We’ve had a couple of books come in this week that are more fantasy than horror, but we thought we’d alert you just the same. Of the two, the one that’s more likely to interest horror readers is Nick Lake’s Blood Ninja from Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.

Description: The story unfolds in 1565 Japan when ninjas attack and kill Taro, the hero of the story, and his father. Taro, who has always wanted to be a samurai, is saved by the bite of a good ninja which turns Taro into a vampire. This is the element that’s most likely to appeal to horror fans … vampire ninjas. The story becomes a quest as Taro, his good friend Haro, and his savior, Shusaku set off on a journey that challenges everything Taro thought he understood about the world and his place in it.

Fast-paced. Enjoyable read. Ideally aimed at the adolescent reader.

Dragon Keeper is Volume One of the Rain Wilds Chronicles, written by Robin Hobb. This is pure fantasy and much less likely to appeal to the hard core horror fan. If you enjoy horror and fantasy, however, you’ll enjoy this one.

Description: The story opens with an account of a tangle of sea serpents migrating up a rive toxic with acidity. Their goal: to find a protected riverbank where they can cocoon and transform into full-fledged dragons. Yet, when the few creatures who survive the harrowing journey eventually hatch, all are malformed or stunted in some manner.

As they mature, the dragons wreak such havoc on the shoreline and the economy of the nearby communities of Cassarick and Bingtown that they are sent upriver. Their destination: Kelsingra, the ancient, long-lost city of dragons.

The dragons are accompanied by human misfits of the Rain Wilds, who are recruited to serve as dragon keepers. Among them are Thymara, a young woman of sixteen, and Alise Kincarton Finbok, a self-educated dragon expert. Shepherding the group is a charismatic riverboat captain who captivates Alise, earns the grudging regard of the dragons and navigates the dangerous Rain Wilds River.

Well conceived and well developed.

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