Book Reviews
Review: “Just a Geek” by Wil Wheaton
It’s not often I read books which both reverse and elevate my opinion of the author. Before reading Just a Geek, Wil Wheaton was the child-actor who played arguably the most hated character on Star Trek:TNG, as well as the kid with the biggest (leech-infested) one in four counties. After finishing the book, Wil has become one of my Personal Heroes.
Review: “7th Son” by J.C. Hutchins
Attention all you Earth-crack junkies out there. J. C. Hutchins’s 7th Son podcast novel is well worth checking out. It’s a taut, tense scifi thriller that’s got me hooked after only a few episodes.
Review: “The Prestige” by Christopher Priest
This is an odd, hard to define, impossible to put down book, first published in 1995, but out in a new paperback edition. The reason I’m bringing it to your attention is primarily due to news of an upcoming film: Christopher Nolan, director of Batman Begins and one of my personal favorites, Memento, will begin shooting an adaptation of The Prestige this month.
Review: “The Dark Wing” by Walter H. Hunt
An alien race, following their religious doctrines, shatter their latest peace treaty with the Sol Empire by launching an unprovoked attack against a deep space outpost. This time, however, the war between humans and aliens takes on a far more sinister overtone as the admiral of the Imperial Fleet proclaims himself “The Bringer of The Apocolypse” or The Dark Wing, a Military SF epic from Walter H. Hunt and Tor Books.
Classic Review: “On A Pale Horse” by Piers Anthony
After listening to the interview with Piers Anthony, I decided to try one of the books in his “Incarnations of Immortality” series. The first book in the series is titled On a Pale Horse.
Review: “Darth Bane: Path of Destruction: A Novel of the Old Republic”
I’m a sucker for Star Wars books. After reading Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command) captured the frenetic, everything-is-happening-at-the-same-time pacing of the original Star Wars trilogy and provided an engaging story to boot, I bought any post-Return of the Jedi book I could get my hands on.
Review: “The Magicians and Mrs. Quent” by Galen Beckett
I began reading this book with a question of my own: would infusing magic into a novel of manners produce a book that I would enjoy reading? Because in all honesty, although I have read Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights, I didn’t enjoy either.
Review: “Empress” by Karen Miller
Hekat, in Empress, is a difficult woman. And while I know that a part of me should cheer for this woman who raises herself up from a nameless no one to a ruler of her country, the other part of me can’t stand how difficult she is. Hekat is touched by the god. She is not inventing this. She really does have her deity on her side, protecting her as she slaughters the people who get in her way. Everything she does is fated. But I cannot get beyond how completely cold and ruthless she is to everyone around her.
