October 2017 – Looking For a Good Book

October 31, 2017

MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN – Jason Reynolds

You know you’re getting old when little things that you thought would never change, suddenly change. I grew up with Peter Parker as Spider-Man, but there’s a new Spider-Man on the block and it’s Miles Morales, a teenager who is half African-American and half Puerto Rican. Although it isn’t explained, I get the sense that Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, YA

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, superheroes, Young Adult

October 30, 2017

THE LAST SACRIFICE – James A. Moore

The publishing trend in trilogies has pushed authors to think in terms of a three-act story, rather than writing three individual books, and that is quite apparent with James A. Moore’s The Last Sacrifice, the first book in a new trilogy. A race of people, known as the Grakhul, are immortal servants to ancient gods. Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

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

October 28, 2017

HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL VOLUME ONE – Brian James Freeman, editor

From half the mind of Dark Screams … er … from Brian James Freeman, co-editor of the Dark Screams series, comes Halloween Carnival, Volume One. This looks a lot like the Dark Screams series, but with a slightly more targeted focus or theme – Halloween. The anthology starts out with Robert McCammon’s “Strange Candy.” I Continue reading

Dark Fantasy/Horror, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Horror/Dark Fantasy, Reviews, Short Stories

October 27, 2017

FLASH GORDON: KING’S CROSS – graphic novel

I have been a fan of the Flash Gordon character since … well, I don’t know when. Probably when I read The Lion Men of Mongo (by Alex Raymond) back in 1974. Since then I’ve eagerly read almost anything with the Flash Gordon name on it. This graphic novel, by Jeff Parker and with art Continue reading

GRAPHIC NOVEL, SF/FANTASY

2 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Graphic Novels, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

October 26, 2017

NIGHTSTRUCK – Jenna Black

I really enjoy a good horror story, and there is one in here. Unfortunately, it’s about ten pages long and it’s surrounded by 280 pages of teenage angst and uncertainty. Beckett is out walking her dog one night when she hears a cry. She’s worried that it’s a baby that’s been abandoned out in the Continue reading

Dark Fantasy/Horror, YA

2 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Horror/Dark Fantasy, Reviews, Young Adult

October 25, 2017

NINE LIVES OF ADAM BLAKE – Ryan Gladney

Adam Blake is a young, pre-teen boy who is stuck in a never-ending loop of re-living his life. But each life he lives is not exactly the same as the one before it or the one before that. Adam can remember each life and make changes. He can follow a different path, make different decisions. Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, Uncategorized, YA

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Young Adult

October 24, 2017

ARTEMIS – Andy Weir

How do you follow up a mega hit? On the heels of The Martian, Andy Weir’s breakaway hit that seemingly came out of nowhere, Weir does a wise thing and DOESN’T try to recreate the magic of his first book. Instead, he goes a slightly different route. Instead of a survivor-in-the-wild adventure story, we have Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, YA

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

October 23, 2017

WHEN BROADWAY WENT TO HOLLYWOOD – Ethan Mordden

This book really really needs a sub-title to let the reader know what the focus is, because this is just a little bit misleading. This book examines the transformation of the songs and the songwriters (music and lyrics) of the Hollywood musical when their work was being courted by Hollywood. That’s just a little bit Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, History, Music, non-fiction, Reviews, Theatre

October 21, 2017

BLAZE! – Stephen Mertz

J.D. and Kate Blaze are gunfighters – two of the deadliest gunfighters the Old West has ever seen. They also happen to be married and they create as much heat from their passion for one another as they do from gun-slinging. The duo encounter an Apache ambush and are hired to track down a gang Continue reading

ROMANCE, Uncategorized, WESTERN

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, Romance, Western

October 20, 2017

BLUEWATER WALKABOUT – Tina Dreffin

I’ve been enjoying non-fiction books more and more lately and the description of this – a memoir of sailing and a safari through Africa really sounded like something I’d enjoy. But the subtitle of this book, “Finding Healing Through Travel,” reveals the true purpose of this memoir. Author Tina Dreffin had a rough few years Continue reading

MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

2 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Memoir, non-fiction, Reviews

October 19, 2017

THE VERY SECRET WEAPON – Tillman Gilson

Every once in a while you run across a book and you just wonder: Why? I’m working hard on clearing out my backlog of ARC books and this stood as one of the oldest books in my queue. I hadn’t gotten around to reading it – for no particular reason – and decided I should Continue reading

MYSTERY

2 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Mystery, Reviews, Thriller

October 18, 2017

IN THEIR LIVES – Andrew Blauner, editor

There appears to be no end to the number of ways to get The Beatles on the cover of a book. I’ve read more than a few in the last few years since I started this book review blog. Since it seems that enough biographies have been written and there have been some well-researched, in-depth Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, MEMOIR, NON-FICTION

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, Memoir, Music, non-fiction, Reviews