Book Reviews
Review: “Pandemic” by Scott Sigler
Podcast novelist (and self-proclaimed future dark overlord) Scott Sigler burst onto the horror scene a couple of years ago Infected. If you’ve read (or listened to) Sigler’s original novel, I need only say two words to make you shudder involuntarily — chicken scissors.
Review: “Lord of the Changing Winds” by Rachel Neumeier
What is refreshing about Lord of the Changing Winds is that it presents a refreshingly new adaptation of griffin lore. When neighboring kingdom Casmantium begins to threaten their desert with ice, the Griffins are forced to flee, taking their desert with them. Griffins are so intimately bound with the element of fire, it has become their own life essence, their spirit.
Review: “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” by J. K. Rowling
A million people pre-ordered Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I guess that makes me one in a million! (Thank you, I’ll be here all week.)
Honestly, though, you can’t imagine how I felt when I opened my door mid-Saturday morning, and found the box from Amazon.com sitting there. I’m a huge Harry Potter fan. For the next two days, I didn’t turn on the TV, didn’t shave, barely bathed, and left the house only once or twice to get a couple of snacks (and didn’t bother to brush, my teeth look nasty).
Review: “Necronomicrap” by Tim Frayser
The chapbook Necronomicrap: A Guide To Your Horoooscope, by Tim Frayser, mixes astrological “facts” with obvious lampooning. For example, while you can use the book to learn the names of Saturn’s moons, I highly doubt you should share Frayser’s interpretation that the moons regulate “various aspects of human flatulence.”
Review: “The Republic of Thieves” by Scott Lynch
After years of anticipation and speculation, Lynch returns to the universe of his “Gentlemen Bastards” with the long-awaited third installment, The Republic of Thieves.
Was it worth the wait?
Absolutely.
Review: “My Soul To Keep” by Tananarive Due
Tananarive Due writes a character driven adventure with an African-American heroine in a literary field of plot driven stories about white male heroes. That alone makes me recommend it. The fact that the book will chew you up, spit you out, and make you beg for more? Gravy.
Review: “Far-Seer” by Robert J. Sawyer
Robert J. Sawyer’s Far-Seer tells the story of Afsan, an apprentice astrologer who takes his first pilgrimage: a long and dangerous ocean voyage to find the face of god. Hungry and thirsty for knowledge, Afsan is blessed on this voyage. The ship’s captain owns a far-seer; a new invention made of lenses and tubes that enables its user to see far off objects in great detail.
Review: “Not Your Father’s Horseman” by Valerie Griswold-Ford
When you ask author Valerie Griswold-Ford how she got her contract for Not Your Father’s Horseman, she will tell you, “Well, Tee suggested I finish the manuscript and then pitch it to Dragon Moon. What Tee didn’t tell me was he pitched it for me to Dragon Moon and got me a contract.” So, yeah, I figured a great motivator in getting your first novel done was a contract.
