Book Reviews
Review: “The Making of a Graphic Novel/The Resonator” by Prentis Rollins
This is one of those ideas that seems so obvious you wonder why it hasn’t been done before. Writer-artist Rollins, who’s worked extensively for DC Comics, splits his book in half.
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.
Review: “Jump Start” by Gary Carter
All in all, though I think the book is flawed, I wanted to keep reading. I wanted to see how the story ended, which is a lot more I can say about other books I’ve reviewed.
I feel a bit flummoxed when it comes to rating this book. I enjoyed reading it, I don’t deny that, but the entire time I’m also thinking how much better it could be. Since I’m torn down the middle, I’ll tear the rating down the middle as well.
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: “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: “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.
Review: “Omnitopia Dawn” by Diane Duane
This was a refreshing read. A.I. has been through the ringer when it comes to scenarios, but Diane Duane brought something new to the table. It’s fascinating to see such an expansive game from multiple points of view – the players, the creators, etc.
Review: “WWW: Wake” by Robert J. Saywer
Good science fiction speculates on things that are theoretically possible given some of the conditions and advances of our current level of technology. In many cases, the advances may be years or decades away from becoming reality, but in the case of Robert J. Sawyer’s new novel, “WWW: Wake,” part of his speculated future has become a reality far too quickly.
