Set in a dystopian future where superhumans (called Epics) rule over ordinary mortals, STEELHEART, by Brandon Sanderson, follows a rebel group known as The Reckoners as they struggle to bring the Epics down. The novel moves quickly, emphasizing action, and Sanderson exhibits real mastery in bringing the world, his characters, and their tech and gadgetry to […]
Book Review: ANNO DRACULA: JOHNNY ALUCARD by Kim Newman
October 30, 2013 by 2 Comments
Kim Newman’s latest novel, Anno Dracula: Johnny Alucard(Titan Books) is, in my view, the first essential vampire book of the decade. It combines rollercoaster action with satire, mordant wit and scares aplenty. This fourth volume in the author’s cult, Anno Dracula series sees an undead waif called Ion Popescu on the run from communist Romania’s […]
Book Review: APOCALYPTIC MONTESSA AND NUCLEAR LULU by Mercedes Yardley
October 25, 2013 by 1 Comment
Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu: A Tale of Atomic Love By Mercedes M. Yardley Her mama always said she was special. His daddy called him a demon. But even monsters can fall in love. Montessa Tovar is walking home alone when she is abducted by Lu, a serial killer with unusual talents and a grudge […]
Book Review: ALIF THE UNSEEN by G. Willow Wilson
October 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment
If there is a better book than Alif The Unseen by G. Willow Wilson that showcases the nebulous nature of genre definitions and the trend towards the mélange of tropes so prevalent these days in genre fiction, then I can’t think of it. Mixing fantasy, mythology, cyberpunk and techno-thriller devices, Wilson has sculpted a world […]
Book Review: REPLICA by Jenna Black
October 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Replica (Replica, Book 1), by Jenna Black, is a fast-paced YA novel featuring two protagonists, 16 year olds Nadia Lake and Nate Hayes. Children of the wealthy elite in the repressive Corporate States, Nate and Nadia are like celebrities. They are also betrothed to be married, forming the lynchpin in a powerful alliance between important […]
Short Story Review: “The Walk Up Nameless Ridge” by Hugh Howey
October 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment
“The Walk up Nameless Ridge,” a Kindle Single by Hugh Howey Amazon Kindle: $.99 – 18 pages Audible: $.99 (Narrated by Jonathan Davis) – 39 minutes; Whispersync Ready Story Description: On planet Eno, there stands a mountain that has never been summited. Many have tried. All have failed. This climbing season finds three teams making […]
Book Review: THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES by Scott Lynch
October 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A couple of years ago, I needed a book to read for vacation. So I stopped down by my local indie bookstore and grabbed one of the thicker fantasy volumes on the shelf. That book – The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch – almost made me forget I was sitting on a beautiful […]
Book Review: THE MACHINE by James Smythe
October 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
My first experience reading James Smythe was discovering his novel, The Explorer, a book which became my Top 3 read of 2012. It hooked me from the first sentence and gave me a story that was never boring, creating strong empathy for the main character’s plight in a fast-paced adventure through time and space, literally. […]
Book Review and Giveaway: THREE by Jay Posey
October 3, 2013 by 2 Comments
All mutants, zombies, monsters, aliens and other semi-sentient beings aside, the end of the world leaves behind a surprising number of survivors – human survivors. That human detritus makes a surprising recovery regardless of whatever dystopian wasteland they inhabit. In Three, by Jay Posey, it’s the world before its fall that draws the reader in […]
Book Review: STAR WARS: EMPIRE AND REBELLION: RAZOR’S EDGE by Martha Wells
September 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The Star Wars Expanded Universe has grown immensely since the early days when George Lucas gave the go-ahead to Timothy Zahn and a few others to begin writing stories that went beyond the original trilogy. There were the comic books too, of course. Then the prequels occurred – and things went the way of an […]
