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Conversations with Authors of Science Fiction and Fantasy

Book Reviews

Review: “The Boys Are Back In Town” by Christopher Golden

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Many people who read and write science fiction believe that through the last few decades science fiction has actually prepared society for future technological advances. The idea, some say, is that in science fiction all the pitfalls, moral uncertainties, and roads best not traveled can be discovered and worked out in the pages of entertaining fiction, rather than bitter experience.

So why won’t this generation learn? If science fiction has taught us one thing, it’s that if you have the ability to go into the past in order to change events and make the world a better place… don’t do it! You’re just gonna fuck it up.

Review: “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown

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If Alfred Hitchcock produced and directed the television show 24, the end result would be The Da Vinci Code, a strap-yourself-in-and-hold-on-for-dear-life of a read that lives up to the hype and does not disappoint.

Review: “Tinker” by Wen Spencer

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If heavily armed elves, a demonic conspiracy, and a girl genius doesn’t sound like a wild enough ride, how about Pittsburgh being the epicenter of a dimensional rift. Welcome to Wen Spencer’s Tinker, a book that is an adventure worth every page!

Review: “Jump Start” by Gary Carter

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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: “The Hunter’s Blades” Trilogy by R. A. Salvatore

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These are the first books by R. A. Salvatore that I’ve read. Now I know why he is a best seller. These books are not profound. They are not really awe-inspiring, even given the scope of the story. Aside from some journal entries by Drizzt, there is very little that is “deep” in these books.

But, they are a hell of a lot of fun to read, and surprisingly well written. I’m thinking I may have to check and see if he could indeed have written a good book based on Star Wars: Episode II.

Review: “The Darkest Part of the Woods” by Ramsey Campbell

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Have you ever had a sore spot like an aching tooth, an ingrown toenail, or a spot on your arm where you just got a shot? You know, some place that kisses you with a sharp pain if you don’t leave well enough alone? What do you do? You touch it, squeeze it, push on it. There you go, a grown-up, intelligent human being with a toothache, and you’ll actually bite down hard. When you can’t take the pain anymore you let up and wonder at your stupidity. Then, you go and do the same thing again half an hour later.

The Darkest Part of the Woods, by Ramsey Campbell, was a toothache I wouldn’t stop biting down on. I don’t know how many times I set the book down after an hour of reading, completely bored, totally uninterested… just to pick up the book again the next day.

Review: The Neanderthal Parallax by Robert J. Sawyer

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I find it very difficult to write about these books without gushing. As much as I’ve given you in the synopses, there is more that I left out. What I found in Sawyer’s “Neanderthal” reality is a world society that is fundamentally different from our own.

And, unlike much science fiction that is based on a “really cool” idea, Sawyer also manages to write complex characters that I grew to care about deeply. The books ripped my heart out at times, made me laugh at times, and kept me at the edge of my seat till the very end. Very little science fiction out there can do all that.

Review: “The Sorority” Trilogy by Tamara Thorne

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Tamara Thorne wrote The Sorority trilogy as the literary equivalent of a teen exploitation horror movie. It has dozens of girls in a sorority house, an evil sorority president, sex, ghosts, oral sex, dead football players, group sex, human sacrifice, and chipmunk sex. Reading a book like this makes me cry. In college I couldn’t get laid to save my life.

Review: “The Hades Project” by Justin Gustainis

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Readers will find The Hades Project, by Justin Gustainis, a tight and exciting read. He has created a wonderfully over the top villain, and has added a supporting cast to match it.

However, this is a debut novel, and it shows in the writing.

Review: “The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy”

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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: “The Book of Daniel” by Lynn Terelle

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Imagine an entire world populated only by men. The oldest have only recollections of their wives and mothers. The youngest have never even seen a woman except in old movies and photographs. Who would hold all the cards in a world like this? The one who could bring the women back.

Review: “Peace & Memory” by Mark W. Tiedemann

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What does Mark W. Tiedemann’s Peace and Memory offer? It has an interesting, well thought out universe, a bizarre and entertaining ensemble of characters, thought provoking dialogue on social and political issues, action, adventure, twists, turns, irony, and a hair raising finale.

Which is why, for the life of me, I can’t understand why I didn’t like it more.

Review: “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” by J. K. Rowling

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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).