Carnival of Souls - Nancy Holder

Okay, I know what you're thinking; "Buffy the Vampire Slayer, really? That is sooooo 90's." Yeah, it is. But you know what? So am I! Team 90's kids all the way. Admittedly, this is a bit of a departure from my usual content, but it was such a fun read that I couldn't resist.

Buffy used to be a normal girl. She went to school, had pretty average grades, and spent a little too much time at the mall. But that was before she found out that she was the Chosen One, the girl of her generation chosen to wage war against the forces of evil that make their way into our world. Since then, there's been a lot less mall shopping and a lot more vampire slaying going on. With the help of her Watcher, Giles, and her two closest friends, Xander and Willow, Buffy manages to keep her head on straight and get the job done. It also doesn't hurt that she's finally managed to get close to Angel, the vampire with a soul that's been helping her in the fight against the bad guys. Especially with all the recent slayage that's been going on, Buffy and the gang are ready for a little quality relaxation when Professor Caligari's Traveling Carnival comes to town. Yeah, sure, the owner is super creepy, no one can decide when the carnival actually arrived, and the crime rate takes a drastic trip north, but what's the worst that could happen? It's not like overindulging in some harmless carnival fun is going to suck your soul out...

When Buffy and her friends go to investigate the carnival after unexplained crimes start happening in Sunnydale, they decide the best course of action is to take in the carnival themselves. Believing the Tunnel of Love to be behind the strange behavior, they all take a trip through with a partner, but come out seemingly unaffected. After experiencing a few of the different attractions at the carnival, it's apparent that something funky is going on. Xander, who admittedly was pretty single-minded about food before, is constantly hungry, eating whatever he can get his hands on. Willow, usually shy and humble, seems to have been bitten by the green-eyed monster. Giles takes a trip back to the angsty days of his youth and Buffy suddenly decides that she's better than everyone in the town. Soon, they reveal that Professor Caligari is an ancient evil bent on nothing short of the destruction of Sunnydale and the enslavement of all its inhabitants. But with the various faults assailing the group, will they be able to overcome their own problems and save Sunnydale?

The first thing that should probably be addressed is the relation of this book to the Buffy series. If you're a huge fan of the 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' series, you'll enjoy this one either way, especially with the added Easter eggs. If you've never seen or heard of Buffy, you may miss out on some of the references and a little back story, but the author was really good about summarizing plot points that are important without detracting from the current story. That being said, reading this book is like watching the series. To be honest, the writing style threw me off a little at first because it's so Buffy, and by that I mean lots of 90's phrases that have since faded into obscurity. After a couple of chapters, you get used to it and you can focus more on the plot, but boy was that a bit of culture shock initially. Admittedly, reading the book from Buffy's iconically sarcastic POV is extremely amusing, but be aware that it's not written from a dry third-person view.

As far as the actual plot, I (obviously) really enjoyed it. The whole storyline is based around the idea of overindulgence and the Seven Deadly Sins, which are portrayed as actual characters. Morally, it backs up the idea that giving in to temptation when you know you shouldn't is bad and literally gets your soul taken away. Aside from that, it uses some of your typical carnival players without over-emphasizing them. Take clowns, for example. In a horror-ish type story about a carnival, you'd obviously expect there to be creepy clowns with chainsaws or blood-sucking tendencies or something like that, and while there are some clowns, they don't play as huge a role as you might expect. Overall, this is a fun read, especially if you're familiar with the Buffy series.

Pros:

• Carnival horror
• Merges really well with TV series plot progression
• Virtually non-stop comedy

Cons:

• 90's lingo. It might as well be Klingon (in which I'm barely literate)
• Plot is drawn out, but not excessively
• May take away any desire to visit carnivals in the near future

Newt's Emerald - Garth Nix

After reading Nix's Sabriel in a university literature class, I was extremely excited to see one of his novels pop up in the monthly book box I subscribe to. I was even more excited to see that it was a fantasy of manners, a term I recently learned can refer to Regency era novels with an element of magic. The book's partner in the subscription box was pretty disappointing, but I'm happy to say I sailed through this one in a day or so. Read on for the plot summary and review!

Truthful Newington lives with her cantankerous father, a retired Admiral, after the death of her mother. On the brink of her official entry into society, her father shows her the Newington Emerald, a powerful magical talisman that is to be hers on her 25th birthday. Truthful has no small skill herself, having inherited her family's magic of weather influencing. When the Admiral brings the Emerald out of its safe place, a sudden gust from a violent storm blows into the room and, in the ensuing chaos, the talisman disappears. The Admiral, shocked by what he believes to be the theft of the Emerald, falls ill and takes to his bed while Truthful vows to seek out the Emerald and return it to its rightful place. She travels to London to live with her great-aunt for the duration of the search and, what now seems less important, for her entry into London society. Once there, it is quickly decided that she can't possibly investigate as herself, so Great-Aunt Badgery, a powerful sorceress, disguises her as an absent French cousin so she can roam the streets freely. On one of her excursions, she runs into (literally) Major Hartnett, a handsome but irritating fellow who, despite seeming to be rather suspicious of Truthful (in male cousin guise), ends up working with her for the remainder of the search. As the hunt continues, it becomes apparent that there is a larger force at work than originally believed. Truthful, who finds herself falling for the dashing Major Hartnett, continues to poke around in hopes of recovering the Emerald, but when she goes to confront the villain, she discovers that she may be in over her head.

So let's chat. I'm a huge fan of Regency/magic/undercover debutante books. Obviously, this one falls right into that category so it's hard for me to not like it. Fantasy books are kind of my thing, especially when you start mixing in historical periods I love as much as the Regency Era. I also seem to have an affinity for books with strong female leads, which this one sort of is. I liked the plot, even if it was a bit simple, and the writing is pretty funny at some points; one of my personal favorites is how the disguise is in enchanted on a mustache that Truthful has to wear. In these respects, I thought it was a fun book, especially for younger readers.

There were, however, things I definitely didn't like. The first is the extremely underdeveloped romance between Truthful and Major Hartnett. Both seem to have strong feelings for the other, but there's absolutely no reason for it. In the few encounters Major Hartnett has with Truthful as Lady Truthful, he sees her as a spoiled, selfish, debutante brat, albeit it a very beautiful one. Truthful's affection can be explained more easily since she ended up spending a lot of time with him as the male cousin, but it seems to advance a little to quickly for what we're given, which conveniently leads into the next point: pacing. The whole novel seems to rush along, and although I liked a lot of the scenes, they came and went so quickly that you end up with plot whiplash.

Pros:

• Regency Era + Magic = Fun!
• Straightforward, doesn't require a lot of extra attention to keep up
•  Entertaining (if not a little predictable) plot

Cons:

• Unlikely, underdeveloped romance
• PACING
• A little corny at either end 

Chocolate Macarons

Macarons are tricky beasts: mess up one step and the whole operation is ruined. I should know, since my first attempt was just shy of disastrous. But as I like to say, Mama didn't raise no quitter, so I pulled myself together for attempt number two. They still weren't perfect, as you can see from the cracks in the tops, but they were much better since I was able to identify where I went wrong the first time. First, make sure you whip the egg whites all the way to stiff peaks. Second, you can't possibly be too careful when you're folding the egg whites into the dry ingredients. I highly recommend looking it up on YouTube if you have any doubts as to the process. Finally, make sure you pipe the shells to the right size. The second time around, I drew forms on the underside of the parchment paper so they would all be the same size. Whatever you do, don't be afraid to try them just because they're a little more complicated! I seriously almost cried when I tasted the second batch and they were so much better. Attempting new things can only expand on your abilities!


Ingredients: 
For macaron shells
1 cup almond flour
3/4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder
2 large egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, optional
For chocolate ganache filling:
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons Nutella

Directions:

1. In  medium bowl, sift together almond flour, powdered sugar and cocoa powder twice. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and continue to beat. Slowly add sugar one tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until hard peaks form. 
3. Sift the almond flour mixture over the whipped egg whites. Gently fold the mixture, running the spatula clockwise from the bottom, up around the sides, and cut the batter in half. The batter will look very thick at first, but it will get thinner as you fold. Be careful not to overmix! Every so often, test the batter to see if it has reached the right consistency. Do this by dropping a small amount of batter and counting to ten. If the edges of the ribbon are dissolved within seconds, the batter is ready. Do NOT mix again. If you still see edges, fold the batter a couple more times and test again. 
4. Transfer the batter into a pastry bag with a round tip.
5. Pipe out 1.5-inch rounds about an inch apart on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. You should get about 42 shells. Tap the baking sheets firmly on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. If you don't release the air bubbles, they will expand during baking and crack the shells. 
6. Let the macarons rest and dry for 15-30 minutes. On a humid, this step will take longer. To see if it's ready to be baked, lightly touch it. If the batter doesn't stick to your finger, it's ready. Sprinkle a little bit of sea salt on each macaron right before baking, if desired. Preheat the oven to 300 F. 
7. Bake the macarons for 18-2 minutes. To check if they are done, remove one macaron. If the bottom doesn't stick, they're done. 
8. Transfer to wire rack to cool for 15 minutes, then remove from the baking sheets.
9. While macarons are cooling, prepare the ganache filling. Heat the heavy cream in the microwave for a minute. Place the chocolate chips in a medium bowl and pour hot cream over them. Let it stand for a minute or two, then stir until smooth. Stir in Nutella. Cool the ganache in the fridge to thicken
10. Transfer the ganache filling into a pastry bag and fill the macarons.
11. Store the filled macarons in airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the filled macarons in airtight container for up to 5 months.

Source: Sweet and Savory

The Entropy Effect - Vonda McIntyre

If you've been on my blog for any amount of time, you've probably learned that I have a slight Star Trek obsession. Within that obsession, this book is like a sub-obsession; it is hands down my favorite Star Trek novel based on the original series. Keep reading for the summary!

The U.S.S. Enterprise has been orbiting a naked singularity for 6 weeks while Commander Spock takes observations that may prove to be critical for understanding the life span of the universe. Unexpectedly, Captain Kirk receives a top-priority order to proceed to Aleph Prime, a mining colony, and weeks of meticulous observations are ruined on the cusp of proving a shocking discovery. Upon arrival at the planet, however, Kirk finds that there is no real emergency; brilliant physicist Georges Mordreaux, once Spock's teacher, is being transferred to a rehabilitation colony after being convicted of murder and the Enterprise has been diverted to take him. Mysterious circumstance seem to follow Mordreaux wherever he is taken and unexplainable bouts of hypermorphic botulism are responsible for the deaths of key individuals related to the case. Spock, unable to believe that his former teacher is capable of performing the crimes he was convicted of, tries to read up on his latest research and finds that a virus is systematically removing all mentions of Mordreaux and his work from computers universally. Mordreaux is transferred to the Enterprise along with the prosecuting attorney on the case, but Spock insists he be confined in a guarded guest cabin instead of the brig.

On the way to the rehabilitation colony, Mordreaux appears on the bridge and uses an outlawed weapon on two of the crew, killing both of them. When security mounts a search for Mordreaux and the weapon, the former is found in his cabin, seemingly unaware of what happened, and the latter is nowhere to be found. Spock, in temporary command of the Enterprise, visits Mordreaux to get his side of the story and learns that the professor had been working on time travel technology and, in fact, had sent some of his friends back in time. Realizing that time travel was involved, the two piece together the solution to the mystery of the Mordreaux that couldn't have been on the bridge and the weapon that was never found. The final conclusion reveals a stark reality; messing around with time has created a disruption in the very fabric of reality, which manifested as the naked singularity, that threatens the future of the universe with hundreds of alternate realities that shouldn't exist. With this in mind, Spock and the present Mordreaux work to reverse the damage and restore the reality that was meant to be.

As I said previously, this is my favorite Star Trek novel. It's almost like a Doctor Who/Star Trek combo because of the time travel factor. There's a major shock scene (the result of which I tried to conceal as best as I could in the summary) that may result in a few tears. We get a lot of backstory on Sulu because he does more in this novel than just sit at the helm, and, fun fact, this book is the origin of some of the information we get on him in the TV series (or so I've heard). Additionally, since Spock is the main character in this one, we get to see a side of him we don't usually get to. The other thing I love about it is the complexity of the plot; virtually nothing is what it seems to be and it keeps you guessing throughout the novel.

The main complaint I have of this book is more format-related than textual, and that is the length of the chapters. They. Are. So. Long. With the schedule I've had recently, I've had to sneak in a bit here and there instead of chugging through like I normally would, but the lack of chapter breaks made it really hard to keep track of where I was between readings. I know what you're thinking - "Why didn't you just use a bookmark?!" Well, while it is true that I have an abundance of bookmarks, it's also true that I never seem to have them when I need them. But, such is life. Aside from the long chapters, I also noticed that there are a few things that aren't really fully addressed at the end; you can definitely imply the answers, but they aren't explicitly stated. Overall, it's a great read that I would definitely recommend!

Pros:

• Time travel!
• Lots of interesting backstory on Spock and Sulu
• Interesting, complex plot

Cons:

• Really. Long. Chapters.
• Still a couple of loose ends at the conclusion of the novel
•  Teeny bit of inconsistency between book and TV series, but nothing major

Since this post is about my favorite Star Trek novel, I can't resist sharing my favorite piece of Star Trek fan art to go with it. I wasn't able to track down the artist, but whoever you are, you're my hero. This is some seriously amazing skill, especially considering the only art I can do is abstract. You can almost feel the emotions being portrayed here. Okay, done ranting, I'm gonna just leave it here.

 

Dragons of Autumn Twilight - Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Get ready, folks, this one's likely to be a doozy. I've been a fan of these books for a few years now, but they definitely aren't for everyone. By the end of the post, you'll know why! It might be helpful to watch the trailer at the bottom of the post first, but either way, I'm sure you'll get the idea!

When Tanis Half-Elven returns to Solace after 5 years abroad, he expects to sit down with some of his closest friends for a chat about the state of the world. When he arrives at the designated meeting place, he finds some of his companions are already there: Sturm, the solemn knight who serves an order almost forgotten, Flint the old dwarf, Tas, an irrepressibly curious kender whose light fingers often get him into trouble, Caramon, a warrior by all stretches of the imagination, and Caramon's twin brother, Raistlin, a sickly but powerful mage who recently underwent a transformation that left him bitter and cynical to even his brother. The adventurous group, each pursuing different goals, made an oath years ago to meet at Solace to discuss how the world is changing, but one of them is missing; Kitiara, Caramon and Raistlin's half-sister and the object of Tanis's favor. The breaking of the oath is bound to be a bad omen, and sure enough, not long after their arrival, trouble breaks out. Sturm, adhering to the Code he values above all else, picked up two barbarian on the way to the meeting, a man and a woman bearing a strange staff that seems to be the talk of the town. To make matters even worse, Solace has been overrun by hobgoblins claiming to serve a Dragon Highlord of the dark queen Takhisis, despite the fact that dragons haven't been seen in Krynn for ages. The combination of these two factors result in a fight in the inn and the companions are forced to flee with the barbarians and the strange staff in tow.

Unsure of how to proceed now that they know that someone is after the staff and evil is making its way through the land, the friends once again band together for a common cause; find the origin of the magical staff and its healing powers, and deal with the threat presented by the armies of the Dragon Highlord. Unfortunately, the latter presents problems for the former, with strange, lizard-like creatures called draconians patrolling the paths for any sign of the magical staff. Their flight pushes them into Darken Wood, a forest feared for the evil presence lurking within its borders. Inside the wood, they encounter the fabled ghost warriors, who, surprisingly, recognize the staff. Just in the nick of time, a band of centaurs appears and leads the group to the Forestmaster, a unicorn who has also sensed the rising evil in the land. She insists that the companions travel to Xak Tsaroth, an ancient city that fell when the gods were believed to have abandoned Krynn. There, they would discover the key to the staff. In spite of some opposition, the group travels to the old city hoping to settle the mystery once and for all. When they finally reach Xak Tsaroth, they discover the horrifying truth; dragons are back in Krynn, and they're on the wrong side. Goldmoon, the bearer of the staff, finds herself in the temple at Xak Tsaroth, where she discovers that the staff is a sacred symbol of a cleric of Mishakal, the goddess of healing. She becomes a disciple of Mishakal, giving her healing powers that come in handy when the group is almost killed by the dragon that lives in the city, and learns that she must recover the disks of Mishakal if they want to have any hope of driving the Dragon Highlord's forces from Krynn. In the underbelly of the city, the companions must work with gully dwarves who have been enslaved by the draconians to help secure the disks. Eventually, however, they manage to retrieve them and begin the long journey back home.

To their shock, Solace has been all but burned down by draconian armies, and they, along with the barmaid Tika, are captured at the inn after a fight. On the way to the slave mines where they are to serve their sentence, they meet up with a befuddled old magician named Fizban who seems to be more than he appears. Another stranger turns out to be Gilthanas, an elven prince who used to be friends with Tanis and was on a scouting mission when captured. When they travel through the woods on the way to the mines, they are rescued by elves and taken to the House of the Speaker of the Suns. There, Tanis has a painful reunion with his first love, a beautiful elf princess named Laurana. Despite his efforts to turn her away, Laurana follows the group on a rescue mission to the mines, where men, women, and children are being held captive and overseen by dragons. While journeying to the mines, they come across a band of men that had been slain by the draconian armies; one man, Eben, managed to survive, and he journeys with them for revenge. By the time they reach the mines, some of them will be lost and others will betray them. Read the book to find out if they manage to rescue the captured citizens and defeat the Dragon Highlord!

As I'm sure you can tell by the veeeeery long summary, this book is veeeeery long. Reading it almost feels like you're reading a whole series compacted into one novel. That being said, it's got plenty of humor (thanks to an oh-so-tumultuous-but-actually-caring relationship between the dwarf and the kender) and the plot has enough twists and turns to keep you interested. Additionally, this novel is like an essential oil of fantasy; it's highly concentrated in the usual fantasy tropes. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes it's can be a little too much fantasy. If you don't like long, drawn out stories, I wouldn't advise this novel. If you do like long, very fantasy-based books, I'd say give it a go. Worst case scenario, you hate it and never have to waste another second on it. Best case scenario, you love it and decide to add it to your collection!

Pros:

• Epic quest narrative
•  Fairly balanced plot
•  Unicorns (obviously)

Cons:

• Very lengthy
• Plays up fantasy tropes A LOT
•  A teeny bit sexist in a couple of parts, but I wouldn't say it's overpoweringly so

And just like I promised at the top of the post, here's the trailer from the 2008 movie. Okay, yeah, it's little cheesy but let's be real; is there any book-to-movie conversion worse than Eragon? Especially considering it's an animated movie from almost 10 years ago, I didn't think it was awful. Plus, the full movie is on YouTube, but since I'm not sure of the legality of that, you didn't hear it from me.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

This cake is so good. It's got a crackly top and a fudgy, airy interior. It's also a lot lighter than traditional cakes because it gets its structure from whipped egg whites. Bonus: it's not that difficult to make! I have a really hard time keeping it in the house because the demand for it is so high! I found this recipe in one of the monthly editions of Everyday Food, back when they still had the paper edition. There were a lot of good dishes in those magazines. Good memories, good memories.

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
6 large eggs, separated
Confectioners sugar
8 oz bitter- or semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 275 F with rack in the center. Butter bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan, then set aside.
2. Place butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring each time, until completely melted. Let cool slightly, then whisk in egg yolks. 
3. In a large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add granulated sugar and continue beating until glossy stiff peaks form. Whisk 1/4 of egg whites into chocolate mixture, then gently fold in remaining egg whites. 
4. Pour batter into prepared pan, and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until cake pulls away from sides of the pan and is set in the center, 45-50 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack; remove sides of pan. Serve at room temperature, dusted with confectioners sugar. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Source: Martha Stewart

Oven Barbecue Chicken Legs

 Hellooooo beautiful. Barbecue chicken legs should be their own food group. They're just so delicious, not to mention ridiculously easy to make. This is my all-time favorite barbecue chicken recipe, and I'm pretty sure that once you've tried it, it'll be yours too!

 Ingredients: 
12 thawed chicken legs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 cup BBQ sauce (I use Stubb's)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Rinse and pat dry the chicken and place it in a large roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle chicken with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.* Reduce heat to 375.
2. Remove chicken from the oven and brush - on both sides and liberally - with barbecue sauce. Put chicken back into the oven and cook for an extra 10 minutes. Remove from oven and brush both sides with barbecue sauce again. Return pan to the oven for an additional 7-10 minutes until the barbecue sauce caramelizes and the chicken registers 170 F on a meat thermometer placed close to the bone. You can also slice the chicken close to the bone, and, if it's pink, cook it in 5 minute increments.  

* I am all about that barbecue life, so I usually take the chicken out after 15 minutes and apply the first coat of barbecue sauce. The more, the merrier! After that, just stick it back in the oven and proceed as usual.

Source:  The Frugal Chef