Book Reviews
Review: “The Last Dragon” by Jane Yolen & Rebecca Guay
Wow, I really don’t know where to start with this review. Do I begin with the beautiful art of Rebecca Guay, or wax poetic on the enthralling story crafted by Jane Yolen?
Review: “The Boys Are Back In Town” by Christopher Golden
Many people who read and write science fiction believe that through the last few decades science fiction has actually prepared society for future technological advances. The idea, some say, is that in science fiction all the pitfalls, moral uncertainties, and roads best not traveled can be discovered and worked out in the pages of entertaining fiction, rather than bitter experience.
So why won’t this generation learn? If science fiction has taught us one thing, it’s that if you have the ability to go into the past in order to change events and make the world a better place… don’t do it! You’re just gonna fuck it up.
Review: “Star Wars: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor”
It sounds dark, ominious and serious, but Matt Stover keeps the novel light, fun and moving along at a crisp pace, something I can’t say of a lot of other “Star Wars” novels of late. If the title sounds pulpy sf, then you’re thinking along the right lines for this one.
Review: “Heart’s Blood” by Juliet Marillier
In Heart’s Blood Ms. Marillier has created believable characters, both living and dead who grow and change through the book. Far from being a knock-off, the story and style stand out nicely on their own. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to discover her work.
Guest Review: “Hell’s Aquarium” by Steve Alten
OK a few weeks ago, there was a review of Steve Alten’s Hell’s Aquarium. I thought it wasn’t a very good review, so I decided to send in my own, since I read Hell’s Aquarium and liked it a lot.
Review: “The Crazy Years: Reflections of a Science Fiction” by Spider Robinson
I can tell you this: Spider is funny, and he’s smart, and you can’t go wrong with a combination like that. Warren James, host of Mike Hodel’s Hour 25, says that science fiction allows us to see the world through another set of eyes. Take a chance and take a look at world through the eyes of the Spider.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review: “Bitten” by K. L. Nappier
I am not familiar with Nappier’s previous work, so the Beast mythos was new to me. And I found myself reading on so that I could understand the rules involved in her take on the werewolf legends. Hunters David and Max had managed, within the first chapter, to bring an “incarnation” of the Beast. Usually, one stops once the werewolf is dead. But not in this universe.
Review: “The Ghost Brigades” by John Scalzi
Ghost Brigades is a pageturner with surprising emotional rewards, but I’m hoping that Scalzi plans to write more books in this universe, because as it is there are too many ideas here for his own good.
