Book Reviews
Review: “River of Stars” by Guy Gavriel Kay
Guy Gavriel Kay is famous for his historical fantasy novels, one of the rare group of fantasy authors whose books regularly cross over to mainstream reading lists and awards. River Of Stars is his second book using Chinese history; this time the Song Dynasty as a jumping off point for another wonderful novel.
Review: “The Sorority” Trilogy by Tamara Thorne
Tamara Thorne wrote The Sorority trilogy as the literary equivalent of a teen exploitation horror movie. It has dozens of girls in a sorority house, an evil sorority president, sex, ghosts, oral sex, dead football players, group sex, human sacrifice, and chipmunk sex. Reading a book like this makes me cry. In college I couldn’t get laid to save my life.
Review: “The Innocent Mage” by Karen Miller
The quick summary to The Innocent Mage sounds shockingly cookie-cutter. A farmer fisherman of low birth, from a rural part of Middle Earth the kingdom of Lur has a destiny. And his destiny is to save the kingdom and all its inhabitants from the Great and Looming Evil that no one knows is coming, save a chosen few who have seen the signs. How this is going to happen no one, least of all the hero, has any idea.
Review: “Enclave” by Ann Aguirre
Enclave deals with the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse in a world where those people who are trying to maintain civilization are all very young, with a life expectancy of only their early twenties.
Review: “Night Train to Rigel” by Timothy Zahn
Timothy Zahn’s a prolific writer with many succesful books both in his own and in other people’s universes.
What’s more, his name makes him eminently suited to be a bad guy in a Star Wars movie himself.
Darth Zahn’s latest book, Night Train to Rigel, delivers why-didn’t-I-think-of-that clever ideas and a zippy plotline that kept me flipping paper to the end.
Review: “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” by J. K. Rowling
It’s pretty sad when you’re 33 years old and the highlight of your year is when the next new children’s book is finally out on the market. Deciding to skip the ridiculous lines and midnight “parties,” I pre-ordered my copy online, and only had to chew the tablecloth for four hours from when I woke up at eight o’clock, till the postman finally delivered my book at noon on Saturday.
And, just like last I did with Order of the Phoenix, I forgoed (forgew? forwent?) everything, and did nothing but read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (stopping for the occasional bathroom break) until I finished Sunday afternoon.
God, I love being a geek.
Review: “Soulless” by Gail Carriger
I returned from holidays to one of the worst fates that can happen to a book nerd -– a sewer backup. As I looked at the empty space where our bookshelves used to be, I realized I needed immediate cheering up. Fortunately, Gail Carriger’s Soulless was in my To Be Read pile, above the high water mark.
Review: “Twisted Rhymes: For the Theater of Your Mind!”
Of all the forms of speculative fiction (i.e. science fiction, hard science fiction, space opera, space western, fantasy, dark fantasy, horror, time travel, magical realism, fairy tales, mythology, Authurian legend, chick fantasy, romantic horror, action/adventure fantasy, etc.), horror is easily my least favorite genre. I know all the monsters and demons are supposed to be evil incarnate, but I always find myself wondering why they have to be so mean, you know?
Also, I’m not a big poetry fan. I mean, shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Um… you’re hot and sweaty and full of mosquitoes. Whose woods these are I don’t think I know. I’ve seen lots of things more lovely than a tree. Stop with all the pretty words, just gimme the story.
