SHORT FICTION – Page 14 – Looking For a Good Book

December 22, 2014

THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2013 – Lisa Scottoline, editor

I do like the “Best American…” book series’. I will often pick up the Science and Nature collection and the Essays collections, and have picked up the Science Fiction collection and even the comics collection in the past, but this is the first time I’ve read the Best American Mystery Stories collection. And it won’t… Continue reading

MYSTERY, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Books, Mystery, Reviews, Short Stories

December 9, 2014

THE BURNING GIRL – Lisa Unger

Number two in the “Whispers” short stories series by Lisa Unger, “The Burning Girl” is a highly charged follow-up the first story, “The Whispers.” Now, ten years after the events in the first story, Eloise has moved on from the devastating loss of her husband and one of her daughters, and she has learned to… Continue reading

Dark Fantasy/Horror, MYSTERY, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Books, Horror/Dark Fantasy, Mystery, Reviews, Short Stories

December 5, 2014

THE YEAR’S BEST FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION 2014 – Rich Horton, ed

I’ve come to realize just how vital is the role of editor in a ‘best of’ series such as this. Not too long I reviewed The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume 8 (2014). What is the difference between that collection and this one? The stories, as selected by the editor. You… Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

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

November 20, 2014

GAHAN WILSON’S CRACKED COSMOS – Gahan Wilson

THROWBACK THURSDAY: REVIEWING A BOOK FROM MY SHELF In the mid-1970’s if I ever thought of cartoons, one name came to mind…Gahan Wilson. His wit was wicked and his drawings deliciously simple but a tad off-beat. Reading through a Gahan Wilson book is for adults who enjoy speculative fiction, what reading through The Far Side… Continue reading

Dark Fantasy/Horror, GRAPHIC NOVEL, SF/FANTASY, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Books, Graphic Novels, Horror/Dark Fantasy, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Short Stories

November 7, 2014

THE CUTTING ROOM – Ellen Datlow, editor

Editor Ellen Datlow puts together some really good books and this might be one of my favorite to date. Dark fantasy/horror stories strung along a theme of films and filmmaking. What a brilliant concept. There are some well-known authors included here (such as Dennis Etchison, F. Paul Wilson, Peter Straub, and Laird Barron) as well… Continue reading

Dark Fantasy/Horror, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

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

October 31, 2014

THE WHISPERS – Lisa Unger

Publishers will resort to a lot of ‘gimmicks’ in order to sell books. I’ve worked in bookstores and libraries and with publishers, and I understand the marketing desire to one-up the competition. And so, when I received notice of advanced short stories as a prelude to a novel, I was just a little skeptical. But… Continue reading

SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, Short Fiction

September 9, 2014

THE GHOST PRISON – Joseph Delany

This was one of the older books in my to-be-read queue. Had I realized what a quick, short read it was, I’m sure I would have gotten to it much sooner. With not even 100 pages, and much of that filled with art, the reading is extremely quick. And that is sort of a problem. I love… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, Dark Fantasy/Horror, GRAPHIC NOVEL, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized, YA

Art, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Graphic Novels, Horror/Dark Fantasy, Reviews, Young Adult

August 29, 2014

LUNGS FULL OF NOISE – Tessa Mellas

We know we shouldn’t judge a book by a cover, but you can look at the cover of a book to get a general idea of what you might find inside, and Lungs Full of Noise here is a great example. Looking at the cover as pictured above you might get the impression that the contents… Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Books, collection, Literature, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Short Stories

July 28, 2014

THE BEST SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY OF THE YEAR: VOLUME EIGHT – Jonathan Strahan, editor

I really enjoy reading short stories. It used to be that I subscribed to just about every science fiction and fantasy magazine on the market, just because of the volume of short stories i could then read. But of course as time went on, my reading time dwindled and about the same time, more and… Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Short Story Collection

June 1, 2014

THE LIBRARY OF UNREQUITED LOVE – Sophie Divry

The Library of Unrequited Love isn’t a book, or novel, so much as it is a monologue. A librarian opens up her department of the library to discover a patron who has been locked in over-night. She begins talking to the patron and winds up letting out a great deal of pent-up frustration. For ninety-five… Continue reading

OTHER, ROMANCE, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Books, Reviews

June 1, 2014

ENCHANTMENT ÄDVENTYR H.C.A. & I UNDERSTAND – Carol Elizabeth Skog

One thing that is very clear in this, is that author Carol Elizabeth Skog is very passionate about her heritage and that this story is extremely meaningful to her. But sometimes something that is so personal and meaningful doesn’t always translate well to someone who isn’t familiar with the author or the setting. Skog tries… Continue reading

HISTORICAL FICTION, NON-FICTION, SF/FANTASY, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Books, Historical Fiction, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

March 7, 2014

ROACHKILLER AND OTHER STORIES – R. Narvaez

From urban noir, to urban dark fantasy, to simple, urban gut fiction (that fiction which shows us the underbelly of society), R. Narvaez’s collection, Roachkiller and other Stories, is simply good writing. Two things struck me as I read this collection: 1) Narvaez is a really good writer, and 2) there’s a very strong ‘street’… Continue reading

MYSTERY, OTHER, SF/FANTASY, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Books, Horror/Dark Fantasy, Mystery, Reviews, Thriller