4 stars – Page 32 – Looking For a Good Book

March 12, 2021

CRANK PALACE – James Dashner

The Maze Runner. Since the days of the ‘boy wizard’ books and films geared toward a young adult audience have flourished, but only a couple have had real success and one of those is James Dashner’s “Maze Runner” series. I’ve only seen the first film and I’ve only read one of the books but when… Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, YA

4 stars, SF/Fantasy, YA

March 10, 2021

BACON AND EGG MAN – Ken Wheaton

Our government is at war. With fast food. We are in what might be best described as the future in an alternative timeline in what was once the United States of America. The Northeast has seceded and the rest of the country is now run by “the electoral descendants of King Mike, a man who… Continue reading

HUMOR, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

4 stars, Humor, Satire, science fiction

March 3, 2021

THE GLASS TEAT – Harlan Ellison

As a teenager I was completely and utterly enthralled with Harlan Ellison and his writing. I’ve read everything he wrote that i could get my hands on. I met him at book signings and conventions and easily rated him as my favorite author. Ellison’s anger and angst and pomposity was fun, or at least identifiable… Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Entertainment, essays, non-fiction, Television

March 1, 2021

EUGENE O’NEILL – Robert M. Dowling

I have an undergraduate degree in theatre and am familiar with the works of Eugene O’Neill, having read or seen (or both) most of his body of works. I was only passingly familiar with O’Neill the man, the writer, from brief bios in college text books. Author Robert M. Dowling has done an exhaustive amount… Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Biography, non-fiction, Theatre

February 22, 2021

STRATEGIC PLANNING IN THE ARTS – Michael M. Kaiser

I’ve been working in the arts for four decades and I’ve seen a lot of changes in how arts organizations approach the business of presenting arts programming. Treating the arts as a business is probably the biggest change I’ve seen. This might seem like an obvious direction, but I’ve known very few artists who are wise with… Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION

4 stars, Business, Entertainment, non-fiction, Theatre

February 17, 2021

ADMIRAL – Sean Danker

There was a time when I wouldn’t have even considered reading a military fiction book, even military science fiction. But the descriptions I had seen for Sean Danker’s Admiral looked really appealing to me so I thought I’d give it a read. I’m glad I did. A ship in deep space has for sleepers (individuals in a cryogenic stasis)… Continue reading

SF/FANTASY

4 stars, science fiction

February 15, 2021

IMAGINARY NUMBERS – Seanan McGuire

If you’ve been reading my reviews for any length of time you should know that I’ve become a tremendous fan of Seanan McGuire’s work, I believe she consistently has the best most regular, best urban fantasy being published today. Her world-building is fantastic (and I mean that word in all its definitions) and well-defined. Her… Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

4 stars, SF/Fantasy

February 8, 2021

BARNUM – Robert Wilson

Is there an American entertainer who’s had more written about him (or her) than Phineas Taylor Barnum? It’s been 130 years since Barnum died and still we are fascinated by this celebrated huckster. P.T. Barnum was a man of action who took advantage of opportunities when they presented themselves and created opportunities when they didn’t.… Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION

4 stars, Biography, Entertainment, non-fiction

February 5, 2021

OLD NORSE FOR MODERN TIMES – Ian Stuart Sharpe

I was interested in this book based on this description: Never be lost for words again…with this book of lost words. Have you ever wanted to wield the silver tongue of Loki, or to hammer home your point like a Thundergod? Old Norse is the language of legends and the stuff of sagas, the inspiration… Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, HUMOR

4 stars, Entertainment, Games, Humor

January 27, 2021

THE FEAR INSTITUTE – Jonathan L. Howard

This is book #3 (which of course means it’s the fifth book in the series, because there’s a #.5 and a #.75 before #1) and I’ve never read any of the other books. Certainly I’ve missed out on some character history and character-building, having not read the other books, but generally I didn’t feel I… Continue reading

Dark Fantasy/Horror, Uncategorized

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

January 15, 2021

THE ECHO WIFE – Sarah Gailey

Evelyn Caldwell is an award-winning genetics researcher. A strong, motivated women, she is surprised when one morning she receives a phone call from a woman named Martine asking for Evelyn’s help. Evelyn’s husband, Nathan, is bleeding out in Martine’s kitchen. Martine, Evelyn learns, is Nathan’s mistress. So why would she call Evelyn for help? Martine… Continue reading

SF/FANTASY

4 stars, SF/Fantasy, Thriller

January 13, 2021

MULTIPLE LISTINGS – Tracy McMillan

Nikki Daniels is a single mother of a teenage boy, Cody. She owns her own business (home appraisal) and she’s got a younger boyfriend (Jake) with whom she’s hoping to start a new business. It’s an ideal life, right? Except it’s not as ideal as it might appear on the surface. Nikki wants to… Continue reading

OTHER, Uncategorized

4 stars, ChickLit