s up with some of the current shows on TV including BEING HUMAN and THE VAMPIRE DIARIES.
Character notes on Barrons, Mac, V’Lane from KMM January 30, 2011
Posted by Diana McCabe in Fun stuff, News.Tags: Barrons, karen marie moning, Mac, Shadowfever, v'lane
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This might be my last post on Karen Marie Moning and the Fever series for a while! I’ll return to regular paranormal romance postings now that the SHADOWFEVER hoopla has sort of passed! But I wanted to pass along these character notes from KMM’s blog. (Some of these notes she discussed in previous Q&As and chats but she finally put these thoughts on her blog!) If you want to read more on how she wrote the series and more, go to her blog HERE.
Here’s what she wrote about Barrons, Mac and V’Lane:
Courtesy KMM website
• Jericho Z. Barrons: Barrons is hard, cold, brutally efficient killing machine, brilliant, cunning and utterly focused on what he wants at all times. He rarely smiles and if he does, it’s a brief softening, a faint uplifting of the corners of his mouth—never a full smile. Since he met Mac, he has smiled on several occasions. Once, he laughed out loud. JZB is not a man for expressions of happiness. At best he radiates self-satisfied calm, a big cat at rest. Harsh, forbidding, controlled, a man of intense discipline, he emotes anger, mockery, challenge, irony, raw sexuality, animalistic fury, but no tenderness. He’s a hard man. There are no cracks in his walls but the one Mac can slip through—and he hates that but he accepts it because it is the truth and to pretend otherwise would be an exercise in futility. Whether he likes it or not, she gets under his skin and makes his dick harder than any other woman ever has. He wastes no time examining the whys of it or resisting her effect on him. He focuses his energy like a laser, slicing and dicing, rearranging reality to suit what he wants the best way he can get it. Since the moment he met Mac and accepted that he wanted her, he has been ruthlessly altering her, making her ultimately suitable for him. The only question in his mind is: will she survive what he’s doing to her?
Courtesy KMM website
• MacKayla Lane: Mac is a woman on the verge of…everything: A complete psychotic episode, a life-changing epiphany, becoming something truly good or truly evil. She often feels bi-polar—because she is. A sweet, southern girl with refined taste and pretty manners, she’s a shining star with a great, sucking black-hole at the center. The evil she’s been hunting so assiduously, the mind-numbing, soul-crushing monster of twisted destructiveness she’s been tracking through the rain-slicked streets of Dublin—is her. Every dark spell, all the dangerous power, the vicious rage and hunger crouches inside her. It never intended to let her find it in the streets until she’d found it in herself.
Courtesy KMM website
• V’Lane: V ’lane had a lousy publicist. He’s the center-stage male character I gave a label: Seelie, shining death-by-sex Fae, erotic, brilliant, ballsy and no more sociopathic than Barrons. With V’lane, I can’t help but play the “what if” game: What if the night Mac rushed through the dark zone seeking sanctuary, Mac had found V’lane instead of Barrons Books & Baubles? What if he’d taken her to Faery and told her the truth, the full truth that very night? Would she have been swayed by his desire to save his trapped brothers? How different is he really from Barrons and his eight? V’lane may have rebelled against the Unseelie king’s wishes but he was only trying to set the rest of the Unseelie free. He was beautiful, powerful, he could have left the icy prison and abandoned them, and pursued his own pleasure. But he wanted all the Unseelie to have a chance in the sunshine and beauty of the world. He was a freedom fighter, a renegade, a determined, cunning, patient, valiant crusader. Doesn’t the world need War? Isn’t he the only reason tyrannies topple, empires fall and humans change? War is the catalyst, the means by which wrongs are righted, scales are balanced, and the world transformed. Isn’t V’lane the real hero?
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A baby Barrons? What is JZB? KMM dishes with fans! January 23, 2011
Posted by Diana McCabe in News.Tags: Barrons, karen marie moning, Mac, Shadowfever
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Courtesy of Mia
Karen Marie Moning hosted a fan chat on her website this morning to talk more about SHADOWFEVER. She’ll have the transcript of that posted on her site in a few days, and I’ll update here with that link. But until then, here are a few more insights into SHADOWFEVER and what’s next! It sounds like we have a lot to look forward to, and the Mac/Barrons story is far from over! (And if you haven’t finished the book, there are SPOILERS below!) These excerpts are in no order and I’ve paraphrased because it was really hard to follow the chat! UPDATE: Karen has posted her fan chat transcript so make sure to check out all of her answers! There are some good ones! CLICK HERE.
Who is Mac’s Dad? Look for more about him in future books.
Is there more to the V’lane/Cruce storyline? Wait until you see what happens to C/V. KMM says she’s not nearly done with him, but warns us it’s not going to be an easy read.
What is Barrons? KMM will only say that Barrons and his guys are all the same thing. She also said that when she started the book, the paranormal romance genre was filled with vampires, werewolves etc. She didn’t want her main male character to be defined by a label, so she didn’t say what he was exactly. And she wants us — just like Mac — to judge Barrons based on his actions — not a label. “I wanted my characters to love each other but never tell each other.”
Will Mac and Barrons have a baby? Here’s what KMM says: “Baby? Barrons have a baby? Gah! (Although she ended the book with him grilling steaks — so we know he can be domestic!)
Was anything in SHADOWFEVER different than your dream? (Because she based the series on a dream she had): Adam’s cameo and not killing Drustan.
Did Barrons ever love Fiona? No.
On Dani: Dani’s in a pretty bad point if Ryo has a job for her and Christian thinks she might be his redemption. “Can you imagine being stuck between these two men when you are 14? What if they hang around the next few years to watch over you with hawk eyes, making sure you become what they want you to become?” (KMM also said that the Dani book will not only be about Dani/Christian/Ryodan but also Dancer.)
Hardest scene for her to write in the series? “The end of FAEFEVER was awful for me to write. I got to that point and stopped writing for several weeks because I didn’t want to face it. But in the end, I wrote it exactly as it came to me. I cried.” KMM also says the Mac’s torture scenes with Malluce were difficult to write.
More on V’lane: KMM gave us some alternative thoughts on V’lane/Cruce. Might he be a real hero? What if he’d gotten to Mac before Barrons did? Yes, he betrayed the Unseelie King but he was fighting for his freedom and the freedom of the Unseelie. He would’ve made Mac his princess. (One fan said no way could V/C be a hero because he raped Mac.)
Possible books: KMM says it’s possible she would write something from Barrons’ POV. She also might write a prequel novella about Alina/Darroc.
Barrons/Mac relationship: KMM says since the moment Barrons met Mac and accepted that he wanted her, he has been “ruthlessly altering her, making her suitable for him … The only question is will she survive what he’s doing to her?”
Does KMM know what the Gray Woman will want from Mac? “Yes, I know what Mac will owe the Gray Woman.”
And then KMM closed with this thought: “In SHADOWFEVER, 2 Sinsar Dubhs are out there. What would happen if they both got loose?”
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Book pick: ‘Shadowfever’ an epic ending to the Mac & Barrons story January 22, 2011
Posted by Diana McCabe in Reviews/summaries.Tags: Barrons, karen marie moning, Mac, Shadowfever, v'lane
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Karen Marie Moning wraps up her Fever series with a finale that whipsaws the reader in an oh-my-gosh page turner that never lets up until the last page. (And that would be page 594 — so if you haven’t finished it, be warned: This contains SPOILERS.)
After waiting two years for SHADOWFEVER and debating countless theories on Mac and Barrons, I wondered if KMM could deliver all of the answers her fans demanded. I’d say in some cases she did — and in others she left the door open.
SHADOWFEVER continues Mac’s dark journey of loss and self-discovery as she hunts her sister’s killer and is surrounded by the Fae and other monsters who are overtaking humankind. We quickly learn that the beast she stabs at the end of DREAMFEVER is Barrons. And this is where Mac starts to wonder if she’s evil and can’t figure out who or what she really is — beyond a sidhe-seer who can detect Fae objects and is immune to Fae glamour.
In her grief over killing Barrons, Mac decides to join forces with the Lord Master and hunt down the Sinsar Dubh. Once she has the book, she plans to use its magic to recreate time — a time where Barrons and her sister, Alina, exist.
Well — that was her plan. Through a series of plot and character twists, KMM moves Mac in a different direction though, and it’s one that leaves our heroine with a major identity crisis. Is she the reincarnation of the King’s concubine? And in an even more intriguing twist, is she the King? Or, is she a vessel holding a copy of the Sinsar Dubh?
I found this to be the most fascinating part of the story. KMM builds her own Fae lore about the queen, the King and the Fourth Prince as she guides Mac through the White Mansion and the Silvers for answers. This is good, creative story telling.
And Mac’s uncertainty about who she is — at times is touching and funny:
“Was I a woman, obsessed with the woman on the couch? Or was I the male King of the Fae, obsessed with Jericho? I consider myself open-minded about gender preference — love is love, and who’s to say how the body follows the heart? — but both of those scenarios were hard for me to accept for myself. Neither fit me like a glove, and sexuality should. When it’s right, it feels good on you, like your own skin, and the only thing that felt like skin to me was woman to man.”
The best parts of the book are reminiscent of the rest of the series: The witty banter that Mac and Barrons carry on without speaking; the eerie worlds KMM creates as Mac travels in the Silvers and White Mansion, and the development of V’lane — who isn’t exactly a nice Fae after all. (Not that any of us trusted him.) His role in all of this is perhaps the most shocking — and I was delighted to hear his story unfold in such a traitorous way! (I won’t spoil the rest on that story line, but it’s not over yet!)
Karen Marie Moning in NOLA for Shadowfever launch.
It’s also clear early in the story that Barrons just won’t die. We still don’t know who or what he is — only that when he dies he returns to the place of his original death before coming back. That his heart doesn’t beat — until after he feeds. And that he has a son, who is hopelessly locked in his beast state. We also find out just how entangled he is with his men, how ticked off he is at Mac for consorting with the Lord Master and how much his beast really controls him.
Much as I liked large parts of the story, I often found myself reeling with the number of “Ah-ha” moments and characters who stand in Mac’s way. KMM ties up the Rowena story line, the Isla story, gives us more on Barrons, his men and Barrons’ child, has Dani deliver a whopper of a surprise to Mac, introduces us to K’Vruck (Death), leaves us wondering what the heck will happen to Christian and then includes a slew of characters from her HIGHLANDER series and even involve Mac’s adopted parents in the big final scene at the end. It was way too much. Toward the end, I almost felt as if I were watching a movie and the bad guys just wouldn’t die — but kept coming back to life!
The very end was a big nod to KMM fans who wanted that happy ending. It was a little too sweet for me, with Mac’s adoptive parents moving to Dublin and getting a house and everyone getting together for a party at Mac’s bookstore — with Barrons grilling steaks. It didn’t have the same fun, edgy tone I felt was the strong suit of the entire series.
In all fairness to KMM, she wanted to wrap this story up in five books. And despite some of my nits with the overabundance of changing story lines/characters, I still loved reading this story and will keep re-reading it.
We still have a lot of unanswered questions, including who and what is JZB. And we certainly still have questions about Mac, now that we know who and what she is. But KMM will slowly reveal more to us in her next series, which focuses on Dani, Ryodan and Christian.
But yes — when I look back at what KMM has done with the series and this last book, SHADOWFEVER does deliver an epic ending to a great urban-fantasy, which remains a favorite of mine.
So as KMM says on page 594: “The end ….” and on the next page “…. for now.”
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