Book Reviews
Review: “The Dark Path” by Walter H. Hunt
Reviewing books, especially when you’re trying to write your own, makes you a bit self-conscious. When you’re asked for an opinion, you have to approach each title as a reader who is looking for a good escape. That self-conscious feeling only gets worse when I review works written by people I know. I want to give an honest opinion–but if I don’t like it, the friendship is irrevocably marred.
Review: “The Summoner” by Gail Z. Martin
Although a bit clunky at times, this book is fairly well written. Even though it is over 600 pages, this book feels more like an appetizer than a stand-alone book within a series. I am interested enough in the adventure to read the next installments when they become available, but I wish I had the whole series at once.
Review: “S.” by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst
The novel S. is less of a conventional story written using words than it is an experience using the book as an object that mystifies the reader into a multi-layered tale of intrigue, young romance, and mystery. S. is told through the imaginary novel, Ship of Theseus, written by a Kafkaesque V.M. Straka whose real identity is unknown.
Review: “Poison Study” by Maria V. Snyder
Enraptured. I cannot remember the last time I read an entire book in one sitting. I could not, did not, put it down.
Yelena is everything you could ask for in a heroine: courageous, clever, resourceful, vulnerable, and strong. From the outset, her situation is dire. She is given a poison that will kill her if she does not return for her daily antidote. And even if she doesn’t, she may simply die from doing her job well.
Review: “Queen of Dragons” by Shana Abé
If you want to read a book about dragons that can change into a human form or disappear into smoke, read this book. If you want to read a romance where the woman and man are both strong leading characters, read this book. I loved this book and can’t wait to find out what happens next. And I’ll have to go back and find The Smoke Thief and The Dream Thief, the previous books in this series.
Review: “Reiffen’s Choice” by S. C. Butler
I really enjoyed the writing style. While the book is targeted for the young adult, descriptions and dialogue do not blatantly point it out. Readers who enjoy writers like Raymond E. Feist and J. K. Rowling will not be disappointed by Reiffen’s Choice.
Review: “Crater County” by Jonathan Miller
So there I am at Ice Escape, and a young man starts chatting me up about his book, Crater County: A Legal Thriller of New Mexico. It’s a slightly supernatural legal thriller, he says. And I says, “A slightly supernatural legal thriller? I don’t think I’ve ever read something like that.” And he says, “How’d you like to review the book?” I says, “Sure, why not?”
We said a lot.
Review: “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”
Let me start off by admitting that I love both Zombies and Regency novels. So, naturally, when I saw a zombified portrait of Jane Austen on the cover of a book, I was intrigued. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a parody (or as the back cover describes it, “an expanded edition”) of Jane Austin’s classic regency novel Pride and Prejudice.
