February 2016 – Page 2 – Looking For a Good Book

February 14, 2016

THE SANDMAN: OVERTURE – graphic novel

GRAPHIC NOVEL WEEK Over the course of the last two, or even three decades, I can think of only two comic book series that people would comment on or reflect upon. One of those was Watchmen, the other, Sandman. In many ways, I believe Sandman helped propel creator/author Neil Gaiman to some prominence (though his Continue reading

GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Graphic Novels, Reviews

February 12, 2016

THE BEST SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY OF THE YEAR, VOLUME NINE – Jonathan Strahan, ed.

I really like “Best of” books. I adore the short story and I enjoy being introduced to new authors, or cozying up with a familiar name. And I’ve realized how important an editor’s tastes are to a reader’s enjoyment. Editor Jonathan Strahan has pulled together a really marvelous collection of short fantasy and science fiction. Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Short Stories

February 10, 2016

WONDER WOMAN: AMAZON WARRIOR – Steve Korté

Ah…I remember the days when I couldn’t wait for the Scholastic book fair that the school would have once a year. As a reader of comic books, this is precisely the sort of book that I would be drawn to. It appears that Scholastic is issuing a few of these books in a “Backstories” series, Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, ENTERTAINMENT, GRAPHIC NOVEL, YA

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, comic book superheroes, Entertainment, Graphic Novels, Picture books, Reviews, superheroes, Young Adult

February 9, 2016

SAFE IN HIS ARMS – Melody Anne

** WARNING — THIS REVIEW CONTAINS GRAPHIC ADULT LANGUAGE ** Natalie Duncan is thrilled to get her first teaching job, even if it is in Montana. But the California girl isn’t prepared to step into instant winter. How … Who will keep her warm? Hunky fire chief Hawk Winchester to the rescue, again and again. Kiss Continue reading

ROMANCE, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, Romance, Sex

February 8, 2016

THE COMPANIONS – R.A. Salvatore

I have been a big fan of playing Dungeons and Dragons and I have been a long-time reader of science fiction, fantasy, and what we used to call Sword & Sorcery. But for whatever reason, I have never been interested in reading any of the fantasy/sword&sorcery type books that seem directly related to dungeons and Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Mythology/Legend, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

February 6, 2016

AGAINST FOOTBALL: ONE FAN’S RELUCTANT MANIFESTO – Steve Almond

I have been a fan of Steve Almond’s writing for about a decade, since I read My Life in Heavy Metal, his collection of short stories. Since then, I’ve purchased every one of his books (though I think I haven’t read a couple of them yet), so of course I was eager to pick up Continue reading

NON-FICTION, OTHER

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, non-fiction, Reviews, Sports

February 5, 2016

UNITED STATES OF JAPAN – Peter Tieryas

Following in the vein of alternate history works, like Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle, comes United States of Japan, by Peter Tieryas in which, well, you can probably guess it, Japan was the winner of World War II and took control of the United States (the West Coast, at least). This Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

February 4, 2016

THE RED MAGICIAN – Lisa Goldstein

THROWBACK THURSDAY: REVIEWING A REISSUE In a small European village, a young girl named Kicsi observes how a town is forced into the modern world and forced to see the hatred in the world. A strange magician, by the name of Voros comes to town. Kicsi is fascinated by this man, a man who claims Continue reading

MYTHOLOGY, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Mythology/Legend, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

February 3, 2016

RUBBER SOUL – Greg Kihn

I’ll start off by admitting that I really enjoyed this book. This semi-biographical mystery appears to follow the early days and rise of the Beatles. The book primarily follows “Dust Bin” Bob who meets John, Paul, Stu Sutcliffe and George before they become the famous Beatles. Given the nickname “Dust Bin” by John Lennon, Bob Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, MYSTERY, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, Music, Mystery, Reviews

February 1, 2016

THE RETURNED, PART III – Peter David

A couple of disclosures: This is part three of a three-part series, and while I read/reviewed the first book (see that review here), I did not receive a review copy of the second part. One of the things I noted in the first book is that it isn’t a stand-alone book. The three books must Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Star Trek