TALL, DARK AND DEAD by Tate Hallaway

Book Cover
Author Information
Author Name: 
Tate Hallaway
Author's Home Country: 
USA
Publication Details
Book Title: 
Tall
Dark and Dead
ISBN: 
9780755336555
Year of Publication: 
2007
Publisher: 
Headline
Categories & Groupings
Category: 
Fantasy
Special Interests: 
Witchcraft
Book Synopsis

Title: TALL, DARK AND DEAD
Author: Tate Hallaway
First Published: 2007
Publisher: Headline
ISBN: 978-0-7553-3655-5
Price: AUD $ 22.95 Paperback
Classification: Fiction - urban fantasy, vamp
Number of pages: 280
Reviewed March 2008 by Andrea Thompson
Information from Hachette Livre (Australia):
 
 
Garnet Lacey, she of the fashionably hip name, has just a little insight to
the spooky. If you're suddenly violently possessed and forced to share body space
with another soul, why not make it a goddess? Garnet is a witch,and not
necessarily the feel-good Wiccan type, though she does her best not to disable
everyone who crosses her. Maybe just hurt them a little.
 
Lilith, the original woman of scorn herself answered Garnet's desperate call for
help one day and has refused to budge from inside of Garnet ever since. When Mr
tall, undead and drop-dead sexy comes into this little witch's life, Lilith takes
an uncharacteristic dislike. Garnet wonders why this is so - why would a mere
vampire be a threat to one of the most powerful female incarnations of them all?
Sebastian Von Trumm is of course, not just any old immortal bloodsucker. He also
dabbles, and it is his skills in alchemy that has caused a whole truckload of
mad Catholic killers (oh yes, them again) to put him up on their scary
radar.Garnet knows a lot about being on the run. She has been on the run
from the Vatican spook squad for quite a long time herself.
 
Book Review

TALL,DARK AND DEAD has taken a clever dive into the booming chick lit market
of urban fantasy by including just enough of the current female reader's
interest(vampires) and mixed it up with a little of the occult. The book
slips and slides between seriousness and silliness (which, despite its marketing
tags of comedy, is NOT funny, and that's a good thing), with fortunately just
enough of the former to cement its appeal. With the character of Garnet immersing
herself in a stereotype in order to actually better disguise herselffrom those
who seek to do her harm, there is an unexpected poignancy to therelationship
angles. Garnet is a survivor and has many clever and appealing coping
mechanisms in dealing with all that comes her way.
 
Tate Hallaway has since written a second novel in her new series, titled
DEAD SEXY. One has to wonder whether this first somewhat darker urban
fantasy novel (with its pagan references and the like) has fallen prey to more
than just a few subtle editorial tweaks in order to make it appeal to a
greater market. There are enough of the vampire "lite" novels out there, and Tate
Hallaway from this debut novel seems to have something a little grittier to offer
up. The cover art is very visually appealing, but cartoon images of a skinny
black-clothed witch standing amongst purple flying bats - well, what impression
would that give out to the person picking it up in the bookstore? TALL DARK AND
DEAD shows a lot of promise, but judging by the title of the second book - there
comes that sinking feeling.
 
A.T.
 
Submitted 5 years 1 month ago by voyagersaus.
Saturday, April 19, 2008 - 12:00am

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