June 2016 – Looking For a Good Book

June 30, 2016

ONLY BEGOTTEN DAUGHTER – James Morrow

THROWBACK THURSDAY: REVIEW A REISSUE I’ve only read one other James Morrow book (Towing Jehovah) and I’m not sure why that is. Morrow is a fantastic writer and, based on the now two books that I’ve read, he is incredibly original, funny, and dark. This book takes on Christianity, skewers it, and flips it on Continue reading

HUMOR, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

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

June 29, 2016

STAR TREK: MANIFEST DESTINY – graphic novel

This is actually not so much a graphic novel as it is the first issue of a comic book (which will most likely ultimately be published as a graphic novel). My ARC of this was twenty-four pages, though Goodreads lists this at 40 pages. Sixteen pages of bonus material? Perhaps. Because it’s just the beginning Continue reading

GRAPHIC NOVEL, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Graphic Novels, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Star Trek

June 27, 2016

THE 100 – Kass Morgan

I recently went to review my backlog of ARC titles – it may seem ambitious (especially when you realize I have over 400 books in my queue), but I really want to try to read and review every review copy I’ve ever gotten. So I was looking through my list and came across The 100 Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized, YA

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Young Adult

June 23, 2016

TRIUMPH OF THE WALKING DEAD – editor, James Lowder

“The Walking Dead” is a surprising television hit. It is water-cooler discussion fodder, and, like so many pop culture hits of this era (it seems), it is based on a comic book series by Robert Kirkman. And what happens to ‘hits’? People analyze them and write about them. This book is a collection of essays Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, essays, Graphic Novels, non-fiction, Reviews, Television

June 22, 2016

BEATLEBONE – Kevin Barry

It is the late 1970’s and John Lennon has left New York to seek refuge and solace in an island that he purchased off the coast of Ireland. But getting to the island is an adventure when he relies on the local shape-changing guide to get there. This is not a light, easy-to-read book. It Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, OTHER, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, Historical Fiction, Literature, Music, Reviews

June 21, 2016

DARK NIGHT: A TRUE BATMAN STORY – Paul Dini

Sometimes, after a catastrophic event, especially a very personal one, the victim needs to find a release – a cathartic means of expression. Paul Dini is looking for his relief through a medium that he is very familiar with. The graphic novel. Paul Dini’s name is likely familiar to comic book and animation nerds as Continue reading

GRAPHIC NOVEL, MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

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

June 20, 2016

JAKE & CLARA: SCANDAL, POLITICS, HOLLYWOOD AND MURDER – David R. Stokes

Jake Hamon was known as “The Oil King of Oklahoma” and like a lot of very wealthy men, even today, got very involved with politics. Hamon supported Warren Harding for the presidency and in turn, Hamon hoped for a cabinet post. But Hamon, also like a lot of wealthy men, even today, also dabbled with affairs Continue reading

HISTORICAL FICTION, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Historical Fiction, History, Reviews

June 17, 2016

HARD-BOILED ANXIETY – Karen Huston Karydes

What did it take to become a genre-setting author of noir detective fiction? Judging by Karen Huston Karydes’ book, Hard-Boiled Anxiety, the answer comes down to ‘personal demons.’ Karydes clearly has a love of the noir-detective genre and has done a great deal of research into the personal lives of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Ross Continue reading

NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Biography, Book Reviews, Books, non-fiction, Reviews, Sex

June 15, 2016

KINDLE AD CAMPAIGNS – Barb Asselin

There seems to be no end to the number of self-published books these days, since it has become so easy to do, and with self-published books come books about self-publishing. How-tos, checklists, and just about every thing you can possibly think of (and many you can’t) to give you the edge of everyone else who Continue reading

NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, non-fiction, Reviews

June 14, 2016

GREEN LANTERN VOL. 7: RENEGADE – graphic novel

I’ve long been a fan of the Green Lantern series of comics/graphic novels, though for whatever reason, I haven’t read too many of them here for this review blog. This book is a good companion piece to the graphic novel Green Lantern Corp: Lost Army Vol 1, which I reviewed last week. In that book, Continue reading

GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized

2 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Graphic Novels, Reviews

June 13, 2016

EMPTY SPACE – M. John Harrison

Once again I have unfortunately read a book that is the ending to a series, rather than a beginning. I’m not sure why publishers don’t make this better known (except that they want to make a sale, of course, and who is going to pick up book three if they haven’t read one and two Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

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

June 10, 2016

HOT BLOOD – editors Jeff Gelb and Lonn Friend

THROWBACK THURSDAY: REVIEWING A BOOK FROM MY SHELF I’ve always had a passion for well-written horror stories, though they can be difficult to find as many authors (as in the horror films) make them more about blood and gore rather than a psychological horror. There’s also a fine line between the adrenaline rush from being scared Continue reading

Dark Fantasy/Horror, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Horror/Dark Fantasy, Reviews, Sex, Short Stories