Book Reviews
Review: “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” Graphic Novel
This graphic novel is perfect for anyone that has seen the movie or read the books, and wants to remember this great story. But more than that, this would be perfect if you have young kids that would be bored with the movie, but you want to share this with them. They would love this book and could act as a gateway to get them to read the novels.
Review: “Southern Fire” by Juliet McKenna
Juliet McKenna is the thinking fantasy reader’s author, the kind who dreams up fantasy elements and then works out the implications of those elements with the precision and thoughtfulness of a scientist, or, well, an SF writer. It’s clear throughout Southern Fire that McKenna is spinning her tale out of a deep, rich, internally consistent tapestry of details and textures.
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: “Parasite” by Mira Grant
Mira Grant’s first novel Feed was one of the best novels of its year, garnering critical praise, a legion of fans and making the short list for the Hugo Award.
It deserved every bit of that attention thanks in large part thanks to a new take on the zombie thriller and a couple of interesting twists along the way that made me eager for the next installment in the trilogy.
Review: “Ilium” by Dan Simmons
This is an odd book. Simmons envisions a solar system several thousand years in the future. Earth is practically uninhabited—a few hundred thousand “old-style” humans are all that is left of us. So-called “post-humans” left the planet long ago for cities built on asteroids in orbit. The “old-style” humans are each allotted one hundred years of life, at which point they are faxed (quantum teleported) to the rings to live forever with the post-humans. Or so the ordinary humans believe.
Review: “Roil” by Trent Jamieson
Trent Jamieson’s Roil, the first book in The Nightbound Land duology, promises… and delivers.
Review: “The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy”
I heard recently that eighty-one percent of Americans believe they have a book in them. I believe if you polled fantasy fans, that number would be in the nineties. And I’m just talking novels, I’m not including all the movie and TV screenplays we have in mind. It’s one of the best aspects of being science fiction and fantasy fans: you live a big chunk of your life in your imagination.
But, ask anyone who has ever tried to write fantasy, and he or she will tell you. It ain’t easy. How do you make a fantasy world? How do I make up a type of magic that doesn’t seem stupid? How do I make interesting characters? And on, and on, and on.
Review: “Darwin’s Paradox” by Nina Munteanu
Nina Munteanu weaves a good story that has some large concepts peppered through it. The story does have warts but they are easy enough to gloss over and dig into the main story. There are some nice twists and turns and rabbit holes to follow the tale down. I hope that future books have more about the world, the citizens who inhabit it, and the politics of city states.
